With my Top 30 Albums of the Year behind us, I have to shout out the albums that didn't make the final list but were each in the running during the decision making process. There were so many albums to consider and so many that I hadn't even managed to get round to listening to. However, of the ones that I did, here are a few that I would be doing a disservice by not mentioning. In no particular order...

• Tierra Whack - Whack World
• Twenty One Pilots - Trench 
• Phony Ppl - mō'zā-ik
• Chloe x Halle - The Kids Are Alright 
• JMSN - Velvet
• Sons Of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile 
• Aminé - ONEPOINTFIVE
• Boy Azooga - 1, 2, Kung Fu!
• Jorja Smith - Lost & Found 
• Zilo - The Nature Of The Beast
• Rejjie Snow - Dear Annie 
• August Greene - August Greene
• Ex:Re - Ex:Re
• YG - STAY DANGEROUS 
• Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs
• Now, Now - Saved
• Snail Mail - Lush
• Patrick Paige II - Letters Of Irrelevance
• Kelela - TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES
• Joy Postell - Diaspora
• Can't Swim - This Too Won't Pass
• Kendrick Lamar - Black Panther The Album
• Kasey Musgraves - Golden Hour
• Django Django - Marble Skies
• serpentwithfeet - soil

If you'd have told me at the beginning of the year that this album would be closing in on my top 10 albums of the year I wouldn't have believed you. I probably would've said something like "honourable mentions maybe", but after just one listen I knew that this would be a hard one to top. In at number 12 is Denai Moore with We Used To Bloom.

Not to be misconstrued, I've been a fan of Denai's work for a while now but until this album she was more of a "one to watch" for me. Well thank God I did keep watching because this sophomore record is glorious. This album manages to balance stripped back with powerful almost effortlessly. The addition of horns, strings and backing vocals from time to time lifts the album up where necessary and adds a fullness I can't explain. The album keeps its tone fairly consistent throughout and some may even criticise it for seeming "samey" but the album levels out seamlessly. It's almost necessary because had there been more experimentation, this may have resulted in some of the message being left behind.

Big time favourites of mine at the moment are "Leave It Up To You", "Bring You Shame", "Does It Get Easier?" and "All The Way (fet. Kwabs)". A lot of the tracks on this album feel cathartic -like both listening to it and creating it act as a release for emotions relating to anxiety, political fears, societal woes, depression or all the above. Every-so-often while listening I'll find myself picking up on a particular lyric that just says everything that I didn't even know I wanted to say before. "Does It Get Easier?" in particular was an elevating moment for me on this album - the kind of song that makes you want to just throw your up in the air in agreement.

The album finisher "All The Way (feat. Kwabs)" made it very clear to me why there was only one feature on the whole record - a match made in heaven - leaving the album on an emotionally satisfying note.

Super excited about this new discovery! Twitter is fast becoming the hub for me when finding new music and in this case I was shocked to find this one lurking in the abyss rather than running viral as I would have expected.

I hadn't seen De La Soul since Glastonbury three years ago and just as I was then, I was equally as, if not more excited for their headline set. I have to say, because I was going to the Birmingham show, I wasn't really expecting the biggest turn out - it's not often that I get to meet many "hip hop heads" in this area and as the show didn't sell out I was expecting a fairly sparse crowd... WRONG. Before long the floor was packed out with every kind of person you could imagine and I guess I should've known because it's not out of the ordinary for De La to draw in diverse crowds with their energy. Either way, it was a welcomed surprise.

First up on stage was UK trio Jungle Brown. I'd not heard any of their material prior but I was expecting something lyrically great if they were to warm us up for De La Soul and I'd definitely say that lyrically they were engaging and true to their style as musicians. However, I felt like on some songs, their beats overshadowed their performance, the beat was the reason for the movement and had it been an acapella performance, the level of attention would have dropped significantly. Despite the issues I had with their abilities on the night, they definitely showed potential (which may be more obvious on their studio material), their sax player was a very slick addition, and they definitely managed to heighten vibes and crack a few smiles before De La graced the stage.

As I mentioned, De La Soul know best how to draw in a crowd and put on a show. I was of course expecting them to play the classics like "Me, Myself and I" and "Feel Good Inc." but I was most interested in what they were going to play from this latest record. When I first listened to it I enjoyed it but I remember thinking that a lot of the songs that I expected to like the most after reading the track list, ended up taking a back seat to ones that hadn't necessarily caught my eye initially. Again my guesses were off on what would appear on the set list, but once again De La showed me why they've been so good for so long. As the night went on and energy was on what I thought was a pretty perfect level, De La graced us with a guest appearance. Dres from Black Sheep bounded on stage with that flow and ease that we knew so well and it was as if he was with them the entire show. Energy levels shot up again for that last portion of the show and by the end of the night my shoulder was aching from all the arm waving, my face was aching from all the smiling and singing, but it was well worth it. I feel like they would've benefited from a bigger production (budget permitting) but with or without, they filled the room, and brought their all, what more could you ask for really?

Overall Rating - 7.5/10 


Here are some pictures from the night... 

The man who won 2016 - Chance The Rapper here with Coloring Book. This wasn't even an album! Whoever said mixtapes were irrelevant - eat your heart out. The only mixtape to make it onto every single 'top albums of the year' list this year. Chance has given this year all the lift that it needed.

I never really thought of Chance as a soul/gospel rapper but this record did everything for my soul. To be honest I shouldn't have been surprised after his soulful feature on Kanye's The Life Of Pablo earlier this year but here we are. He even had believers and non-believers alike singing "how great is our God?", he managed to move so many people with just 14 songs. In less than an hour, he managed to become one of the most powerful and recognisable voices around at the moment. It didn't even stop with the record, every time Chance has appeared live with this album, he's captivated people and managed to take each track to a new level. He is pretty much the living embodiment of creativity.

On top of all that, this album brings out just about every kind of good emotion you'd ever associate with listening to music. I say that with confidence. It makes you laugh, feel uplifted, smug, joyful, thoughtful and just overall content. The first time I listened to this I was travelling to work and by the time I got in, nothing could've made that day go wrong for me. Some personal go-to favourites for me when I need a pick-me-up are "No Problem (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)", "Blessings", "Juke Jam" and "All Night (feat. Knox Fortune)". Nothing but good vibes with this record for me. In a year that's had so much go wrong with it, this is one of the few things that's brought pure light to a multitude of lives. If you haven't already claimed your blessing yet - do yourself a favour and have a listen.

This will be a difficult one to top, a commendable peak in anyone's career - but I have faith that Chance will find a way to move upwards. I don't know when we'll hear something new but I know it'll be a blessing no matter what nor when. I can only hope that I get to see this live someday.

It feels like forever that I've been waiting for new material from Lianne, so when I heard this single (in fact the opening track on the record) last month I was ecstatic. Going by that you can guess how I felt when she dropped the video for the single a few hours ago...

LIANNE LA HAVAS - UNSTOPPABLE