Surprise releases included in top five hip-hop albums

Jhade’ Norris
Staff Writer

From surprise album releases to comeback albums, 2015 has had fans and music lovers on the edges of their seats with headphones in hand. Here is a list of 5 Top Albums of 2015 thus far.

On Feb. 13, 2015, rapper Drake took the hip-hop industry and social media by storm with his surprise album, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” With its catchy phrases and seamless transitions from song to song, Drake’s album had fans in awe. Rolling Stone magazine states, “Drake doesn’t sound like he wants to be remembered as one of the greats. This time, he just is.”

As the hype for Drake’s album carried on into the month of February rapper Big Sean released his third studio album, “Dark Sky Paradise”. Although this album wasn’t a surprise to fans it was still greatly anticipated. “Dark Sky Paradise” included collaborations with top artists such as Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Jhene’ Aiko, Ariana Grande, E-40, and GOOD Music label owner, Kanye West.

Some music in 2015 reflected the mood of the people, especially with all of the police brutality cases and riots that occurred. Rapper Kendrick Lamar shed light on this topic through his album “To Pimp a Butterfly”.  The California native’s hit single, “Alright” caught the attention of many listeners and stayed on The Hot 100 chart for six weeks straight.

From socially conscious music to “turn up” music, rapper Future released “DS2”. A sequel to his mix tape “Dirty Sprite”, which was released in 2011. In the midst of the breakup between Future and pop star Ciara, fans were distracted and drawn into his music. The growing popularity of Future even started his own fan base named the “FutureHive” a spin off of Beyonce’s fan base The “BeyHive”.

Last but not least in the hip-hop genre, Meek Mill released his long delayed album “Dreams Worth More Than Money” in June. Listeners couldn’t wait to hear Meek Mill’s sophomore album because of his hit single “Dreams and Nightmares” from his freshman album. When Meek Mill was arrested and jailed for violating his probation, fans were devastated because of the delay but the album made up for it in more ways than one, and the many celebrity features he had on the album was an added bonus.

This year in music is nearly over but as the months go on fans have been far from disappointed. The world of music is constantly evolving and artists are finding more and more ways to impress listeners.