6 Best Rap Albums of July 2023 – Brooklyn Vegan

So much rap music comes out all the time, and especially with frequent surprise releases, it can be hard to keep track of it all. So, as a way to help keep up with all of it, here’s a roundup of the 6 rap albums from July 2023 that stood out to us most. We also probably still missed or haven’t spent enough time with some great July rap albums that aren’t on this list. What were some of your favorites of last month? Let us know in the comments, and read on for the list (unranked, in no particular order).

Ice Spice – Like..? (Deluxe)
10K Projects/Capitol

Ice Spice’s six-song debut EP Like..? from earlier this year may be brief, but it already feels monumental–just about all of its songs have been inescapable hits all year, and after breaking out with song of the summer “Munch (Feelin’ U)” last year, Like..? affirms that Ice Spice is not just a hot new rapper but one who’s truly doing something unique, refreshing, and new. Six months out from the EP’s original release, she’s keeping the momentum going with a deluxe edition that tacks on four new tracks and replaces “Princess Diana” with the version that features Nicki Minaj. All four of the new songs are produced or co-produced by her frequent collaborator RIOTUSA, and they all feel as instantly-satisfying as the original EP. “Deli” is loaded with the kinds of knockout one-liners that have become Ice Spice’s calling card (“Hunnit bands in Chanely/but I’m still shaking ass in the deli,” “He want the WAP but I just want the fetty”), and “How High?” finds her branching out from drill and further exploring the synthpop vibes that made her PinkPantheress collab such a world-conquering hit. Especially given the brevity of the original Like..? EP, this seems like a deluxe edition that’s destined to quickly become the new standard.

J Hus – Beautiful and Brutal Yard
Black Butter

J Hus has become one of the biggest and best rappers in the UK, and he really seems like the type of artist who just puts his head down and gets to work. Since releasing his great sophomore album Big Conspiracy in January of 2020, he took a hiatus from touring (even after lockdown ended), and he only surfaced in the public eye to make one guest appearance: on Burna Boy’s 2022 album Love, Damini. Then, in May of this year, he announced his return with the explosive new single “It’s Crazy,” followed it with the Drake collab “Who Told You” in June, and then revealed that both songs would appear on his third album Beautiful and Brutal Yard, announced just two weeks before its release. From just one listen to this album, you can tell that J Hus spent his time away from the spotlight putting detail and care into this entire LP. It’s 19 songs and over an hour in length, and it covers so much ground. J Hus has been credited with helping to pioneer Afroswing–a fusion of rap, Afrobeats, dancehalll, and R&B–and that wide range of music is all over Beautiful and Brutal Yard. The song with Drake is one of the most addictive Afrobeats-style singles of the summer, and Hus creates more of that magic with African artists Burna Boy and Naira Marley on “Masculine” and “Militerian,” respectively. The breezy vibes of those songs are offset by some of Hus’ hardest rap songs like the aforementioned “It’s Crazy” and his foray into drill, “Cream,” which features CB, the self-crowned king of drill. Soulful powerhouse Jorja Smith aids Hus on the laid-back “Nice Body,” and dancehall icon Popcaan aids him on the more aggressive “Killy.” Even on the songs that don’t feature guests, J Hus is such a chameleon that he sometimes sounds like three different artists in one. The album title is named after the patois-influenced slang term for “home” (and it’s intentionally an acronym for “BABY”), but it’s also a reference to the two extremes in J Hus’ music, and that comes through loudly and clearly on this album; Hus is a master at swinging from beautiful to brutal.

Fatboi Sharif – Decay
Backwoodz

Fresh off appearances on recent albums by billy woods and Moor Mother, NJ rapper Fatboi Sharif releases his own expansive new album Decay on woods’ Backwoodz label, entirely produced by Steel Tipped Dove. The production is hazy and claustrophobic, and Sharif lives inside these beats, churning out mind-melting rhyme schemes and metaphors that only make the experience more of a trip.

Decay by Fatboi SharifDecay by Fatboi Sharif

Valee & Harry Fraud – Virtuoso
SRFSCHL/Fake Shore Drive

Chicago rapper Valee seemed like a potential Next Big Thing when he and Sheck Wes were both signed to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label in 2018 surrounding the release of big singles from each rapper, “Womp Womp” and “Mo Bamba,” respectively. Valee never really took off the way a lot of people thought he would, but now he’s out of his major label deal and has a new project made entirely with underground producer Harry Fraud. Virtuoso reasserts Valee as a force, and it does so without making any sacrifices for the mainstream music industry. Harry Fraud fills the album with woozy, pillowy production, and Valee’s permastoned delivery suits it perfectly. Other underground heavy hitters like Action Bronson, Saba, MAVI, and RXK Nephew come along for the ride, and it turns out Valee makes a lot of sense in this company. Virtuoso finds both Valee and Harry Fraud pushing each other outside of their usual comfort zones, and the result is an album unlike much else that we’ve heard from either artist.

Haviah Mighty – Crying Crystals
Mighty Gang

Calling Toronto artist Haviah Mighty’s new LP Crying Crystals a “rap album” only scratches the surface of what she’s doing here. Over a backdrop that ranges from club beats to amapiano to lush art pop atmospheres to metallic trap beats, Haviah toys with a variety of rapping and singing styles as she turns a breakup into a vast concept album. “I’ve created a lot of politically-charged music, tackling concepts larger than, and outside of myself,” she said of her past work. “With this project, I went inward-leading to a huge amount of personal and internal growth over the past year. This project documents the emotional journey experienced through a long-winded and tumultuous relationship-the toxic thoughts, the moments and realities of a failing relationship-from the beginning of the end, to the end.”

Nas – Magic 2
Mass Appeal

After 2018’s Kanye-produced misstep Nasir, Nas linked up with producer Hit-Boy and recalibrated for 2020’s King’s Disease, a fresh update on the straightup boom bap that made Nas such an influential rapper three decades earlier. Nas and Hit-Boy’s collaboration turned into a very prolific run that’s now resulted in five albums in just three years, Kings Disease I, II & III and Magic 1 & 2. The latest, Magic 2, is out now, and it finds this pair sticking to their guns. Nas proves that he’s still full of hard-hitting rhymes after all these years, and Hit-Boy gives him the type of production that he’s always sounded best over. Magic 2 also gives New York rap fans a treat with “Office Hours,” the first collaboration between Nas and 50 Cent in over 20 years.

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Honorable Mentions
Babyface Ray – Summer’s Mine
Big Boss Vette – Resilience
Black Milk – Everybody Good?
Chika – Samson: The Album
Fly Anakin – Skinemaxxx (Side B)
KenTheMan – Back To 304’n
Paris Texas – Mid Air
Surf Gang & 454 – Fast 5

Browse Best Rap Albums for past months.