Isaiah Rashad takes time to express the relatable faults he finds in himself in The Sun’s Tirade. Even though he always “felt like the man,” talks about his push to the top and not allowing people or trials to hold him back. While he shows humility throughout the project, he unapologetically remains confident in the man he is and wants to be.

To say In My Mind is slept on is an understatement. The creative use of actual live instruments is very missed in today’s music, but BJ masters his talents perfectly to complement them. With a line up of features for tracks like “Church” featuring Chance the Rapper and “The New Cupid” featuring Kendrick Lamar, there’s no way you can go through 2017 without giving “In My Mind” a listen.

While Bucket List Project earned “Album of the Week” by Stereogum, the mixtape was very much overlooked, overall. Saba’s poetic style of rhyming makes him stand up amongst the rest of mainstream artists we have now. The Chicago rapper shares blissful optimism in making it to the top while taking listeners on a journey of love, pride, and realness.

Roc Nation’s Belly has a slowed-down rhythmic pace throughout Another Day In Paradise. Songs like “God Bless” shows off Belly’s hunger for the grind and thirst to keep his name relevant in the game. We also can’t ignore the bars he put in with Travis $cott in “Money Go” while he rapped about the people and things that come and go, but loyalty for his team that will always remain.

Mac Miller reminded us of what we’ve been missing his slept on project, The Divine Feminine. His playful use of different sounds and rhythms helped Mac celebrate love and the magnificent things that can happen when it’s shared between the right mates. The rapper captured his vulnerable side with “Cinderella” with Ty Dolla $ign and “My Favorite Part” with Arianna Grande, all the while still keeping his cool edge.