The 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2025

The shift away from hip-hop dominating the mainstream music conversation has been good for the culture. There is a level of craft and an unbound creativity going on in the independent corners of the scene that hasn’t been like this in at least a decade, maybe longer. The proliferation of fresh voices most closely resembles the explosion of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when labels like Anticon, Rhymesayers, and Definitive Jux released classic after classic for the left-of-center fanbase. For about a decade now, Backwoodz Studioz has held that mantle, although Rhymesayers is still releasing bangers from veteran acts. 

As a 40-something who grew up in the golden age of East Coast hip-hop, I found the proliferation of warm, soulful beats and storytelling in many key releases this year made me think the genre was actively trying to get me back. There were days when I just luxuriated in chaining together release after release to cultivate a vibe that warmed my soul. I love to explore, and I have come to appreciate how each region’s contributions matter to the whole story. Still, New York will always have my heart for hip-hop, even though I’m from Flint, Michigan, which has its own rich history and an active current scene, as does my spiritual home, Detroit.

The majority of the most exciting music this year wore these influences proudly while also nodding to more recent tastemakers like Earl Sweatshirt, who is still releasing excellent records (and barely missed my list) as he inspires a new crop of talent who occupy slots on this list. Other veteran acts barely missed the list, too, like De La Soul, and it’s likely that if I had heard the latest Nas before turning this in, I would have found a spot for that, too. However, this is better because you already know how to check those out. It’s been a phenomenal year for new-to-me.

On the other side of that, the rage bubbling over in artists like Tomorrow Kings, Backxwash, and Infinity Knives was thrilling to discover, their beats pulsating with the type of fury and rap-rock mixes that would make Fred Durst run back home. It might just be the times, but that’s the promise hip-hop has always honored–being true to the times. 

Many of these releases found a little corner of light in the darkness, a welcome respite and a reminder not to give up. There is a deep bench of high-quality releases this year, and I could have easily made a top 20, but these are the ten I returned to most often, the ones that reignited my hip-hop obsession.

10. Backxwash – Only Dust Remains (Ugly Hag)

Zambian-Canadian artist Backxwash’s Only Dust Remains is relentless and uncompromised, mixing personal and political pain until it is nearly unbearable. Her recent releases reminded me of the more abrasive end of DALEK, but this one goes harder on themes than sonics without sacrificing intensity. Listening to Only Dust Remains right after A City Drowned in God’s Black Tears feels like a perfect way to vent and then find the strength to go on.

Opener “Black Lazarus” is a pretty, powerful track, and “Dissociation” is a goosebump-inducing tale of addiction and mental health struggles, augmented by laugh-track commentaries, before finding a moment of grace. Try to listen without getting a lump in your throat. The closing title track brings back those goosebumps. Backxwash might be just getting past a phase in her system before returning to the pulverizing sounds of much of her work, but we need this right now, and she knows it. 

9. Infinity Knives – A City Drowned in God’s Black Tears (Phantom Limb)

Infinity Knives waste no time putting their cards on the table, calling out everyone from Trump to Biden to Obama, and punctuating the song with the line “Genocide is as American as apple pie, baseball, and mass shootings”. There’s no shelter, no respite, but maybe a little hope over the course of these nine tracks. Even the sex rap is filled with anxiety and malaise that can’t be addressed because there are no benefits to help with the costs.

The beat with the party starter is called “Everyone I Love Is Depressed”, although it’s not exactly hopeful, but a call to stay alive, even if it has to be blunted by substances. Musically, this is a remarkably diverse collection of tracks, blending acoustic guitars, chants, and industrial noise. Closer “Two-Headed Buffalo” is a serene, pretty ballad that sounds like a quieter Modest Mouse track. This is music for survival. 

8. Open Mike Eagle – Neighborhood Gods Unlimited (Auto Reverse)

Open Mike Eagle has been around long enough that you can hear his influence on a number of the other records on the list, but he’s not ready to rest on elder statesman status yet. Neighborhood Gods Unlimited is another stellar release in a long list of them. The serene, almost hypnotic hum of “contraband (the plug has bags of me)” and “michigan j. wonder” illustrate what makes him one of the singular artists of this era, with Eagle’s smooth flow gliding over a minimal beat with plaintive guitars. Where some of the other best records this year raged, Neighborhood Gods Unlimited stood out by being a palate cleanser, a reminder to take a breath.

7. Tomorrow Kings – Salt (Buenaventura)

Chicago-based Tomorrow Kings headed off the most obvious comparison on their debut release with a song called “Another Wu Tang Comparison”. Their first album in 12 years picks up right where they left off, with another collection of some of the fiercest political commentary this side of Public Enemy‘s heyday. A collective of seven emcees bouncing punchlines and elastic wordplay off each other and anchored by dense, forward-thinking beats that merge jazz and industrial and carve out a lane next to Clipping and El-P’s solo records. If either of those artists resonates, you will find a lot to like here, as the group tears down the perils of contemporary life with dark humor and jaw-dropping flows. 

6. MIKE – Showbiz! (10K Records)

MIKE is not quite as prolific as Boldy James, but he also produces high-quality releases at a steady clip. Showbiz! is not too different from MIKE’s other records, but there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. These 24 tracks breeze by as one track bleeds into the next, woven together by the warped, soulful sounds and MIKE’s trademark stream of consciousness. Rarely does a track eclipse the two-minute mark, yet nothing feels tossed off or half-baked.

“Lost Scribe” comes in a little over a minute and a half, but that’s all it needs to burn itself into your brain. MIKE is one of the key artists in the New York hip-hop renaissance, and he continues to carve out his own lane. It seems likely that his body of work will eventually inspire another generation of emcees, and likely already has, judging by the crop of artists in his orbit.  

5. Boldy James – Conversational Pieces (Real Bad Man)

Detroit-based Boldy James can be counted on for a few consistently good to great releases each year, and 2025 was no different. This was a banner year, with nine(!) releases, and this after an EP released late December last year. It was tough to decide which one to include, but Conversational Pieces wins by a nose. Some of James’ best work has been in collaboration with Real Bad Man, and the moody, reflective sounds here suit James more than any other.

The one-two punch of “Tap the Brakes Twice” and “ITT Tech” is as good as any other pair of tracks released this year, and a bonus for a reference to Detroit Pistons great Kelly Tripucka. It’s easy to take an artist like Boldy for granted, but he delivers a wealth of excellent material year after year.

4. Aesop Rock – Black Hole Superette / I Heard It’s a Mess There, Too (Rhymesayers)

Every four years or so, we get another chapter of the Book of Rock, filled with dense storytelling and rhymes and otherworldly beats. However, this year, Aesop Rock gave us two helpings, dropping I Heard It’s a Mess There, Too, a few months after Black Hole Superette. While both releases are stellar, Mess gets the slight edge for its looser, more playful sound. If you are familiar with Aesop Rock, you have likely made up your mind about him by now. He is a divisive figure in hip-hop. Neither of these is likely to convert naysayers, but they are a feast for the faithful. 

3. Armand Hammer and the Alchemist – MERCY (Backwoodz Studioz)

The highly anticipated follow-up collaboration between the Alchemist and Armand Hammer (billy woods and E L U C I D) did not disappoint. It is easy to compare this to GOLLIWOG, as both are extraordinarily well-crafted records, but MERCY does let in a little more light, at least as far as the beats go. Tracks like “Super Nintendo”, “Glue Traps”, and “Dogeared” are haunted differently, recollections of times lost, while “Scandanavia” and “Peshawar” would have fit right in on GOLLIWOG. E L U C I D and woods are talented enough to make any material shine, but with the Alchemist on production, they just sound that much better. 

2. McKinley Dixon – Magic, Alive! (City Slang)

At the other end of the spectrum, Magic, Alive! is a spiritual journey through mourning, inspired by tragedy. Dixon bounces from being fully locked in to on the verge of collapse, and his collaborators are up to the uncompromising vision. Featuring live instrumentation that leans hardest into jazz, Magic, Alive! is nonetheless varied and thrilling, from the heavy “Recitatif” to the loose “Run, Run, Run Pt. II” and the title track.

“We’re Outside, Rejoice!” has me wishing for one of the breezy summer afternoons when I had this record on repeat. “Listen Gentle” might get us through another winter with seasonal affective disorder. Art healing wounds isn’t exactly a novel concept, but it gets traction because it takes shape again and again, and life requires us to find ways to save ourselves over and over. Magic, Alive! is a life-affirming experience that marks another high point for Dixon. 

1. billy woods – GOLLIWOG (Backwoodz Studios)

GOLLIWOG is horrorcore inspired by the reality of everyday, filled to the brim with unsettling images and sounds–creaking doors, screams, shouts, and cries. At times, the tension borders on unbearable, but try to turn it off. I dare you. Every track is mesmerizing, held together by billy woods‘ riveting flow. When I saw him perform live last month, I wasn’t even nodding. I couldn’t. I was hanging on every word. The density of the vision here makes picking out highlights nearly impossible, but the run of “Misery” through “Corinthians” is simply stunning. In a year that felt like a waking nightmare almost every day, GOLLIWOG is the official soundtrack.