FREE THE WORLD (Chapter IX.)
„When I say ‘free the world’, I don’t forget nada.“
not about Tigray, not about Kongo, not about Sudan, not about Gaza“
From Free The World (prod. Mari Geti) by AKAI SOLO
20. YUNGMORPHEUS & Dirty Art Club – A Spyglass to One’s Face
YUNGMORPHEUS has resurfaced from the smoke with an album that feels like a nighttime walk through memories. A Spyglass to One’s Face, fully produced by Dirty Art Club, is both calm and unsettling. Lo-fi jazz, wandering thoughts, and rap that almost whispers. From the very first track, Introducing…, you’re drawn in. MORPHEUS sounds weary yet balanced. His voice, speaking of certainties, conveys that he has long realized none truly exist. Every bar feels like a diary entry. Meanwhile, producer Dirty Art Club weaves a soundtrack that sounds like it was recorded on a dusty tape: fragile loops, muted pianos, and jazz samples that break like light through cigarette smoke. The entire album flows like a single long evening, where time dissolves between a drink and a quiet sigh. The moment Cavalier, Lukah, and Zeroh come together on 10,700 Day is a pure highlight. Four voices, four philosophies, yet all resonate in a single tone. YUNGMORPHEUS never seeks attention superficially; his rap flows quietly, hypnotically, telling stories that will touch you.
19. Trellion & Danny Lover – Ok, the fire.
Yes, the return of the duo Clipse is a major rap event — but if there’s one thing we didn’t expect in 2025, it was the comeback of Trellion. When Bandcamp notified us that Trellion had released a new album, we assumed it was just an older project being added to his page. The reality far exceeded our expectations. Trellion aka Lil Heart Attack, one of the most distinctive British rappers, has emerged from his enigmatic lighthouse and returned to the music scene after five years with a new album: Ok, the fire. w/ Danny Lover, featuring seventeen tracks. Four years ago, we wrote an essay about Trellion, focusing on both his project Lighthouse Tape and the unique sound he helped bring to the rap scene through the Bad Taste label. On his new album, Trellion directly dismisses the rumors that he was running a restaurant during his hiatus: “I ain’t ever ran a restaurant.”
Ok, the fire. is a full-fledged return — an album with a truly unique atmosphere and soundscape. Once again, both rappers masterfully and contrastively blend bars that are almost existentially cold and melancholic with innovative beats that are hauntingly, hypnotically beautiful. Most of the album was produced by 19.thou$and (Rest in Peace), who crafted a one-of-a-kind sonic environment. It’s refreshing to hear a record that forges its own path and sounds like nothing else out there. Ok, the fire. is a phenomenal work and one of the best albums of the year. As if that weren’t enough, Trellion released two more phenomenal projects last year—Big Sur and The Man Who Couldn’t Die—and announced the album Knight, which will be released this year.
18. The Alchemist, Larry June & 2 Chainz – Life Is Beautiful
Last year, The Alchemist proved once again why he is one of the most respected producers in the game. On Life Is Beautiful, he joined forces with Larry June and 2 Chainz to give the world a sound that combines street game with conscious luxury. He brought two different rap giants together on one album, offered them monumental beats, and together they created a true rap blockbuster, perhaps the biggest one released last year. One of the album’s strongest moments is the track Bad Choices. 2 Chainz brings a sovereign flow to the track with clever references, while Larry June serves up a laid-back cadence full of financial discipline and hustler mindset. Life Is Beautiful is an album that doesn’t pander to trends but builds on proven values, quality production, relaxed flow, and life experiences. The Alchemist creates a space where Larry’s calm precision and 2 Chainz’s forward-thinking energy complement each other perfectly. Nothing over the top, no posturing—just the authentic sound and thoughts of people who know what they’re talking about.
17. MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball II
Last year, MIKE climbed another rung on the ladder. His huge Artist of the Century tour, which we naturally attended in Prague, is proof of his growing popularity, immense talent, and love of music. He kicked off last year with the album Showbiz!, which stays true to his distinctive sound. However, we were more impressed by his second album. The second flipper, but no arcade fun. Pinball II is like a broken machine in a nonstop bar, flashing, making noise, but if you look closely, you’ll see it’s more than just about the score. MIKE is still that quiet observer in the corner of the room, whispering heavy thoughts, trauma, disappointment, and paranoia to his listeners. Tony Seltzer has locked him into a sound that pulses with life. The beats are harder than what we’re used to from MIKE, they’re alive, energized, and sometimes even club-ready. Tracks like Prezzy or Splat! pound with synthetic noise, distorted bass, and wild breaks. Tony Seltzer builds a production under MIKE that makes you nod your head, even though his lyrics freeze you. And that contrast is the essence of the whole album—heartbeats through drums, trauma through 808s. MIKE speaks on this album like someone who’s walked through the fog and knows it could all return at any time. The features are spot-on: Earl Sweatshirt doesn’t disappoint on Jumanji, bringing his notorious philosophical darkness; Lunchbox and Sideshow add their distinct energies but never break the atmosphere. And Niontay on Shaq & Kobe hits the perfect harmony—he and MIKE are like a duo watching each other’s backs even in war. Pinball II is a well-balanced project: MIKE doesn’t lose his soul, and Tony adds the tempo. It’s an album about survival in a faster world.
16. DYLAN GRAY – SITUATIONS
If you read us regularly, you should be familiar with the name Dylan Gray, aka dylantheinfamous. The British rapper and producer is one of the most distinctive artists of our time, and he lets his incredible talent shine through on his album, SITUATIONS. Written, recorded, produced, mixed, mastered, artworked, researched, and creatively directed by Dylan, this artist is a one-man army like few others. Our text for the album will be quite specific, as we have a truly unique experience associated with it. On the same day that Dylan released the new album, the film Bird (2024) by British director Andrea Arnold was released in Czech cinemas, and we, of course, saw it in the theater. The intertextuality of both works brought us some really thought-provoking ideas and an interesting experience. On his new album, Dylan takes you into the dark corners of British society with the same virtuosity and touch of magic as Andrea Arnold’s Bird. Dylan’s ability to describe the current hyper-digital age, full of insecurities, broken families, and inaccessible homes, is truly fascinating. The artist is able to wrap his songs in a vortex of magic and lend them a fanciful dreamcoat that creates an inimitable atmosphere, much like Andrea Arnold does. Whether we’re referring to SHEIN, which eerily describes the life of the younger generation, or the hypnotic ROLL with its spiraling chorus, SITUATIONS is full of timeless tracks that prove Dylan’s visionary spirit.
15. BA PACE – BLACKBOOK
Ba Pace, together with the entire PUBLICHOUSING NYC crew, has established himself as one of the most prominent artists in the contemporary underground scene. Together, they are writing a chapter in rap history that deserves much more attention, especially here in Europe. Last year, he released several phenomenal albums, but we didn’t have to think long about our favorite. A book of pain & hope. Ba Pace untangles the tangle of personal loss, depression, and loneliness here, but it’s not a whimper—it’s a journey through hell with your head held high. Tracks like FOOTPRINTS work with the metaphor of footprints in the dark, as if every experience leaves an indelible imprint. The production oscillates between hypnotic beats and chilling sounds, where every note is absorbed under the skin. THE BUILDER, LOUW, SNIPER LEW, SPVCED, FLEA, and more deliver a heavy yet cinematic sound where minimalism alternates with tension. It’s not classic boom-bap, it’s not trap, it’s its own thing. Ba Pace doesn’t rely on primal punchlines; his lyrics are like diary entries after an endless night, where reality mixes with abstract visions. “It literally rained for 30 days when this was opened up” is everything in this one. The flooded memories, the overflow of emotions, and the feeling that all the words have to come out.
14. Mike Shabb – fight the power!
Welcome 2 da Terrordome. Mike Shabb, the most distinctive contemporary rap artist from Montreal, is an innovator whose work inspires like few others. In March last year, he released the phenomenal album shabbvangogh, where he showcased his love for music and constant drive to create a new sound. On his second album of the last year, he is even more ambitious. fight the power! is a visionary work pushing the rap genre further while paying tribute to its revolutionary potential. Expect militant modern rap rooted in the essence of Public Enemy but sounding contemporary—actually, futuristic. It’s absolutely fascinating that Mike Shabb produced this album entirely himself. Prepare for Sun Tzu–type beats and epic chaos, all under his complete control. The influence of Caribbean music and culture adds another dimension to the beats. Each track is packed with ideas that could fill entire discographies for some artists. For example, crickets! combines a dancehall sound with a hypnotic sample and Shabb’s immersive trap flow, while TANK! is pure madness, awakening, and a call to rebellion. Revolutionary, anti-system, and anti-imperialist themes run through every track; fight the power! tells the story of an outsider (public enemy) number 1, resisting an unjust system in a hostile world while also battling his own emotions. Free All The People.
13. Aesop Rock – I Heard It’s A Mess There Too
Voice, flows, beats, lyrics, atmosphere: few artists have built such a recognizable style as Aesop Rock. The veteran from Rhymesayers Entertainment has released several classics over the past twenty-five years and continues to expand his discography to the point where it truly knows no bounds. And his two albums from last year—Black Hole Superette and I Heard It’s A Mess There Too—are also boundless. We prefer the latter, but let’s be honest, it’s like choosing a favorite child (we guess; we don’t have children). Aesop Rock has once again returned from his own universe, this time bringing a hand-drawn map of chaos. I Heard It’s A Mess There Too sounds like the notebook of someone who walks the world with both a pocket microscope and a telescope. On one side, he observes the surrounding chaos; on the other, he tries to understand why we even need that chaos to feel alive. Even the title itself carries a bittersweet quality — it speaks of a world where everyone is trying to stay connected while everything around us falls apart. Musically, he took a step back — and by doing so, a step forward. Instead of the dense, multilayered collages filled with noise, he chose minimalism: cleaner beats, open space, and breathing basslines. There’s a peculiar calm in it—a kind of zen among dust and ruins. The drums aren’t about force but about rhythm that lets thoughts circle and drift. Lyrically, Aesop remains the same alchemist of words, bending and twisting language until it bursts into surreal imagery. Yet between those labyrinths of words, more and more tenderness shines through.
12. Theravada – The Years We Have
Theravada is one of our favorite artists for many reasons. This charismatic rapper and producer has a distinct signature, and his works fill space in a truly unique way. In recent months, Theravada has been involved in several projects — producing a CD-only track for G*lliwog by billy woods, guesting on Unlearning Vol. 2 by Evidence, and even producing half of Live Laugh Love by Earl Sweatshirt. His fascinating artistic journey this year culminated last September with the release of the rap album The Years We Have, which he produced entirely himself except for the eighth track. A spiral of intriguing observations, the present seen through dreamlike thinking: Theravada’s album The Years We Have uncovers the mysterious within the ordinary.
Many albums evoke strong emotions or a palette of themes that allow us to read and connect with the artists themselves — but with The Years We Have, it’s much more complex. The album exists outside of time and has a completely specific sound — Theravada’s beats sound like memories of beats we’ve dreamt about. The way he samples and produces creates an atmosphere that is nearly impossible to describe. This elusive quality, which makes the album endlessly replayable, is mirrored in his lyrics. Theravada raps in a cryptic, personal style; everyday observations and pop culture references feel like ancient mythology. He is also unique in the fusion of cadence and gravity that radiates from his voice, paired with genuinely funny bars. Take, for example: “I pull up with 100 drunk soccer fans — throwing molotovs at copper vans.” What other rapper would mention The Angry Beavers over a beat reminiscent of Learning Curve? He finds the mysterious in the mundane, and every word reflects his fascination with the world around him. The excellent cover, based on a photograph of overturned furniture, exemplifies this. The album also carries a specific melancholy: “This whole world is going out sad very fast.” — SuckaMCs. As noted, Theravada is a keen observer who understands the world deeply, yet he shapes this skepticism into a dance on the edge of apocalypse — absurd, yet aware that humanity inevitably goes through such phases. His observations become words that retain their power regardless of when they reach the listener. Nevertheless, the album is very introspective and intimate, as Theravada went through another part of his life that was not without pain. His melancholy is very human, yet it is dosed on the album with an almost dreamlike logic. The combination of charisma, dreamlike absurdity, rap punchlines, humor, and melancholy — present not only in the lyrics but also in the music — makes The Years We Have an unforgettable experience.
11. billy woods – G*LLIWOG
The one and only billy woods returns two years after Maps (w/ Kenny Segal) with a new album. Nothing more needs to be written; nothing more needs to be read. One of the best — if not the best — rappers of our time channels two decades of experience into what may be his magnum opus. G*LLIWOG by billy woods is the most important rap album of the moment: an existential social horror that made us ashamed to be human beings. African zombies, the CIA, murderous AI, wars, demons, time-trapped cars, and a dying Frantz Fanon are just some of the participants in woods’ danse macabre. The album is based on a short story woods wrote when he was nine years old and showed to his mother. Her response: “Overly derivative and needed some work.” woods took those words to heart — and now presents the story in its monumental form.
G*LLIWOG is an album of darkness in its purest form — billy woods says Come and See (1985) and holds a mirror up to society, to the human race itself. Across eighteen tracks, you’ll encounter wood’s deeply bleak vision, as urgently radical as today’s capitalist world demands. With REVELATOR (2024), E L U C I D cried out from the heart of a bloodthirsty empire, “Wake” up!”—and now billy woods follows, seizing the attention of the awakened listener, forcing them to confront their actions, face the truth, and examine their conscience.
„I hide everything in the rhymes, that’s why I need it dark on stage,
Make no mistake“
billy woods raps on Make No Mistake — and all we can do is listen and feel ashamed. While the album is a grand horror story with sweeping societal reach, it is also deeply interwoven with wood’s personal testimony and traumas. The track Waterproof Mascara reflects on his departure from Zimbabwe, where wood left with his mother just months after his father died in a car accident.
„This system will take your ancestral traditions and twist ’em
Indigenous mountain villages makin’ coca paste
Still living hand to mouth, make no mistake“
These are more words from Make No Mistake. G*LLIWOG is resistance, a crash zone of repressive systems and ideologies — the essence of rap. woods also addresses the ongoing genocide in Gaza, perpetrated by Israel with the support of U.S. and Western funding and weaponry.
“Twelve billion USD hovering over the Gaza Strip. You don’t wanna know what it cost to live.“
He raps on Corinthians, while the West merely watches — “Scarecrow in a field, watching the spectacle.” A beat by EL-P and a guest verse from Despot: this track is a brutal sci-fi horror filled with murderous technologies — though sadly without the “sci-fi” label, as it merely describes reality. As Eyedea once said — Even Shadows Have Shadows (2001) — and in this spirit, billy woods and a host of other talented artists construct a vast, diverse narrative that remains incredibly cohesive. Producers The Alchemist, Kenny Segal, EL-P, Conductor Williams, Preservation, Messiah Musik, Sadhugold, Ant, Shabaka Hutchings, Steel Tipped Dove, DJ Haram, Willie Green, Jeff Markey, Saint Abdullah, Human Error Club, and guest artists E L U C I D, Cavalier, Bruiser Wolf, Despot, Al.Divino, and vocalist Yolanda Watson — G*LLIWOG is a story built by the best of the best.
The album closes with the phenomenal track Dislocated feat. E L U C I D, where the g*lliwog doll disappears: “You can’t come in here with me, I can’t be located,” and only a thought remains, beginning to spread through society, reminding the pain to all who have ever caused it to someone else. The origin of the thought cannot be found, nor can it be killed.
