The first month of 2025 brought with it several powerhouse releases for rap. In the mainstream, there was the hauntingly brilliant Mac Miller album Balloonerism, and in abstract and conscious rap, a few big(ish) names showed up with some of their best projects to date. Notably, MIKE’s psychedelically resonant Showbiz!, Ghais Guevara’s densely conceptual Goyard Ibn Said, and Pink Siifu’s industrial odyssey Black'!Antique (a wildly invigorating record that has me thinking society’s progressed way past the need for JPEGMAFIA) were releases to celebrate.
But behind it all is the underground: online and regional mini–movements with murky genre boundaries, new entrants every other day, and hit–or–miss tracks that sound like nothing else out there. While it’s impossible to keep up with all of it, it’s easy to see how January was no exception to the genre’s commitment to innovation, hypnotism, and going hard as hell. These are my favorite albums, mixtapes, and EPs that dropped last month.
O by Izaya Tiji
O isn’t the most fleshed–out entry in Izaya Tiji’s discography, resembling more of a colossal Soundcloud–exclusive compilation, but its 37 tracks are as solid as anything the Slayworld old–timer’s ever touched. These beats aren’t just throwaways: They’re intricate, slinking, and liquidy (like the cover art). Plus, they’re made all the more compelling with Tiji’s signature quicksand vocals: a disorienting flowstate fading in and out of lucidity on a whim. It all makes for a genuinely spellbinding listen, often jolted by moments of striking beauty, like the neon–lit wallowing on “laundry” or the heart–shattering crooning on the Instupendo sample of “swae.” Yes, it’s 95 minutes long, but there’s something transcendent here.
So Wavy Luciano by Bloody!
Bloody! took me by surprise last year with his sick Tales From The Crypt tape, a take on dark plugg sampled straight from the sewers, upping the paranoia and claustrophobia to eleven. But So Wavy Luciano switches it up with an explicitly “feel–good” outing, backed by a heavy, underlying eeriness. It’s almost old–school, the beats simple and cavernous enough to be flooded in all of Bloody!’s stretchy meditations on drugs and sex (of which there’s a lot—this gets hilariously explicit). With addictive flows expanding into every crevice, brewing an amorphous mess of euphoria, nerves, and vulgarity, “So Wavy” is an apt–as–hell title. And so is that cover art—I’m starting to feel like Percy Jackson too.
SlimeGetEm–GetEm
SlimeGetEm’s been pretty much making the same song his entire career: a surgical quintupling–down on the freeform “DMV flow,” set to nasty, metallic beats that go toe–to–toe with the most fiery rage out there. But GetEm is his finest and most consistent work yet, featuring a feast of skull–shattering clangers cooked by DMV beatsmiths like Sjr, Yoyo, and Trapmoneybiggie, plus a few from the underground giant OK. Add this to a SlimeGetEm as hungry as ever, spitting brazen shit interposed every five seconds by a barrage of “BUHs,” and you get some of the most creative stuff I’ve heard in a minute.
HavinMotion–Romantic Trapper
A slightly lesser–known name from the DMV, HavinMotion raps in a laid–back slurry and glides over beats like they’re water. But unlike a couple contemporaries, he adds a uniquely DC twist to every vibe he hops on (and there’s a lot of them). Romantic Trapper presents some of the most uncleared samples you’ve ever heard, from Miguel slow jams to M.I.A. slappers, and has the album live up to its name, turning the endless ennui of crime bars into weirdly soulful and sensitive stuff—there’s even a dreamy sexy drill cut here that honestly has me hoping for a full pivot into the genre. Weirdly enough, it’s also the second album in the last year that samples both Alicia Keys and “Paper Planes”—and the formula hits just as hard this time.
Lil Shine–Shine Forever
Alongside two kinda lukewarm full–lengths by Edward Skeletrix, Shine Forever kicked the year off with blinding synths and sugary autotune, the preferred sonic language of pluggnb veteran Lil Shine. As per usual, it’s a total fantasy–land, the kind of soundtrack you’d hear on hyper–saturated Counter–Strike edits with silky–smooth tweening, overwhelmingly dense with bells and whistles. If you don’t let it submerge you, it might just be the most annoying stuff ever concocted. But when it clicks, there’s lean–drenched diamonds to be found—the highlight of which is this downright exultant "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" interpolation. It’s just so much fun.
OsamaSon–Jump Out
Probably the most well–known name on this list, OsamaSon’s been at the forefront of the Playboi Carti lineage for a while, and for good reason—his adoption of Carti’s neurotic vocal stylings has yielded a whole catalog of rockstar rage bangers. With Jump Out, the Charleston rapper’s back in full force, on a project jam–packed with slamming basslines, high–strung synths, and abrasive histrionics courtesy of OK. Paired with OsamaSon’s boyish shit–talking and crowing deliveries, we end up with a record so colorful it feels like a reinvention of rage entirely–boisterous, overflowing with personality, and fresh in every way.
Swords2–Wish
Swords2 was one of my favorite discoveries of 2024: one of a few rap experimentalists dedicated to paving connections with other genres. In his case, it’s everything emo—but I’m not talking about your average emo rap from the likes of Juice Wrld or Uzi. No, Swords2 is interested in something rawer: the essence of unfiltered midwest passion, dogshit mixing and all. This, alongside classic trap beats, definitely makes for a bit of an acquired taste, but Wish makes the clash feel natural—every tender moment is capitalized on in the best way possible. Even the most straightforward rap songs here feel intimate, but the highlight, “still love,” is a gorgeous proof–of–concept for the weight of fully–belted emo pluggnb.
ksuuvi–Hymns
If there’s one artist I can give the credit of “most consistent” to in the nebulous online space of “jerk rap,” it’s Bronx producer ksuuvi—he dropped two of the most mind–melting records last year with Not What It Seems and Not What It Seems Extended, both piously devoted to crunchy, wall–to–wall hypnosis. His newest EP Hymns (while not nearly as apocalyptic) sees a total switch–up into a New York drill flow that still maintains that steady air of crushing havoc. While it’s nothing too out there, the beats are distorted and the flows are manic—what more could you ask for?
smokedope2016–The Peak
smokedope2016 sounds exactly like his name implies—woozy atmospheres evocative of dated Instagram filters and getting crossed at house parties. His ultra–ethereal brand of cloud rap production acts as a bed for his booming voice to cut through like a faded deity, waxing poetic about girls, cars, and getting way too high all the time. Sure, it’s very clearly a formula at this point, but smokedope2016 sounds as lucid and passionate as ever on his sixth album The Peak, with new career heights in anthems like “Gnarly” and “In Da Party.” The sounds are lush, the vibes are up, and I can’t tell if I’m floating or drowning.
