Hip-hop enthusiasts have been arguing over Brian “B.Dot” Miller’s end-of-year wrap-up lists for the past two days. The lists have covered a wide range of topics, from the best features to the best rap album to the top ten rappers of the year, with J. Cole leading the pack.
On Friday, December 29, a disagreement was started by the co-host of the “Rap Radar Podcast,” who ranked emcees based on their performance, presence, and knowledge. The list is arranged as follows:
Cole, J.
Lil Wayne
Latto
Benny the Butcher
Murderer Mike
Gucci Mane
21 Savage
Conway The Robot
June Larry
Nas
In the lineup’s Instagram caption, Miller wrote, “In the year of our Lord 2023, J. Cole is the best rapper in the solar system— and it’s not even close.” Nas was the last person on the list to get criticism, with one user writing, “[Laughing my a** off].” When he is ten years old, a man who runs the Hip Hop 50 (HH50) is discovered. He releases [two] albums in 30 days. Cole is aware of the quirks of 2024, but, to be honest, in that year, nobody was doing better than Nas.
Another debated whether or not Miller erred in omitting Black Thought, the Roots’ front man. “Black Thought must be present there. He released a top-3 album, Glorious Game, and gave an incredible “Grammy Love Letter” to Hip Hop performance, the statement said.
The top three rap albums of the year, For Motivational Use Vo. 1 by CurrenSy & Jermaine Dupri, Michael by Killer Mike, and The Great Escape by Larry June & The Alchemist, all feature debates. In a previous REVOLT review, Killer Mike called his most recent album the record of the year. “It’s beyond amazing,” said the confident Atlantan songwriter. Rap has always pushed the boundaries of masculinity, but this song goes even further.
J. Cole was conspicuously missing from the charts after the release of his most recent album, The Off-Season, in 2021. But because to his line on Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” he made a comeback on the list of the Best Features of 2023. The founder of Dreamville Records and Drizzy were to go on a short tour with each other in 2024 as part of the “It’s All A Blur – Big As The What?” tour, it was announced in November.