3 Rappers Who Ran 2020
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Aight so 2020 was a CRAZY year! While this word is used very loosely in common conversation, unprecedented is a great word for the time. If you know me, then you know music is one way I escape what’s going on in the world. It’s a nice reprieve from the unexpected, bizarre year that was 2020 (biggest understatement of 2020? Possibly). So, the question becomes who did you listen to in 2020? Who blessed those eardrums and helped you cope? Helped you have a good time? Helped you simply vibe out?
For me, there were three rappers who killed 2020. Surprisingly, I was introduced to all three of them in 2020:
Larry June
Freddie Gibbs
Benny the Butcher
Now, of course I’d heard of them before, but just didn’t give them much of a listen prior to 2020. But once I did, they quickly became a part of my rotation. For Big June and Freddie, I kept hearing them on one of the homies’ playlists and after hearing a bunch of songs, I finally had to ask, “Yo, who is this?”
Larry June instantly stood out to me. Smooth beats to cruise and vibe out to, while also preaching game about staying healthy, eating proper foods (my dude has his own Orange Juice) and positive self-talk, “Good job, Larry!”. Not too many rappers do it like that. He’s extremely motivational, but isn’t too preachy, and he’s consistent. He dropped five projects (all dope, by the way) in 2020 alone and each one SLAPPED. Trust me, Larry on the speaker while riding your bike on a great summer day? Yeehee! (Links to Big June below)
Mentioned previously, Freddie Gibbs was another artist I heard via others’ playlists. His songs would come up every once in a while and I’d always think, “This dude flowing on this,” so I finally gave him a shot. That shot came when he dropped Alfredo with his long-time producer, the Alchemist. From the first song (1985), I knew I’d like the project. 1985 set a great tone for the album and he slid on the entire project. He only had a few collaborators in: Rick Ross, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine and Tyler, The Creator. All of them killed their verses. If you want a great intro to Freddie Gibbs, Alfredo is it! (Links to Freddie below)
Benny the Butcher was someone that I spontaneously came across, but didn’t realize I’d heard so many times before. When I saw his album Burden of Proof drop, I was intrigued by the title and artwork. I don’t know why, but I have certain feelings that come about for different albums, and it happened for this one. It wasn’t till I listened that I realized he had been featured on a lot of my favorite artists’ songs before, Freddie Gibbs being one of them. (Links to the Butcher below)
The commonality of all three of them is that they remind me of an old school era of hip-hop. There’s no mumble rapping with them, which is a nice change of pace from the modern era of rappers. If you’re looking for some new rappers to rock with, give any of these artists a chance and stay tuned for upcoming projects in 2021. Let me know below in the comments what you think of them after you give them a listen and your favorite rappers of 2020.
