2017: The best year in music?

2017 has been one of the greatest years in music in a long time from triumphant returns from Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Stormzy, Giggs, Kendrick Lamar and Jay Z, Big KRIT, and the phenomenal album from Chris Brown. Whilst most artists came back glorious after a long spell off, some artists proved 2017 was not the year for them, like Eminem whose album Revival is still splitting fans whether it is classic Eminem or if he is washed up.

UK Music has had a great year this year, with Stormzy bringing mass appeal in the UK charts with his debut album Gang, Signs and Prayers making waves in the UK charts, and even gathering attention from the USA leading to him featuring on a single with Linkin Park. Krept & Konan came back with the long awaited 7 Days and 7 Nights and offered music for any type of mood you need. No UK artist has worked as hard as Giggs has in 2017 though, from his features with Drake on More Life and splitting USA fans what grime is, Drake knew the risk, but could see it was worth it. As we now have Jay Z on his tour in New York performing KMT. And the crowd going wild. Giggs then followed this success with the release of his mixtape “Wamp 2 Dem” which was the hard-hitting Giggs the UK have known since Walk in the Park and showed Giggs continuing to prove why he is one of UKs grime elite artist. New artists have shone and faded this year, but thankfully that did not happen to UK artist Dave, who had Drake remix his single “Wanna Know” back in 2016, and then came back with the EP Game Over. Dave showed why he is one of the best new school artists with standout tracks like “Question Time” which sees Dave goes on a political rampage and emphasizing what an awful job politician have done throughout the year. But as well as singles that make you think, Dave knows he needs singles that you can listen to when driving and this is evident with the Mo-Stack assisted “No Words”. Either way, Dave is going to have a bigger 2018, and an artist sure to stay in the limelight for years to come.

Hip-Hop has had a great year, with the release of Kendrick Lamar “Damn” which has garnished praise and proved why Kendrick Lamar is the leader of the new school artists. His album Damn shows why Kendrick Lamar can be mentioned in the same sentence as the Tupacs, Notorious BIG and Jay Z of the worlds. Whatever he releases, he can not put a foot wrong. With lyrical assassinations on any other song with “Humble” “DNA” and “God” Kendrick Lamar knows how to perform for any audience member you put in front of him. Joey Bada$$ took me by surprise with the release of his album “All Amerikkkan Bada$$” with singles such as “Devastated” “Temptation” and “For My People” Joey Bada$$ delivered the album of the year for America for me. The album tackled so many points, for President Trump to Police brutality, the maturity by Joey Bada$$ earnt him a new fan, and continuously gets played from start to finish.

J Hus has been my artist for 2017 and delivered the ALBUM OF THE YEAR with his debut album “Common Sense”. For a debut album, J Hus has propelled to not only a leader in grime music, but British music in general. Whether or not J Hus will be recognised at Brit Awards 2018 or not is another thing, but he is deservedly winning awards for album of the year and getting much praise, which is fully deserved. The album “Common Sense” has a song that tackles any mood you are feeling, from songs with the ladies like “Bouff Daddy” and “Fisherman” to songs about life growing up in London and the struggles faced like “Spirit” “Who You Are” really shows that J Hus can do it all, and makes him the artist of 2017. The album shows how versatile J Hus can be, with the beats he has selected even showing he has an ear for the music and knows what beat fits his mood. The singles released from the album “Common Sense” have been delivered with the single “Did You See” the perfect single to release as they hype single for the album. J Hus has stated he is in the studio and is keen to release a new album next year, so let’s see what 2018 has in store for the young superstar. 

Honorary mentions for album of the year also includes DVSN, who delivered the best R&B album with his album "Morning After" with songs like "Don't Choose" and "Claim" shows this Canadian R&B star can be one of the biggest artist in the next few years, once OVO figure how to market him though. 

Oh, and Joyner Lucas provided the song of the year with the controversial "I'm not Racist" which has divided people all over social media and started a real conversation. Joyner, I look forward to your next album.