My 2024 Albums Of The Year
What a year it has been for music. Not only did we get some amazing music this year but we got significant musical phenomenons that dominated the discourse for the most of the year. 2024 was the year of the Brat, it was the year of Kendrick vs. Drake, Not Like Us and GNX.
As a hip-hop enjoyer, nay a music enjoyer I am ecstatic to have lived through very very interesting times musically speaking. Music to party to, music to cry to, music to protest to, music to fight to, music to love to. We've got it all this year.
These are the albums that defined 2024 for me. These are in no particular order.
BRAT by Charli xcx
I have been a fan of Charli xcx since the days of VROOM VROOM and her 2022 album Crash was one of my albums of the year that year. This year's BRAT was not only one of the albums that defined my year but it also become a whole cultural phenomenon by itself. Club banger after banger on BRAT and it still manages moments of hedonistic party girl introspection.
Most Favourite Track - Mean girls.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
I've never been a huge fan of Billie's music before this. Sure I enjoyed a single or two but never an entire album. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT hit me different. The production on this album is breathtakingly gorgeous and definitely worth listening to in the Dolby Atmos mix on Apple Music. If that wasn't enough, LUNCH is the catchiest song about eating pussy that I've ever heard.
Most Favourite Track - LUNCH.
A LA SALA by Khruangbin
I became a fan of Khruangbin sometime late last year or earlier this year, it is hard to remember. I listened to all of their albums and bought them on Bandcamp. So when Khruangbin announced their 2024 album A LA SALA I immediately hit pre-order on that son of a bitch.
A LA SALA delivered exactly what I wanted. More Khruangbin. More groovy music I can read to. Khruangbin is the only artist who I can put an entire album in my instrumentals only playlist that I use for reading without hesitation. It is music that I can sink into without it absorbing my entire attention. It is akin to floating in an ocean of groove.
Most Favourite Track - Fifteen Fifty-Three.
Slow Burn by Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD
2024 was the year I fully embraced jazz as a genre and nothing embodies that genre as well this year as Baby Rose's EP Slow Burn with collaboration with BADBADNOTGOOD. Baby Rose's smoky vocals make a perfect companion for the jazz beats and this has strong evening cafe or jazz fusion bar vibes.
This album led me to explore BADBADNOTGOOD's discography and that by itself qualifies it as one of the most impactful albums of the year for me. Any album that makes me discover new music is worthy of being on this list.
Most Favourite Track - On My Mind.
Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going by Shaboozey
American country had one hell of year. From Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER as a love letter to the genre to Shaboozey's A Bar Song (Tipsy) being the soundtrack to every bar crawl this year. Shaboozey's album was so good that it knocked COWBOY CARTER off of my list of albums of the year. Hell, I even forgot COWBOY CARTER came out this year until I started making this list.
This album is way more than that one single you probably heard. Every track on this album is country as hell and I love all of them. From bar songs to introspective sad songs, this album has got a lot of range that's only a short and sweet 38 minutes long.
Most Favourite Track - My Fault (feat. Noah Cyrus).
Prism of Pleasure by Elkka
Elkka is one of my KEXP discoveries this year and what a discovery this album is. The theme of this album to me is electronic intimacy. This is the queerest and most intimate album on this list. While Charli xcx's BRAT goes hard in the club, this is for those quiet moments after the party when you are on the subway headed back home. Yearning, intimacy and aching desire is what this album is.
Most Favourite Track - Make Me.
GLORIOUS by GloRilla
GloRilla's 2024 album GLORIOUS describes itself with its album title. This is the Memphis, Tennessee rapper making a statement if I've ever heard one. GloRilla can rap with the best of them and it is a glorious time to be listening to hip-hop coming out of the American South. I love her energy, her style, her accent flow.
The album is filled with both bangers and introspective tracks, from being a bad bitch to being a sad bitch, this album has a little of everything.
Most Favourite Track - HOW I LOOK (feat. Megan Thee Stallion).
TAKE CARE by BigXthaPlug
Speaking of hip-hop from the American South, BigXthaPlug is another standout artist for me this year. I discovered his 2024 album TAKE CARE put this Dallas, Texas rapper on my radar. I fell in love with BigXthePlug's flow and the energy he is giving off in this album.
This is a man who is comfortable who he is, focused on taking care of himself and his family and that is a feeling that is very relatable to me.
Most Favourite Track - Take Care.
GNX by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar not content with redefining the hip-hop discourse once this year dropped a surprise album this year on a late November Friday. Surprising literally everyone including his own record label with what I think is one of his best albums and one of the best hip-hop albums this year.
This really is the year of hip-hop. Hip-hop feels triumphant, ecstatic, happy as a genre in a way I haven't felt in a long long time. Kendrick's own self-confident exuberent energy is infectious and it is everywhere throughout this album. I am working on a long-form piece about this album and Kendrick's music to be published on this blog. Look out for it soon.
MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!
Most Favourite Track - tv off (feat. Lefty Gunplay).
Small Changes by Michael Kiwanuka
If you need something to cool down after listening to GNX boy howdy have I got the album for you. Michael Kiwanuka's 2024 album was a late addition to the list but it is no less deserving than any of the others on here. Jazz continues to be a genre that has a slow but steady impact on my life this year and the soft jazz vibes on this album are no different. I feel like I've only just started to really get into this album but I know already that I love it.
Like the title of the album I have made a lot of small changes in my life. Hm. Perhaps that's something worth writing on for this blog.
Most Favourite Track - Small Changes.
Honorable Mentions
Every year there are albums that I listened to and enjoyed but didn't make enough of a impact to be put on the AOTY list. This year is no different, here is that list in no particular order.
- Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee
- Three by Four Tet
- Hyperdrama by Justice
- Mahal by Glass Beams
- Funeral for Justice by Mdou Moctar
- COWBOY CARTER by Beyonce
- KING OF THE MISCHIEVOUS SOUTH by Denzel Curry
Concluding Harmonies
2024 has been a tumultuous year for me, I am not quit the same person who I was at the beginning of the year. Both small and big changes in how I interact with the world on any given day. During times of such personal upheaval, the wonderful albums in the list above kept me company and what wonderful company it was.
The world may be on fire in more ways than I can keep track of but hey, we got some really fucking good music to soundtrack our current times. May you live in interesting times, indeed.
Comments ()