2018 Year End Lists Chapter 2: Artists Of The Year
Everyone comes from somewhere new when the timer ticks from December 31st to January 1st and what they do in the next 365 days can change their image permanently.
This list is where we highlight the artists that have set a new standard for the music industry not only with their releases but their personas and public image.
Honorable Mentions:
Ty Dolla $ign
This year Ty Dolla $ign only released one real studio album, his collaboration with Jeremih Mihty. But in the background he was one of the best feature artist of the year, if an album was important you can imagine Ty provided some vocals whether credited or uncredited. Hopefully his status can help him going forward to create a fantastic solo studio album.
Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts had themselves a time in 2018. Moving from an underground garage rock success to mainstream appeal with the help of a new producer in Dangermouse. They walked a a fantastic balance between pleasing long time fans and making new ones.
Ski Mask The Slump God
Dropping his true debut studio album Stokeley towards the end of the year as well as the Beware The Book Of Eli mixtape, put Ski Mask on the map even more than he was last year, and while neither were undisputed hits they did help him build up a very dedicated fanbase.
Earl Sweatshirt
Earl escaped most of the year with little buzz around his name before erupting in November and the rest of the year on it was pretty much the Earl show. His fantastic 3rd studio album Some Rap Songs returned him to the map of many hip hop fans and became one of the most celebrated releases all year.
Joji
In 2018 Joji made the tough transition from internet meme rapper to full on R&B superstar. Giving up monikers Filthy Frank and Pink Guy was a big step is assimilating successfully and with it all culminating in Joji's debut album Ballads 1 it was a complete success.
10. Pusha T
King Push is far from a tabloid hound, especially earlier in his career making gritty hip hop as one half of Clipse. But surprisingly Pusha T found himself in the medie twice in 2018, once by dominating so many year end lists with his fantastic album Daytona, and a second time when his beef with Drake boiled over into the populous with the unbelievably ruthless diss track The Story Of Adidon. Not only did Push drop one of the most essential pieces of rap all year but he also put one of its most popular but often maligned figures in his place, hard to argue a way to be any more successful than that.
9. JPEGMAFIA
Peggy where you been at? This question may have been one asked by some in the experimental hip hop community back in 2017 but its more than safe to say Peggy made 2018 his year. Dropping his breakout project the excellent Veteran he established himself as a voice of experimental hip hop with unique production and spectacular delivery. Peggy has a sound that is entirely his own and with how saturated the musical landscape is these days that in itself is an accomplishment, not to mention the fact that his sound is fantastic. His music may be too jagged and obtuse to ever see real mainstream success but Peggy doesn't seem to worried about that as his tracks have soundtracked the world of underground rap this year.
8. Lil Wayne
Lil Waye felt far more in the spotlight in 2018 than he has in years before, not only because he finally won the release of his long awaited album The Carter V but also because that album was his best in years and found chart success itself as well as with numerous songs within its tracklist. It felt like Wayne once again stepped back into the limelight he had enjoyed in the late 2000's and was doing it not only with music that was not only as good and contemporary as ever, but a fantastic attitude and presence among all of the popular artists he heavily inspired.
7. Juice WRLD
Juice WRLD went from the massive pool of moderately well known SoundCloud rappers to an international superstar on the back of his huge hit Lucid Dreams. That alone is a fantastic metric for success but its the way Juice did it that makes it seem so likely he has just started a run that will last for years to come. Capitalizing on young people and the streaming era of music the opening lyrics to Lucid Dreams has become meme gold in 2018 which only helped spread the song, and his appeal to young people is one that will likely be undying for a long time. After dropping a collab tape with veteran Future its safe to say Juice WRLD is an industry mainstay for at least a few years to come.
6. The 1975
The 1975 won the big con in 2018. Never did it feel like they were on top of the world, but they also never left the back of our minds. Singles Give Yourself A Try, Love It If We Made It, TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME, Sincerity Is Scary and It's Not Living (If Its Not With You) were all among the most talked about tracks all year. The album they all fell on A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships maintained the long standing commercial success the band has always had, while adding on a new layer of critical acclaim as many major music publications deemed it a huge success. It wasn't the biggest year ever for The 1975 but they did prove once again that as long as they're around they can't be ignored.
5. Travis Scott
2018 saw the drop of the long awaited Astroworld and the albums complete success across all fields. Not only was Travis one of the most popular artists of 2018, but also one of the most critically acclaimed as multilayered songs with unique passages like Coffee Bean, Stop Trying To Be God and Wake Up pleased critics across the board. Couple this up with a massive tour in support of the album and Travis continuing to be one of the most fiery and exciting live acts to see in the rap game, it would be hard to imagine him having a better year than this. P.S. if you missed his non-album single Watch do yourself a favor and check it out.
4. Robyn
It's very hard to come back from an 8 year absence of solo material in almost any genre and maintain your relevance besides some derived and specific indie genres. In spite of this Robyn has returned to her veteran pop status almost overnight after announcing her newest studio album Honey. Only adding to it with fantastic singles Missing U and Honey. Robyn was met with open arms from long standing fans and a new generation of listeners, all of this on top of amassing a ton of critical acclaim for her works. Its hard to argue that almost anyone in the pop world has more successfully returned to the spotlight in recent years, in a game that changes constantly and leaves so many names behind Robyn has proven that her veteran presence is unstoppable.
3. Saba
Saba has a lot in common with many of conscious hip hops legends, his troubled history in the ghetto makes him yet another hero of rap music but in 2018 he set himself apart from his contemporaries. Saba dropped by far his best project yet and some of the best songs all year. Care For Me was dedicated to Saba's late cousin and close friend John Walt who was stabbed to death in Chicago last year, a story he goes into detail on in PROM/KING. Not only is his candid realism effective but it spelled out the equation for an entire fantastic album that proves to be far from one sided both in sonic palette and themes. Then later in the year Saba dropped a number of less serious and much harder singles that proved to be some dark horse late year bangers that went even further to solidify a career establishing year for the rapper. It's impossible to pick out another rapper who has put themselves in a better place in 2018 than Saba.
2. Sophie
In hindsight it should have been very clear SOPHIE had a career year coming the moment anyone saw the music video for one of the best singles of 2017, It's Okay To Cry. SOPHIE was no longer a faceless zany pop producer and the next step with following 2018 singles Faceshopping and Ponyboy established her as a force in electronic music for both her creativity and her powerful personality. Ponyboy specifically gets a music video to accompany it that shows a sexy and unrelenting side of SOPHIE in stark contrast to the passionate and emotional side of It's Okay To Cry. Ultimately after dropping her debut studio album she impressed everybody that heard her music with not only a huge variety of forward thinking and engaging compositions but also a standout feminine personality in a genre all too often dominated by masked producers and a historical boys club.
1. Ariana Grande
The more you think about this one the more obvious it became that nobody had a better year than Ari. She had to deal with the Manchester bombing, a tabloid frenzy over her shortlived relationship with Pete Davidson and the tragic overdose of her recent ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. All this makes it so much more impressive that she dropped the best album of her career and dropped single after fantastic single all year. No Tears Left To Cry announced that the bombing hadn't phased her and after taking the necessary time off she was ready to return, better than ever with career defining music. The Light Is Coming became a contemporary and adult anthem that broadened her horizons and captured a new league of fans. God Is A Woman grabbed the worlds attention with a provocative message and an impossible to forget hook and finally Thank U, Next led her to her first ever #1 single and one that was deserved and well overdue. And that is glossing over songs like Breathin, Blazed, and Sweetener. It's clear Ari was unstoppable this year and you'd be hard pressed to find somebody that hasn't in some way followed her drama or heard her music. She ascended from pop star to undeniably superstar in 2018 and there was no other artist nearly on her level.
Thanks for reading!
Check out where all of these artists songs and album rank in out upcoming lists later this week!
This list is where we highlight the artists that have set a new standard for the music industry not only with their releases but their personas and public image.
Honorable Mentions:
Ty Dolla $ign
This year Ty Dolla $ign only released one real studio album, his collaboration with Jeremih Mihty. But in the background he was one of the best feature artist of the year, if an album was important you can imagine Ty provided some vocals whether credited or uncredited. Hopefully his status can help him going forward to create a fantastic solo studio album.
Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts had themselves a time in 2018. Moving from an underground garage rock success to mainstream appeal with the help of a new producer in Dangermouse. They walked a a fantastic balance between pleasing long time fans and making new ones.
Ski Mask The Slump God
Dropping his true debut studio album Stokeley towards the end of the year as well as the Beware The Book Of Eli mixtape, put Ski Mask on the map even more than he was last year, and while neither were undisputed hits they did help him build up a very dedicated fanbase.
Earl Sweatshirt
Earl escaped most of the year with little buzz around his name before erupting in November and the rest of the year on it was pretty much the Earl show. His fantastic 3rd studio album Some Rap Songs returned him to the map of many hip hop fans and became one of the most celebrated releases all year.
Joji
In 2018 Joji made the tough transition from internet meme rapper to full on R&B superstar. Giving up monikers Filthy Frank and Pink Guy was a big step is assimilating successfully and with it all culminating in Joji's debut album Ballads 1 it was a complete success.
King Push is far from a tabloid hound, especially earlier in his career making gritty hip hop as one half of Clipse. But surprisingly Pusha T found himself in the medie twice in 2018, once by dominating so many year end lists with his fantastic album Daytona, and a second time when his beef with Drake boiled over into the populous with the unbelievably ruthless diss track The Story Of Adidon. Not only did Push drop one of the most essential pieces of rap all year but he also put one of its most popular but often maligned figures in his place, hard to argue a way to be any more successful than that.
Peggy where you been at? This question may have been one asked by some in the experimental hip hop community back in 2017 but its more than safe to say Peggy made 2018 his year. Dropping his breakout project the excellent Veteran he established himself as a voice of experimental hip hop with unique production and spectacular delivery. Peggy has a sound that is entirely his own and with how saturated the musical landscape is these days that in itself is an accomplishment, not to mention the fact that his sound is fantastic. His music may be too jagged and obtuse to ever see real mainstream success but Peggy doesn't seem to worried about that as his tracks have soundtracked the world of underground rap this year.
Lil Waye felt far more in the spotlight in 2018 than he has in years before, not only because he finally won the release of his long awaited album The Carter V but also because that album was his best in years and found chart success itself as well as with numerous songs within its tracklist. It felt like Wayne once again stepped back into the limelight he had enjoyed in the late 2000's and was doing it not only with music that was not only as good and contemporary as ever, but a fantastic attitude and presence among all of the popular artists he heavily inspired.
Juice WRLD went from the massive pool of moderately well known SoundCloud rappers to an international superstar on the back of his huge hit Lucid Dreams. That alone is a fantastic metric for success but its the way Juice did it that makes it seem so likely he has just started a run that will last for years to come. Capitalizing on young people and the streaming era of music the opening lyrics to Lucid Dreams has become meme gold in 2018 which only helped spread the song, and his appeal to young people is one that will likely be undying for a long time. After dropping a collab tape with veteran Future its safe to say Juice WRLD is an industry mainstay for at least a few years to come.
The 1975 won the big con in 2018. Never did it feel like they were on top of the world, but they also never left the back of our minds. Singles Give Yourself A Try, Love It If We Made It, TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME, Sincerity Is Scary and It's Not Living (If Its Not With You) were all among the most talked about tracks all year. The album they all fell on A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships maintained the long standing commercial success the band has always had, while adding on a new layer of critical acclaim as many major music publications deemed it a huge success. It wasn't the biggest year ever for The 1975 but they did prove once again that as long as they're around they can't be ignored.
5. Travis Scott
2018 saw the drop of the long awaited Astroworld and the albums complete success across all fields. Not only was Travis one of the most popular artists of 2018, but also one of the most critically acclaimed as multilayered songs with unique passages like Coffee Bean, Stop Trying To Be God and Wake Up pleased critics across the board. Couple this up with a massive tour in support of the album and Travis continuing to be one of the most fiery and exciting live acts to see in the rap game, it would be hard to imagine him having a better year than this. P.S. if you missed his non-album single Watch do yourself a favor and check it out.
It's very hard to come back from an 8 year absence of solo material in almost any genre and maintain your relevance besides some derived and specific indie genres. In spite of this Robyn has returned to her veteran pop status almost overnight after announcing her newest studio album Honey. Only adding to it with fantastic singles Missing U and Honey. Robyn was met with open arms from long standing fans and a new generation of listeners, all of this on top of amassing a ton of critical acclaim for her works. Its hard to argue that almost anyone in the pop world has more successfully returned to the spotlight in recent years, in a game that changes constantly and leaves so many names behind Robyn has proven that her veteran presence is unstoppable.
Saba has a lot in common with many of conscious hip hops legends, his troubled history in the ghetto makes him yet another hero of rap music but in 2018 he set himself apart from his contemporaries. Saba dropped by far his best project yet and some of the best songs all year. Care For Me was dedicated to Saba's late cousin and close friend John Walt who was stabbed to death in Chicago last year, a story he goes into detail on in PROM/KING. Not only is his candid realism effective but it spelled out the equation for an entire fantastic album that proves to be far from one sided both in sonic palette and themes. Then later in the year Saba dropped a number of less serious and much harder singles that proved to be some dark horse late year bangers that went even further to solidify a career establishing year for the rapper. It's impossible to pick out another rapper who has put themselves in a better place in 2018 than Saba.
In hindsight it should have been very clear SOPHIE had a career year coming the moment anyone saw the music video for one of the best singles of 2017, It's Okay To Cry. SOPHIE was no longer a faceless zany pop producer and the next step with following 2018 singles Faceshopping and Ponyboy established her as a force in electronic music for both her creativity and her powerful personality. Ponyboy specifically gets a music video to accompany it that shows a sexy and unrelenting side of SOPHIE in stark contrast to the passionate and emotional side of It's Okay To Cry. Ultimately after dropping her debut studio album she impressed everybody that heard her music with not only a huge variety of forward thinking and engaging compositions but also a standout feminine personality in a genre all too often dominated by masked producers and a historical boys club.
The more you think about this one the more obvious it became that nobody had a better year than Ari. She had to deal with the Manchester bombing, a tabloid frenzy over her shortlived relationship with Pete Davidson and the tragic overdose of her recent ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. All this makes it so much more impressive that she dropped the best album of her career and dropped single after fantastic single all year. No Tears Left To Cry announced that the bombing hadn't phased her and after taking the necessary time off she was ready to return, better than ever with career defining music. The Light Is Coming became a contemporary and adult anthem that broadened her horizons and captured a new league of fans. God Is A Woman grabbed the worlds attention with a provocative message and an impossible to forget hook and finally Thank U, Next led her to her first ever #1 single and one that was deserved and well overdue. And that is glossing over songs like Breathin, Blazed, and Sweetener. It's clear Ari was unstoppable this year and you'd be hard pressed to find somebody that hasn't in some way followed her drama or heard her music. She ascended from pop star to undeniably superstar in 2018 and there was no other artist nearly on her level.
Thanks for reading!
Check out where all of these artists songs and album rank in out upcoming lists later this week!
