Camiele’s 100 Favorite Albums of 2018
100. pH-1 – harry
In the same vein as Island Kid and Gatsby, harry is incredibly personal. This is without a doubt his most introspective work to date, evidenced by the album’s name. There’s an added layer of veritas, grit, and unwavering honesty in the lines here. From the production to the composition to the very way Harry delivers each and every line, the EP cracks a bit more of the man open, making way for the most mature version of the artist.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.
99. Princess Nokia – A Girl Cried Red
I love this faerie child. Her spirit is just so intense, so flawlessly flawed. No one would ever accuse her of holding anything back, but there’s something particularly raw about this album. Her childhood wasn’t all hip-hop, though many artists attempt to hide behind that visage.
While this album is still very much hip-hop in tone and at times cadence, she’s very much a product of post-punk, melodic punk the likes of Evanescence, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance: not as dark and heavy as the genre’s origins, but definitely naked and unafraid to express the darkness that is there. I applaud Destiny for following her heart and doing what’s inside her without fear. Also musically it’s utterly gorgeous!
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and Princess Nokia’s Soundcloud.
98. Galaxy Express – Electric Jungle
An album made up of 1:30-minute or less jam quips, Electric Jungle is no less mighty. The title is apt. Imagine walking through a jungle, a new noise and sound at every step, every breath. That’s exactly what this experience is like. It’s a shame this is their last album with the original lineup. But it is a loud, brash, ballsy piece of music!
Available on iTunes and Spotify.
97. Wes Felton – The Vault, Vol. 1
Admittedly, it took almost half of the album for me to actually get into Wes’s latest effort. It seemed in the beginning that he was attempting to be more of something he didn’t need to be: more hard, more commercial, etc. When he got back to the business of just being Wes Felton, the music was more convincing, in fact incredibly poignant, honest, raw, emotional. There was so much to absorb from the album when it really got going.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.
96. Jaden Smith – The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story
So… I feel bad for sleeping on Jaden. He actually has an surprisingly impeccable flow. While it does make use of the self-same “mumble rap” trend that’s been proliferating the genre, he throws in some incredible lyricism that’s unconventional and music that’s emotional.
A well-balanced talent that needs more respect than people are wont to give him just because of his name.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.
95. JUNNY – Genuine
JUNNY’s is simple R&B, but it’s incredibly sincere. The music is lush in its own right, but not overstated or over-the-top. It’s in line with the current trends in R&B, and as he pushes to make a name for himself in Korea in the coming year, it’s a great way to move forward with his art. A definite progression from last year’s MONOCHROME. I feel so much more of who he is as an artist, and just in his vocal delivery there’s so much passion and earnestness.
Regardless of lyrical content, I can’t deny that he’s certainly passionate in everything that he does. Genuine indeed!
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and JUNNY’s Soundcloud.
94. Samui – There Is Always More Than One
Emotional. Sweeping. Samui’s voice is a piece of velvet rubbing against fine silk: all textured emotion dancing on top of some truly elegant composition. So much depth in this six-song piece of music.
Available on iTunes and Spotify.
93. Jericho Jackson – Krysis & Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson
Brilliant production. You can never, ever go wrong with 9th Wonder. The duo of Krysis and Elzhi is a powerful combination. The lyricism is simple, honest. No pretense, just storytelling and an underlying need to come clean about something.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.
92. Harry Crane – Ambivalence
Sweeping, emotional arias. This is gorgeous piano work, something I’ve been searching for for quite some time. It’s passionate, lovely, full. Crane plays the piano with such fervor he manages to fill up the entire space with his technique and his ardor for the instrument.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Harry Crane’s Soundcloud.
91. Oomahmi – Coda
This is ambient, blissful, soul-seeking music. There’s so much depth and aural ascension. I honestly felt myself afloat while listening to this piece of music. It has all the elements of the ambient sides of deep house music. It hearkens back to the days of Naked Music: Aya, Lisa Shaw, Blue Six á la Tropicalia.
Always appreciative of your massive music posts that give hours and hours and hours of non-stop music. Some excellent picks, and tons of new music to play xDDDD
You might also enjoy exploring Bohan Phoenix.