Don’t you ever get tired of buying lame CD’s either online or in the store? Well from personal experience, searching online for the most popular rap albums of 2012-2013 is nearly an impossible tasks. Sure you find a lot of results that are pretty close to what you are looking for, but once you get to the list you realize it’s a bogus list with someone’s personal favorites listed as the most popular. Other times you just find mixtapes that nobody has ever heard of. Here’s a straight up list of the top rap albums in 2012 and going into 2013.
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1. Nas – “Life is Good”
“Life is Good” is a long awaited album for all the big Nas fans and it is his tenth solo studio album. This is the first solo project from Nas since 2008 when he came out with “Untitled.” The long wait was well worth it because this album is very good and has sold lots of copies and top the charts within the first week it was released. Some of the best singles off the album are “Bye Baby” and “Daughters.” This is one of Nas’ deepest albums by far because much of it was motivated by his very public and pricey divorce from recording artist Kelis. This had a great impact on him and his outlook on life and everything in general.
The album “Life is Good,” which was released on July 13, 2012 on Def Jam Recordings, is how Nas got to vent from all his personal problems and he got to portray how he was feeling then. That’s probably why it’s such a popular rap album because many people can relate to that pain of losing a loved one, money, or drinking. Many of the mainstream critics gave the album positive feedback because of the deep lyrics and the matured themes. That will help make it one of the top rap albums in 2012 and the singles will still be topping the charts well into 2013.
2. Rick Ross – “God Forgives I Don’t”
God Forgives I Don’t” is Rick Ross’ fifth studio album under his own label Mayback Music Group also partnering with Def Jam Recordings as well. This top rap album of 2012 has some of the best artists available such as Andre 3000, Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Meek Mill, Ne-Yo, Omarion, Usher, and Wale. I don’t think it gets much better than that when you are looking for artists to be featured on the hottest new rap music in 2012 and 2013.
Rick Ross promoted “God Forgives I Don’t” very well by using the official Maybach Twitter page, along with his own, Dj Khaled, Drake, and many other artists. Drake also mentioned the album in an MTV interview he did and DJ Khaled also plugged Ross’ new album on MTV News.
On this album Rick Ross wanted a 90’s vintage hip hop sound to it and he found that sound he wanted by working side by side with the legend Dr. Dre. While doing that he also helped Dr. Dre work on the long awaited Detox album as well. Rick Ross said working with Dr. Dre was one of the best experiences of his career and it greatly influence his work for the album “God Forgives I Don’t.”
3. Flo Rida – “Wild Ones”
Flo Rida released his fourth studio album in the summer on July 3, 2012. In the beginning Flo Rida wanted to name this album Only One Rida (Part 2), which is obviously a continuance from the third album. However later in the writing and production process the idea was later changed and they went ahead with the name “Wild Ones” for the album instead. One of the main singles off the “Wild Ones” album is the song “Good Feelings,” also the songs “I Cry,” “Run,” and “Whistle” are also very good tracks as well. The more you listen to this album the more new rap music you will like and the more you will understand how this is in the top 5-10 top rap albums in 2012.
Flo Rida had a great promotion strategy for this album which is probably why it is one of the top rap albums in 2012. On WrestleMania XXVIII Flo Ride made a ringside appearance and sang a single off the album called “Good Feeling” and “Wild Ones.” This is a great promotional strategy because that just exposes a whole arena of people that most likely haven’t heard much of Flo Rida’s music. Therefore he’s got his home base and Twitter following, but after an event like WrestleMania that will put a whole lot more fans wanting to buy your new album.
4. Young Jeezy – “Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition”
“Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition” is definitely one of the top rap albums I have heard in a long time but Young Jeezy always delivers on his new rap music so I wasn’t surprised. Even though this fourth studio album by Young Jeezy was released on December 20, 2011 with Corporate Thugz Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings, doesn’t mean it’s not eligible for the the new rap albums for 2012 list. Almost all the singles were played and enjoyed in 2012 so that’s how i’m gona consider top rap albums when I vote for the top rap album lists. This album had already been delayed for almost a couple years.
This new rap album is loaded with hot new rap singles that make you realize why this album made the list for the top rap albums in 2012. One of the first singles was “Lose My Mind” and it got up kind of high on the billboard charts and never had a ton of buzz really. My favorite singles on the album which are awesome songs are “Leave You Alone,” “Everythang,” “I Do,” and “This One’s for You.” I could listen to this CD over and over and never get bored with it because even though Young Jeezy has a bunch of very famous featured artists, he still makes the CD about him and he overpowers the whole album.
5. B.O.B – “Strange Clouds”
“Strange Clouds” is only the second album released by B.O.B and it came out on May 1, 2012. It has quickly climbed up the charts to be one of the best rap albums of 2012. There are close to a dozen guest appearences on this album which is a lot of the reason B.O.B became well known in the first place. The number one single off the album was called “Strange Clouds” and actually came out on iTunes in September of 2011, but the album as a whole wasn’t released until May 1, 2012. The second single of “Strange Clouds” was the track titled “So Good” and has Ryan Tedder featured in it as well. One of the other more popular tracks off this top rap album of 2012 was the track “Both of Us,” which actually had Taylor Swift featured on the song and got decently high on the music charts. Most full blooded hip hop fans probably cringed when they heard a country music singer was being featured in a new hip hop single, but it probably opened the door to many new fans for B.O.B.
