Once again, 2018 was a monumental year for R&B and hip hop – its stars defining pop culture. There were blockbuster releases, Drake ruling Spotify with his double-album Scorpion (the song Don't Matter To Me broadcasting Michael Jackson's previously unheard vocals). Childish Gambino trended with his mega-hit This Is America – the musical hybridisation, socio-political commentary and choreographed video the stuff of a thousand think pieces. And Ariana Grande was fully embraced as an R&B princess.
The year had epic feuds. Nicki Minaj sparred with Cardi B – and railed about a "Nicki Hate Train". Pusha T bodied Drake, challenging his authenticity. He exposed the Canadian's secret child, Adonis, on The Story Of Adidon, before embroiling his GOOD Music boss, Kanye West. Azealia Banks, less troll than cultural disruptor, shaded supposed allies Grimes (and, humiliatingly, Elon Musk), Lana Del Rey, and West on her socials. (Besides, she recharged her career with the clubby Anna Wintour.)
Then 2018 had some controversial players – like Brooklyn's Tekashi 6ix9ine, who in 2015 pled guilty to using an underage girl in a sexual performance. The music media was conflicted about how to cover the legacy of the toxic Floridian emo-rapper XXXTENTACION. While facing appalling domestic violence charges, he blew up in the charts globally. But, in June, XXXTENTACION was fatally shot in a robbery. A polarising Ye dominated headlines with his support of President Trump and a troubling inference to TMZ that slavery was "a choice". And hip hop's guardians proclaimed the white post-rapper (and Crocs merchant) Post Malone to be the industry's rock bottom – a savage af Washington Post live review of his Posty Fest going viral.
This year saw spectacular comebacks by the Southern OG Lil Wayne (with his long-heralded Tha Carter V), soul super-diva Mariah Carey (Caution) and Brit street-popster Lily Allen (No Shame). However, 2018 also yielded major flops: Minaj's credible Queen overshadowed by drama. Justin Timberlake's foray into Americana on Man Of The Woods bewildered his old R&B fans. (Not even JT's decent standalone SoulMate was a hit.) Tinashe finally followed 2014's Aquarius with the unconvincing Joyride (rumours suggest that she's since parted from Sony). Inevitably, other albums were slept-on. Queen Beyonce slayed Coachella and graced the September edition of US Vogue with a candid essay. Regardless, beyond APESHIT's extravagant video, Bey's joint album with hubby JAY-Z as The Carters, EVERYTHING IS LOVE, was as ephemeral as SUMMER – the stealth album a victim of laissez-faire marketing. The digital age is about turnover – thank u, next.
Hip hop experienced a deepening generational divide, with ol' skoolers lamenting the proliferation of zanily-styled 'mumble' rappers (although Cleveland's pre-cloud Machine Gun Kelly surprisingly rebuffed Eminem's Kamikaze jabs). Still, the cloud sub-genre may have been superseded by art-rap, with its elaborate concepts, emphasis on #mood, experimental aesthetics, and curated producers, guests and samples. The movement has even generated an avant-cool boy band in BROCKHAMPTON. Meanwhile, Sydney's Odette, NAO and Carey (or her ballad Portrait) gave adult contemporary R&B a modish twist. Lastly, the Australian urban scene continued to boom with hot issues from the likes of Ruel, OKENYO and the wavy Carmouflage Rose. Here, OG Flavas profiles the 10 acts who reigned in 2018.
1. Travis Scott - Trap Auteur
In 2018, Travis Scott became the game changer he's always been hyped to be. The ambitious Texan rapper, singer and producer captured (urban-)pop's zeitgeist with the chart-topping ASTROWORLD – carnivalesque art-trap. Scott allegorises a demolished theme park in Houston as he cogitates over his coming-of-age, family life, fame and trauma. And Scott trademarks the beat switch with the US#1 banger SICKO MODE, as Drake uses his guest spot to sneak-diss Kanye West. Scott's ASTROWORLD cast is OMG with the ambi-trap STOP TRYING TO BE GOD alone revealing input from Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey, KiD CuDi, James Blake and, on harmonica, Stevie Wonder (elsewhere, Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, who commands a cult following in urban music, is credited). Creatively, Scott obscured A$AP Rocky's TESTING and, possibly, the 6 God's Scorpion. ASTROWORLD's promotion was OTT, too, with Sony Australia arranging for La Flame's head to float in Sydney Harbour. Remarkably, Scott maintained artistic integrity amid gossip sites' coverage of his coupling with Kylie Jenner.
2. Janelle Monae - Queer, Soulful And Iconic
Janelle Monae is a millennial pop star – 2018's sleek Dirty Computer matching classic albums by David Bowie, Michael Jackson and her late friend Prince with its compelling musical and visual narrative. Monae blends soul, electro-funk and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy-esque hip hop, diverting into psychedelia on the title-track with The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson harmonising. An established Hollywood actor, she even shot an "emotion picture" to accompany Dirty Computer. In the past, the Kansas City native has presented high-concept, Afro-fantasy projects. But Dirty Computer is Monae's most autobiographical album as she expresses – and celebrates – her experience as a queer black woman (Monae recently declared to Rolling Stone that she identifies as pansexual). Monae has received a Grammy nomination for 'Album Of The Year', together with Drake, Cardi B and Kendrick Lamar.
3. Cardi B - Hip Hop's New Queen
Cardi B – an MC, personality and fashionista from The Bronx – enjoyed a sensational hit in 2017 with Bodak Yellow. But many dismissed the onetime stripper as a novelty or fluke. This year, Cardi dropped a fire debut in Invasion Of Privacy – which, while entailing street bangers, highlighted her skills as a spitter and storyteller. Binderella considers romantic commitment, financial independence and sexual freedom through a feminist prism. (The presence of Chance The Rapper primarily reinforces her clout.) Along the way, Cardi ushered Latin trap into the mainstream with the bop I Like It. She impressed critics and consumers alike, crushing the US charts – and crashing down more barriers for female MCs. Time magazine named Invasion Of Privacy 2018's Best Album. Now Cardi is up for multiple Grammys, including Album Of The Year. On the side, the Latina star cut endless features – the coolest Quavo's CHAMPAGNE ROSE with Madonna (!), if not Bruno Mars' Finesse remix. Astonishingly, mid-year, Cardi, welcomed a daughter, Kulture, with her down-low husband Offset of Migos – the pair just separating. And, yes, she entertained thirsty tea drinkers as that feud with Nicki Minaj erupted – the self-proclaimed 'gangsta bitch' allegedly hurling a shoe at her rival during a New York Fashion Week afterparty hosted by Harper's Bazaar.
4. Kendrick Lamar - "Pulitzer Kenny"
The Compton hip hop superhero Kendrick Lamar released 2017's Album Of The Year in DAMN., only to then be awarded the traditionally fusty Pulitzer Prize for Music. K-Dot made history, too, in Australia, becoming the first black act to top the triple j Hottest 100 with HUMBLE. (he later blitzed Splendour In The Grass). Lamar sustained his auteur status through 2018 as the curator of Black Panther The Album: Music From And Inspired By – a companion to Marvel's box office smash led by the single All The Stars with SZA. The songs delve into themes of colonialism, diaspora and pan-African identity – Lamar even channelling T'Challa, Wakanda's king. Notably, the enterprise has introduced South African luminaries like Babes Wodumo, Queen of the EDM offshoot Gqom, to a wider audience. Apart from Black Panther, Lamar also had key verses on Lil Wayne's Mona Lisa and Anderson .Paak's funky jam Tints. And he's leading 2019's Grammy nominations.
5. Mac Miller - Lowkey Hero
In August, Mac Miller unveiled his fifth – and deepest – album, Swimming. The Pittsburgh MC, singer, producer, instrumentalist and performer wrote about his high-profile break-up from Ariana Grande, emotional IQ, mental health struggles and self-realisation. A month on, as he prepared to tour, Miller died of accidental mixed drug toxicity. The hip hop world mourned an artist universally admired for his musicality, communal spirit and generosity. In his 26 years, Miller was prolific and artistically expansive. He had long transcended his early image as a frat rapper and star of an MTV reality show. Swimming is fluid, jazzy and spacey – as epitomised by the beautiful, Jon Brion co-produced preface Come Back To Earth. In a bittersweet development, Swimming earned Miller his first Grammy nom (in the Best Rap Album category). And, though initially neglected, the album reached #7 in Australia on his passing.
6. Baker Boy - Australia's Fresh Prince
Hailed as the Fresh New Prince Of Arnhem Land, Baker Boy (aka Danzal Baker) has trailblazed Indigenous Australian hip hop – MCing in his Yolngu Matha tongue as well as English while incorporating yidaki and dance. The polymath busted out in 2017 with Cloud 9 (featuring KIAN), followed by Marryuna (alongside bluesman Yirrmal) – both making the triple j Hottest 100 at #76 and #17, respectively. This year, Baker unleashed his most empowering record, Black Magic (with Dallas Woods), and rapped on a hip hop remix of Yothu Yindi's Treaty. But he really came into his own on the live circuit with energetic gigs, rocking Splendour In The Grass. Over summer, Baker, who's swept award ceremonies, will join Laneway.
7. Kanye West - Trouble Man
In 2018, Kanye West troubled black and liberal America with his MAGA politics. West seemingly espoused a form of inclusivity that makes space for problematic figures in order to redeem them (nope, Ye). But, even as West protested 'cancel culture', hip hop stopped short of exiling him. Aside from the tweet storms, the Chi-towner was copious as an artist and producer – "shaky-ass year" or no. From May, he directed the roll-out of the so-called Wyoming Sessions: five micro-albums, starting with Pusha T's DAYTONA. Nearing the 10th anniversary of 808s & Heartbreak, West himself presented the undervalued ye – offering sardonic insights into his psychic wellbeing over meta-commentary (and the tuneful Ghost Town). Yet more enthralling was the hip hop psychedelia of KIDS SEE GHOSTS, a joint project with his protege KiD CuDi. West allows CuDi to lead on songs like the bluesy Reborn. The super-duo staged a visually-stunning show at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles. And West indulged his flippancy with the Lil Pump collab I Love It – the absurdist video launching countless WTF memes (although it wasn't as perplexing as those "poopy-di scoop" lyrics to his earlier loosie Lift Yourself).
8. Kaiit - A Star Is Born
The Melbourne neo-soulstess Kaiit was already hip in the local underground when, out of nowhere, Jill Scott co-signed her on Instagram – teasing that she and Erykah Badu had a sonic love child. Indeed, Kaiit's music evokes '90s boho soul with her jazzy vocal inflections, groovy instrumentation, and velvet hip hop beats. In September, she premiered an EP, Live From Her Room, with the breakthrough singles Natural Woman (now a homage to the late Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin) and OG Luv Kush p.2. The vocalist, who has Indigenous and Papua New Guinean heritage, sold out dates on a national headlining tour. Kaiit is billed in small letters on the artwork for Victoria's NYE On The Hill, but expect that to change in 2019.
9. Mariah Carey - Glittering Diva
There was little buzz for Mariah Carey's 15th album, Caution, in the weeks prior to November's release. But her avant & B statement met with rave reviews. The pop-soul diva reminded listeners of her hip hop affinities with the sly teaser, GTFO, helmed by Nineteen85 and sampling Porter Robinson's Goodbye To A World. Yet the apex is a deep cut: the New Wave Giving Me Life, with Slick Rick (aka The Ruler), in a rare cameo, and Dev "Blood Orange" Hynes. Ironically, at the same time, Carey's 'lambs' successfully campaigned to rehabilitate 2001's '80s-inspired Glitter LP with the hashtag #JusticeForGlitter. Carey also savoured a default hit with Drake's Emotionless sampling C+C Music Factory's club remix of her vintage Emotions.
10. Jorja Smith - UK R&B Princess
Jorja Smith is the brightest new star from the British soul and R&B firmament. She emerged as the first independent artist to win the BRITs Critics' Choice Award. The former Starbucks barista opened 2018 with her Stormzy collab, Let Me Down, and contributed I Am to Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther The Album (last year, she featured on Drake's More Life and duetted on Kali Uchis' Sounwave-stamped dub Tyrant). Nonetheless, Smith officially announced her arrival with June's debut, Lost & Found, bridging Sade-ish neo-soul, trip hop and UK garage. She's currently promoting the sublime single The One. Come February, the Grammys' Best New Artist nominee will perform exclusively at Laneway.
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