Top five rap albums of 2013

1. Magna Carta holy grail by Jay-z
The album had a 90s like theme. The tone of his voice, and the beats separate him from other artists. His ability to consistently produce music that appeals to the general population and songs that have a deeper meaning for true music lovers is a trait that very few other hip hop artists posses.  This quality really shines through in this album, with themes ranging from how lovely his wife is to his worries of raising his baby daughter in the current society.  His experience in making music shows in this album, specifically in the beats and melodies. Though very complex, he manages to make them very reminiscent of the 90s era rap.  Overall, this album is the best hip hop album of the year because of its combination of lyrical value, playability, and overall production.

2. NTWS by Drake
This album is easily the best produced album of the year and the most playable album of the year. Unlike Drake's previous albums, NTWS appealed to a much larger audience; like Jay-Z's album, NTWS had some songs that are just fun to listen to, and some songs that have a powerful meaning behind them, even if it is just Drake whining about his ex girlfriend. The reason the album is so good, however, is not due to it's diverse audience. Rather, it is due to the amount of attention to detail in the production of the album, and the way the album flows overall.  The beats and melodies of NWTS are two levels above any other hip hop album this year.  Many songs completely switch the beat in the middle of the song, yet the song still manages to flow together perfectly.  Speaking of flow, this album flows the topics and melodies of the individual songs together so well that at some points, you may not be able to tell if the song has changed (given you are listening to the album in order).  If the album had more lyrical value, Drake would have given Jay-Z a bigger run for his money.

3. Born Sinner by J. Cole
His first big release, Born Sinner really put J. Cole on many people's radar if he wasn't before. The playability of the album was on par with Magna Carta, but the lyrical value didn't quite reach the same level. Also, even though the lyrical value of Born Sinner was much greater than that of NWTS, the level of production of NWTS was much higher than Born Sinner.  Born Sinmer was such a good album, in my opinion, because of the way it was produced.  The producer clearly had in mind J. Cole's voice.  Although I am sure every producer keeps on mind the artists' voices, Born Sinner's producer got it spot on. J. Cole's voice flows very well with the music, making this a very playable album.

4. Good Kid Maad City by Kendrick Lamar
Although it may seem extremely "mainstream" to put this album below Jay-z's and Drake's, I believe it truly deserves this spot. Though the similes and metaphors and hidden meanings in the lyrics are extremely clever, many times Kendrick is just rapping about subjects that are the furthest thing from clever: how rich he is, how good he is at rapping, being the king of a certain city, etc.  Also, only a few songs in this album have playback value. That is, a person can listen to the whole album through and enjoy it, but there are only a few songs that someone can play over and over again and still enjoy.  The creative lyrics really saved this album from being one of the worst of the year, down there with Lil Wayne's. The production of the album gave me the impression that Kendrick wants to revolutionalize "the game" so much that he forgets to make music that people want to listen to more than a few times.

5. Yeezus by Kanye West
Either Kanye's best album or his worst album, Yeezus attempted to take Kanye West in a completely new direction. With mainly electronic beats, Kanye is taking his music forward. Whether that is a good thing or not, it is too early to tell. The fact that Yeezus is so low in the list is due to this reason. To change such a prominent artist who has been rapping for a long time, Yeezus had to be very different and controversial.  If this proves to be a change for the better in Kanye's career, Yeezus will be remembered as the album that changed rap in the modern era. Because Kanye is such an established artist, his influence will be felt throughout the entire music industry, and will hopefully change it for the better.