Written by: Oliver Heffron

2022 was a good year for lyrical rap music. While the trends and styles that have emerged in the recent past are still prevalent, there's been a noticeable resurgence and need for artists who can tell a good story. Two years into the Covid pandemic, there is a greater demand for less flexing and more confessing. That reflects the lyrical shifts in many of rap's most talented artists. Here are ten hip-hop projects from 2022 that were so well written they deserve a space on the time capsule and brilliant lyricism, compelling narratives, and personal charisma. 

Benny the Butcher – Tana Talk 4

Buffalo native Benny the Butcher returns to his gritty Griselda roots on Tana Talk 4. The latest installment in the fan-favorite series delivers a dazzling lyrical display with perfect execution on a project that compresses the best of his style into an efficient 40 minutes. 

Benny the Butcher commands the mic with surgical precision and cinematic storytelling, only giving it up for a well-placed feature. He goes bar-for-bar with contemporary lyricists like J. Cole, Boldly James, and labelmate Conway the Machine but shines brightest on his incredible ode to Biggie's iconic "10 Crack Commandments." 

Highlights include: "10 More Crack Commandments" (feat. Diddy), "Johnny P's Caddy" (with J. Cole)," "Weekends in the Perry's" (feat. Boldy James), and "Tyson vs. Ali" (feat. Conway the Machine).

Lupe Fiasco – DRILL MUSIC IN ZION

Veteran Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco releases his best album in years with his moving testament to his hometown, DRILL MUSIC IN ZION. Lupe shares his perspective on his city, past pitfalls in the music industry, and philosophical meanderings about how he perceives everything without sounding overly intellectual, condescending, or judgemental.  

Entirely recorded over three days, the album flows like one stream of consciousness as Lupe delivers poetic insights and perspective into the dynamics of life in all scales, from the ideological levers controlling society to the social contracts existing inside a corner store. The verses are sincere and bittersweet as Lupe describes the plight of creating art within the current marketplace or his yearning to ascribe drill music's inspiration to a manufactured fantasy when he knows it's a lived reality. 

Highlights include: "GHOTI," "KIOSK," "DRILL MUSIC IN ZION," and "ON FAUX NEM." 

Billy Woods – Aethiopes 

On his latest album, Aethiopes, New York native and abstract hip-hop pioneer Billy Woods paints a layered depiction of contemporary and historical racial oppression through its layers of metaphors and visceral descriptions. Double meanings, colonial name drops, and haunting visual allegories make Aethiopes grow more impressive with each listen. However, it is enjoyable from the first from Woods' pure rhyming skills and knack for storytelling alone. 

From Aethiopes' tile invoking an archaic term for African to using the Rembrandt painting Two Moors for the cover art to titling the track "Haarlem," the name of the original Dutch colony that became New York City, to the brutal depiction of shipwreck and colonial cannibalism on "Wharves," Billy Woods creates a deeply textured commentary on how the Black Diaspora and how its repressed history influences its current oppression.  

Highlights include: "Asylum," "Wharves," "Heavy Water" (feat. EL-P & Breeze Brewin), and "Versailles" (feat. Despot).

Glorilla – Anyways, Life's Great… 

Breakout Memphis MC Glorilla makes blowing up feeling infectiously fun on her debut Anyway, Life's Great…, a project that showcases her gift for breathing exuberant energy onto the beat with her incredible, distinct flow. It's a project that brings back a core tenet of the genre that's becoming less focal as hip-hop becomes more popular and genreless: entertaining lyrical charisma, competitive spirit, and having a great time expressing yourself with your friends. 

While trunk-shaking southern trap instrumentals are not anything new, the way Glorilla attacks each track with the carefree ferocity of a high-school cipher reminds us why the genre is exciting. She holds the commanding presence and confident charisma of a veteran rap star out the gate, and her debut proves she has the talent to become one of the best in the game. 

Highlights include: "PHATNALL," "Unh Unh," "Nut Quick," and "Tomorrow 2" (with Cardi B). 

Conway the Machine – God Don't Make Mistakes

Another Griselda addition, God Don't Make Mistakes sees Conway the Machine at his lyrical peak, sharing insight into the trials and tribulations of his come-up in his most vulnerable and compelling effort to date. Having been years in the making, the album unpacks critical aspects of the Buffalo MC's backstory, and he approaches each verse as an opportunity to get something off his chest. 

As the underground, boom-bap revival he's been holding down becomes more accepted in the mainstream, Conway the Machine's second album culminates and reflects on his journey from an unknown underdog to an acclaimed veteran in a triumphant retrospective. Featuring quality guest verses from longtime collaborators and living rap legends, God Don't Make Mistakes doesn't waste a moment over its 12 tracks. 

Highlights include: "Lock Load" (with Beanie Sigel), "Tear Gas" (with Rick Ross & Lil Wayne), "Piano Love," and "John Woo Flick" (with Benny the Butcher & Westside Gunn).

Megan Thee Stallion – Traumazine

On her second LP, Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion takes control of her narrative, unleashing a lyrical barrage of self-expression and cultural commentary on the difficult position of female rap stars. While maintaining her distinct battle rap approach, Traumazine sees the Houston rap star pull back the curtain and reveal her internal struggles as a public target for mass misogyny while incorporating more political discourse than her previous projects. 

Amid unjust, toxic public scrutiny unique to today's media landscape, Megan Thee Stallion's Traumazine is an impressive and empowering example of how to retaliate. She never stoops to the level of clickbait energy but instead finds power in the narrative that's true to herself, no matter how it lands. 

Highlights include: "NDA," "Ungrateful" (feat. Key Glock), "Anxiety," and "Plan B." 

Earl Sweatshirt – SICK!

Los Angeles native and alternative hip-hop icon Earl Sweatshirt offers his most direct work with SICK!, an abstract distillation of psychological frustration and creative drive that manifests in surreal lyrical tapestries. While his past projects lurked in psychological shadowlands, SICK! mixes those feelings with the euphoric experimentation of Some Rap Songs and a newfound urgency and peace, translating the restlessness of the time into his tenacious delivery that sounds more self-assured than ever. 

Over beats displaying his knack for experimental beat selection, Sweatshirt shows off his technical mastery and talent for finding a seamless pocket in the most difficult of instrumentals. With only 24 minutes spread across 10 tracks, each line lands with the care and purpose of a poet's lyrical economy as Earl efficiently builds an esoteric expression of his struggles during the covid lockdown and the empowering experience of becoming a father. 

Highlights include: "Old Friend," "Tabula Rasa" (feat. Armand Hammer), "Lye," and "Titanic."

Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future

Influential Florida native Denzel Curry turns his super Saiyan lyrical abilities inwards on Melt My Eyez See Your Future, producing an introspective exploration of consciousness that finds inner peace by flushing out external chaos. Curry's inward gaze is unyielding as he confronts the abuse he's received and given, describing his past victimization and struggle to overcome toxic tendencies and influences.

The project dives into intense topics with compelling emotional clarity as he describes his struggles, such as living for external validation, treating women misogynistic all, feeling pressured towards violence, and finding spirituality within a chaotic headspace.  Melt My Eyez See Your Future marks a new step in Denzel Curry's career. He trades in the comic book personas and extreme delivery for a personal reflection of Raven Miyagi's humanity. By giving up the pursuit of cloud rap perfection, Curry's new album forges a new path by bravely revealing his personhood and bringing mindful peace to the beat. 

Highlights include: "Walkin," "Mental" (feat. Saul Williams & Bridget Perez), "X-Wing," and "Melt Session #1" (feat. Robert Glasper).

Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers

Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers culminates Kendrick Lamar's historic TDE album run with an unflinching self-portrait that emphasizes confrontation, contemplation, and forgiveness as paths to liberation within the broader context of generational trauma and racial oppression. With the hip-hop world putting all their hopes on the Compton native from the moment his debut album dropped, Kendrick's new album puts down the crown to reveal the profoundly flawed person underneath. 

The intricately linked double album contemplates the product and causes of destructive vices and addictions with the intimate tone of a therapy session. It balances both dizzying displays of technical lyrical brilliance and the power of the spoken word. Kendrick opens himself up to criticism by being more vulnerable about his shortcomings and flaws than ever. 

Highlights include: "United in Grief," "Father Time" (feat. Sampha), "Rich Spirit," and "Savior." 

JID – The Forever Story

JID's long-awaited third album, The Forever Story, outperforms its lofty expectations as the Atlanta MC wields his natural gift for rapping to tell his own origin story. Layered with images of familial perseverance, societal despair, and fleeting glimmers of hope, JID takes the listener by the hand and guides him through his upbringing in Atlanta with a technical talent that can only be claimed by a handful.

Through impactful imagery and engaging storytelling, JID characterizes the world that molded him as unforgiving, threatening, and strange while acknowledging the critical figures who taught him how to survive with his sanity intact. While the blistering flows and witty punchlines grab the ear on the first listen, what makes The Forever Story special is JID's ability to build a world through storytelling. Within that world, the Dreamville star contemplates his past while also expressing his personal growth while displaying his technical mastery and knack for cinematic storytelling. 

Highlights include: "Dance Now" (with Kenny Mason), "Crack Sandwich," "Cody Blue 31," and "Better Days" (feat. Johntá Austin).