Cy’s 100 Favorite Albums of 2019

20. Theo Croker – Star People Nation

This is what essential jazz is for our generation. The likes of Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Jose James. And this gentleman, Theo Croker. From the first notes you get a very real feeling of culture, pride, heritage, musicianship. He’s got a fine sense of styling and improvisation with an acute mind for the technical. All of it culminates in a piece of music that is actually quite breathtaking!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


19. Clever Austin – Pareidolia

Damn, I felt this album in my chest. Something so pure, so incredibly primal about the sounds created here. It reaches back into culture, into history. Calls to my ever-loving blackness and the fairytales of my nearest ancestors (great aunts and uncles, grandparents). It’s just such a light and necessary piece of music. Blue Tongue is wavy, gorgeous, earthy, and reaches depths that are both a comfort and frighteningly personal.

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Bandcamp | Soundcloud


18. Flying Lotus – Flamagra

Lavish and brilliant. Heavy hints of early Prince. An entire cinematic landscape, complete with David Lynch narrating a fantastical tale of a mysterious phone call. An amazing piece of work that further cements Flying Lotus as one of the most profound composers in the world. The work he did on his technical skill shows vividly in the way he composed this album. Already brilliant with just two pre-releases. He’s already one of the most cinematic producer/composers out there. It’s fitting that he’d create a long-form film adaptation of the workings of his musical mind. Long live Flying Lotus!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal


17. YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy EP

Honestly, YBN Cordae is one of a few rappers who’ve restored my faith in hip hop’s future. His wit, honesty, and raw lyricism make his debut one of the more brilliant opening acts for a new artist in the last few years. He’s young. His youth shows itself in just how trusting he is of the audience with his willingness to open up to us. I applaud him for being so brazen and bodacious yet still so willingly vulnerable.

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


16. OSG – Duly Noted

A revelation. Soundcloud has always been good to me. The discovery of this duo to me is no exception. OSG is gloriously magical. Musical in their connection to the natural sounds of earth. Melodic in the same way the mind, body, and soul are connected in just the right tones and harmonies. Vocally and musically it soothes and heals. Lyrically it enlightens and allows for self-examination, renewal. This is truly a soul-cleansing piece of music.

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


15. Gang Starr – One of the Best Yet

THIS. IS. HIP HOP!!! From the first moments where a DJ addresses a crowd at a show, Gang Starr’s seventh album is… Let me put it this way. If you want a guide on exactly what hip hop is: Gang Starr. This is nothing but bars, vicious and reckless. Even the features were elevated to something almost holy with the purity of Gang Starr’s presence. Damn!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


14. Raphael Saadiq – Jimmy Lee

As expected from Raphael Saadiq, this is a piece of music that subverts expectation. His signature vintage cool has set him apart in many respects from most who’ve worn the style as more of a trend than an actual lifestyle. However, with Jimmy Lee, he gives us musical scope and depth that many might not instantly recognize he’s had since the early ’90s. It’s music that feels good with personal lyrics about redemption, a bit of self-deprecation, but a complete and utter urge to be open and devoid of any pretense. We’ve obviously got another classic on our hands, and we thank you, Mr. Saadiq!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


13. Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA

I… I’m just so emotional. When I found out Michael Kiwanuka was releasing another full-length album (one that bears his name, no less) I wept inside. Ever since his debut album I’ve been enamored of the gifted musician. Kiwanuka does more to solidify my ardor of his artistry. There’s more confidence in the chords, more self-assuredness in the delivery. The sound is louder, bolder, more demonstrative. There’s so much joy and color in the piece that one can’t help but become enveloped in it. The fullness of the sound, the musicality. It’s all here and so much more! Everything I ever dreamed of from Michael Kiwanuka!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


12. Sudan Archives – Athena

Praise the goddesses for Sudan Archives. The woman has a musical vision that’s just exhilarating. Her cross-section of classical, traditional, and contemporary makes her one of the most musically adventurous artists I’ve heard in quite some time. Last year she highlighted everything that makes her such a force. Musical prowess, vocal power, and an incredible way of exploring the harshest and most beautiful aspects of life. Athena lives up to its namesake in terms of sheer beauty and ferocity.

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11. Brittany Howard – Jaime

From the moment the album starts we’re thrust into Brittany Howard’s world of blues-tinged psychedelia. As we’ve come to expect from her time as the frontwoman of Alabama Shakes, she’s a force of nature! I did have my doubts that the same fire and grit she showed with her band might diminish a bit with her exploring solo avenues. I was an idiot! I’m so happy I dove into her debut solo album!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Bandcamp | Soundcloud


10. Samuel Seo – The Misfit

The utter and sheer brilliance of Samuel Seo is just offensive! And The Misfit is his rudest offering to date. With the opening track (the Anthem of the Misfits, as the title suggests) it would seem he’s trying to be on his D’Angelo & the Vanguard ish. It was certainly surprising, in both glorious and fascinating ways. However, the album unfolds into something so much more. What have I been saying for the past few years? Samuel Seo does NOT make bad albums. In fact, everything he releases is just magical. One of the most underrated, straight-up GOOD artists coming out of South Korea. The Misfit is absolutely glorious!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal


9. Anna Wise – As If It Were Forever

Anna Wise’s voice is a gift. After hearing her range and tone on Kendrick Lamar’s classic To Pimp a Butterfly, I fell in love. She’s got this classic ache to her voice. A teardrop that’s all jazz and heartbreak, early-’80s R&B and the most intense love imaginable. Musically As If It Were Forever is a treat. As I mentioned of Gallant… dessert: rich, decadent, touches all the right places in all the right ways. Damn this is a work of art!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Bandcamp | Soundcloud


8. Crush – From Midnight To Sunrise

When he first teased this album, I already knew I was going to be emotionally compromised. I was not wrong. Two songs in, I was on the verge of tears. Not only did Crush stretch the bounds of his knowledge and push his desires to explore the cross-sections of jazz and R&B. He brought DEAN back. I say that knowing that Dean’s been releasing music for the past year. But as I lamented when writing my thoughts about his acoustic rendition of Howlin’ 404, there’s been something missing. It came back with Crush’s composition. The combination nearly broke me, and I wasn’t together for the entirety of the album after that.

I can’t tell you in succinct terms why the album affected me the way it did. I can’t say that it will be the same for anyone else (see my emotional reaction to Frank Ocean’s Blonde and compare it with everybody else’s thoughts). Just know that Crush pulled emotions out of me that I haven’t had in nearly 15 years. DAMN YOU, SHIN HYEOSEOB!!!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal


7. KAYTRANADA – Bubba

This could possibly be the quintessential millennial album. Kaytranada taps into that awkwardly refreshing cross-section of nostalgia where old- meets new-school in unsubtle ways. He’s the perfect example of a generation of ’80s babies who grew up on the funk, R&B, and jazz of their parents. The construction of the album is elegant, seamless swirls and dips between each track. The music glides so beautifully as to play like one song. While cohesive in a way that speaks to the perfect DJ set, it isn’t one-note. A brilliantly balanced album that peaks and dips as the very waves of a multilayered track.

Bubba is that perfect link between the two. Taking obvious elements (and seeming samples) from the music our parents grew up on, then passed on to us, he blends in the hip hop and genre-nuanced R&B cultivated and nurtured in our generation. It’s a beautiful rendering of how generations share and blend. The perfect preservation of very specific eras that defined a lot of black childhoods. Such a feel-good piece of music!

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal | Soundcloud


6. Saul Williams – Encrypted & Vulnerable

Loud. Brash. Dangerous. Power. Words. Truth. Brother Saul Williams is a prophet, a man whose words deal death blows. Shake up your mind from its stagnation. Just breathing in his essence, hearing the ripples of his pronouncements, is enough to have me spouting purple things. I’ve always been in awe of his ability to punch. He is a boxer with his words. He’ll pound until you’re forced to tear away all your own pretenses. Encrypted & Vulnerable is simply magical in how of the earth it is. How without compromise. I will forever adore his work and his vision because his clarity and focus are unmatched.

Stream on Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal

Cy

As unexpected as my path was to loving all things weird, more unexpected is my ability to get attention for writing about the stuff.

2 Responses

  1. Glad you’re still doing this! Great to see appreciation for Sampa the Great, Little Simz, Angelique Kidjo, FKA Twigs, Raphael Saadiq, and Michael Kiwanuka.

    • Cy says:

      I’m glad you’re still reading these things… Haha. I’ve missed Michael so much! I really did let out a squeal when I saw he released something last year! It was really an amazing year for music. Thank you for supporting the list *hugs*

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