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As the days go by one by one during this horrific year, a constant has remained. No, not the constant bad news that we have all been hearing. It’s not the constant pain that everyone is seeming to go through. It’s music. Music (and maybe sports coming back) has been the one thing throughout this year that has at least made it feel like life is normal. While everything else has been mostly terrible, the music that has been released this year has been incredible. From artists coming out of nowhere like Giveon or artists like Brent Faiyaz finally getting the mainstream recognition, 2020 has had a lot of surprises. While I am very excited for the last week of December to come so I can rank my albums of the year, we’ll have to settle for what’s been blasting through my AirPods for now. Let’s get to it.

Toosii – Poetic Pain

My friend Walter actually put me on to Toosii about a month ago, but ever since I listened to “Reminiscing” I couldn’t wait to hear his album. The album is 17 tracks long with Summer Walker and Lil Durk as the lone features. Toosii is another artist who specializes in the lane that others like Rod Wave and NBA Youngboy thrive in. Although he hasn’t hit the “mainstream” yet, the project still sold around 30K units in its first week. For only his second mixtape, it’s only up from here.

Favorite Songs

1. Nightmares ft. Lil Durk
2. Sinners Prayer
3. Floating
4. Walking Again
5. Sapiosexual

Rod Wave – Ghetto Gospel

Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I went a day without listening to a Rod Wave song. I discovered Rod Wave last year around September and haven’t stopped listening since. He’s become one of my favorite artists and has not missed on a single song ever since I started listening. This particular album I actually ranked #6 in my “Top 30 Albums of 2019” article but if I were to revise that list I would genuinely put it higher. Kevin Gates and Lil Durk are the lone features on the project but they are both outshined by Rod Wave. Songs like “Sky Priority” and “Poison” have become my anthems. Ghetto Gospel is now certified gold and Rod Wave is bigger than ever now. He has almost 10,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and has over 2.3 million subscribers on YouTube. However, the album that he dropped this year is too good for this article. That will have to wait until my Album of the Year article.

Favorite Songs

1. Sky Priority
2. Poison
3. Dark Conversations
4. Green Light
5. Cuban Links ft. Kevin Gates

Brent Faiyaz – Fuck the World

Brent Faiyaz has slowly crept up into the spotlight of the R&B world and this project has even further solidified his already established position as a star. After originally hearing him on “Crew” (which would go on to be nominated for a Grammy) & “Demonz (Interlude)” on Juice Wrlds album, I’ve been tuned in to what Brent Faiyaz has been dropping. With hits like “Clouded” & “Rehab (Winter in Paris)” Brent Faiyaz is going to be a name heard a lot more now. After only just turning 25 years old this month, he has a long career ahead of him. He just recently released a new single titled “Dead Man Walking” and it has me even more excited of what’s to come. I’m predicting more hits and plaques to come from him very soon.

Favorite Songs

1. Clouded
2. Rehab (Winter in Paris)
3. Fuck the World (Summer in London)
4. Lost Kids Get Money
5. Been Away

Chris Brown – Indigo

Just like Rod Wave, I don’t think a day has gone by since the album dropped that I haven’t listened to Indigo. Even with the collab tape that Chris Brown & Young Thug dropped this year (which was fire btw), I still find myself going back to this album. There are 32 songs on this album, almost short for a Chris Brown project, and I still constantly listen to at least 23 songs. My 2019 AOTY pick has kept its spot and has yet to disappoint on a late night drive. The album is certified platinum and since Chris Brown owns his masters, every single stream is money in his pocket. With “No Guidance” going #1 and the album also charting at #1 on billboard, Chris Brown is still sitting on his throne and even rumored at a tenth album coming soon this past July. All I know is that I’m definitely tuning in.

Favorite Songs

1. No Guidance ft. Drake
2. All On Me
3. Natural Disaster/Aura
4. Come Together ft. H.E.R
5. Part of the Plan

Juice Wrld – Death Race For Love

I’m definitely noticing a common theme throughout this article. Just like Rod Wave and Chris Brown, I have not been able to go through a day without listening to at least one Juice Wrld song. From those artists listed, you can probably guess how my 2020 is going. Although we tragically lost Juice Wrld way too soon, his music continues to live on and has truly helped people (including me) get through some tough times. As he poured his heart out on songs like “Empty” and “Who Shot Cupid?” fans could not only enjoy the music, but also have a comforting sense of relatability with his lyrics. At the end of the day everyone is human and we all deal with similar issues at some point in our lives. To hear celebrities or our favorite artists have to battle those same demons can bring someone strength and hopefully can show them that they are not alone. Rest In Peace to Juice Wrld, we miss you down here.

Favorite Songs

1. Who Shot Cupid?
2. Empty
3. Flaws and Sins
4. The Bees Knees
5. Robbery

Bryson Tiller – TRAPSOUL

This album was released almost five years ago (October 2^nd, 2015) and I still will listen to it all the way through at any time. This album right here is one of my favorite albums of all time. Besides “Ten Nine Fourteen”, I know every single lyric on this project. I’ve recently been revisiting it more often due to the fact that we are finally getting another Bryson Tiller album this fall. After three years since his last full-length project (True to Self), Tiller is back and I am so damn excited. Unlike a lot of people, I absolutely loved his last album and I have a very strong feeling that this album is going to blow people away. So shout out to Bryson Tiller for being one of my favorite artists ever. I hope people let him live after he drops this album so he can just be a dad. He’s already a legend in my eyes.

Favorite Songs

1. Right My Wrongs
2. Overtime
3. Open Interlude
4. Exchange
5. The Sequence

There is always a fear of the unknown, but at least we have the music. I always tell myself that the only thing that you can take with you to the grave are your memories. No money, cars, or jewelry will accompany you when you leave this Earth. Albums that I love, I associate with good memories that I had during that time. I still remember how much fun life was when Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight dropped and how it felt to listen to Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial for the first time. Music goes along with memories for me and I can’t wait to see what new memories I’m gonna experience with upcoming albums. I’m talking to you Meek, Drake, Travis, 6LACK, Kendrick, & Cole. Please drop. I don’t know when is the next time you’ll read an article by me but hopefully the world can get its shit together and I can get back fully motivated and writing every week. Be safe everyone, let’s try to enjoy the rest of the year.