EBK JAAYBO – Don’t Trust Me
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EBK JAAYBO – Don’t Trust Me

Within the broad spectrum of gangsta rap, Jaaybo focuses almost exclusively on a single theme: murder. The kind through which the EBK gang takes revenge on its enemies. The kind that makes him mourn so many fallen. All of this is unsettling. However, by balancing aggression and melancholy equally, he establishes himself as the new leading figure of the Stockton scene.
NO ID & SABA – From The Private Collection Of Saba And No ID
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NO ID & SABA – From The Private Collection Of Saba And No ID

Saba and No ID come from different generations, but they share their hometown of Chicago and a polished, refined approach to rap. Their collaboration results in a blend of jazz, soul, and introspective hip-hop. Enriched by numerous guest appearances and meticulous production, it is an eclectic work, where each track explores a different facet of the rapper, often brilliantly.
AESOP ROCK – Black Hole Superette
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AESOP ROCK – Black Hole Superette

Although Aesop Rock writes cryptic lyrics full of complex words and delivers them over science-fiction-sounding beats, his rap is very down-to-earth. It reflects on an ordinary life, on the existence of someone who goes to the supermarket, enjoys gardening and worries about his dog. But once again, nearly thirty years after his debut, Aes excels at making the ordinary extraordinary.
MAC CRITTER – Back Door Music
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MAC CRITTER – Back Door Music

Mac Critter, the Memphis rapper, has been signed to the New 1017. However, he has since left the label, and he doesn’t really resemble a disciple of Gucci Mane. His trap music is more serious and more haunted than the master’s. His dragging, pained rap is more threatening than humorous. He is modern, and very much in tune with the times. And sometimes, too, he is striking.
LEFTY GUNPLAY & JASONMARTIN – Can’t Get Right
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LEFTY GUNPLAY & JASONMARTIN – Can’t Get Right

2025 is Lefty Gunplay’s moment. Recently released from prison and benefiting from the huge exposure brought by his appearance on Kendrick’s "GNX" album, he releases his highest-profile project yet, in collaboration with JasonMartin. In the end, though, it amounts mostly to routine West Coast rap — but a few gems suggest that the Baldwin Park rapper could do much better.
ABGR LIL CORY – Act Broke Get Rich
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ABGR LIL CORY – Act Broke Get Rich

Still unknown a year earlier, ABGR Lil Cory - the rapper from Hattiesburg, Mississippi - releases his debut album, following the success of the single “Old School.” And with this exhilarating release, with its naïve and infectious melodies about money, jewelry, and his hard grind in the kitchen, it brings an entire era rushing back to us: the blessed days of Gucci Mane’s late-2000s run.
FLAGBOY GIZ – I Got Indian In My Family
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FLAGBOY GIZ – I Got Indian In My Family

Flagboy Giz is a member of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a group that has been enlivening New Orleans carnivals for decades while dressed in Native American regalia. Fifty years after his band worked with The Meters and the Neville Brothers, he delivers this Mardi Gras-flavored rap album. In doing so, he highlights the continuity of Louisiana music across genres and generations.
GHAIS GUEVARA – Goyard Ibn Said
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GHAIS GUEVARA – Goyard Ibn Said

Signed to Fat Possum and heard during Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance, Ghais Guevara is enjoying a major moment in 2025. But the Philadelphia native remains what he's been since "BlackBolshevik", his breakout release : a committed, politically engaged rapper. His latest album is a critique of rap-as-spectacle, even if, and thankfully so, Ghais Guevara also takes part in it.
ATMOSPHERE – You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having
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ATMOSPHERE – You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having

While Slug talks about his romantic troubles, opens up about his attachment to his family, his distrust of big business, and the everyday realities of life as an artist, Ant outdoes himself on production. Atmosphere did not become one of indie rap’s most iconic groups for nothing: they have released other outstanding albums. But this one may well be their most accomplished.
50 CENT – Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
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50 CENT – Get Rich Or Die Tryin’

"Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" is one of the greatest successes in the history of rap, and of course, a milestone in the evolution of this music. With 50 Cent’s triumph, the gangsta register asserts itself ever more firmly as the heart of hip-hop, and blockbusters break free from regional formulas, drawing on whatever works best. Here, we truly enter the rap of the new century.
BEANIE SIGEL – The B. Coming
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BEANIE SIGEL – The B. Coming

This third album is often regarded as Beanie Sigel’s masterpiece. On this blockbuster from Roc-A-Fella’s glory years, released while he was behind bars, the Philadelphia rapper - caught up by the criminal life he had been living - draws on the fury of a street hustler, the pride of a man who made it out, and the melancholy of a bad boy unable to escape the pull of the ghetto.
ALL STAR – Starlito’s Way 2
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ALL STAR – Starlito’s Way 2

After rubbing shoulders with the biggest names - Lil Wayne first and foremost - All Star changes course. Like the protagonist of "Carlito’s Way", a gangster trying to leave the life behind, he abandons flashy rap. On this double album, the Nashville rapper turns to resentment, abandonment, and bitterness. He becomes Starlito, one of the most respected rappers of the years to come.