Still have no idea where all of the crazy hype for this album came from, it was mindboggling! However, not completely unjustified clearly as we're in at number 19 with SZA and her solo debut Ctrl.

I first heard about SZA a few years through soundcloud, when she put out her EP - Z - and I liked it so much I even wrote about it here. Since then her name's always stayed in the back of my mind but I wasn't really anticipating anything as the years went on. When she dropped her single "Drew Barrymore" (still one of my favourites from the record) last year that brought her right back to the forefront of my mind and all of a sudden I was excited again. Just as suddenly, almost overnight, she was one of the most well known, and anticipated artists of the year. SZA fans came out of the wood-work and they sure made a lot of noise.

My favourites on the album right now are "Drew Barrymore", "Doves In The Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar)", "The Weekend" and "Go Gina". Each of the tracks on this album has helped shape a lot of the more recent pop music that we've listened to and been exposed to this year. It's not often that a debut album puts so much influence on any one genre in such a short time, but SZA did exactly that. One of the main things that was clear from track one, and something I particularly love about this record is SZA's candour. She holds little back from her romantic tales and the emotions that accompany them, and this probably plays a large part in how this album caught the attention of so many ears and hearts this year.

There is definitely room for expansion on a lot of the songs with this one, despite the fantastic production, some tracks lack a je ne sais quoi. However, this is a minor criticism given just how much potential is shown in these few tracks. It can only be onwards and upwards from here for SZA.

Okay! I'll start with apologies for the delay in posting - university coursework is extremely time-consuming. First post of 2017 and it's a post about the last gig I went to in 2016. Only fitting I guess, and what better way to end the year than watching my number five album of the year pick throw down in a most spectacular fashion?!

First up on stage was a rapper named Mouthe. I'd never heard of him before, and nobody else knew anything about him so did a little bit of research. I must admit I was pretty underwhelmed when I saw that he only had about 500 likes but I thought if anything could make somebody a fan it would be seeing a live show. I was wrong in this instance. When he came on stage, after about 30 seconds of performance I could sense the side-eyes in the room. I could barely hear the backing track over his optimus prime-sounding vocal effects. I couldn't even concentrate on his lyrics after his ridiculous song introductions. There were a few whispers between songs like "do you even know this guy?". To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. Although afterwards, my friend sent me one of his songs "Hallelujah" and it actually didn't sound too bad. Maybe he's just more of a studio artist.

But now for the main event - Quincy in the flesh. To be honest, even before he came on stage, the crowd was just bubbling with excitement. It seemed like they just knew the lyrics to every good hip hop song that played. At times the crowd was even rapping along as if somebody was actually performing. So when those lights dimmed and ScHoolboy stepped out, you can only imagine how the crowd galvanized. Within minutes I had already lost the people I came with and was fighting for breath, swaying through the weeds of people, mouthing a few lyrics whenever I got the chance to come up for air. It. Was. Manic... and I loved every second of it! The energy was incredible, and of course the set list didn't fail to impress. Q played hits from his last three albums and even jams from his label-mates Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul. The crowd was spoilt! I also feel that it's important for me to note that, ScHoolboy played in London the night before and just before playing "THat Part" to us, he declared that the Birmingham crowd was even crazier. Being the last show of the tour as well, whilst we screeched the lyrics to "THat Part", everybody knew that they'd witnessed something special. It had been the longest while since I'd left a gig that sweaty, breathless, yet energised, and I can only say - what a way to end an amazing year of music?!

Overall Rating - 8.5/10


DISCLAIMER: As the crowd was so mad, I only managed to get a few non-blurry, mediocre pictures...

Here we go, welcoming us into the top five is ScHoolboy Q with Blank Face LP. This album has been a blessing to my 2016. Some of my favourite songs of the year come from this record alone; it's just great to have one of the masters of Top Dawg Entertainment back for what I think is his best album yet.

I'd be surprised if you managed to go the whole year without hearing "THat Part (feat. Kanye West)" played somewhere - this song has been all over the place and for me, everytime felt like the first time. The amount that I listened to it, I should have been bored with it towards the end but I was just as hype every time. With a 17 song tracklist, I was definitely expecting the album to waver at some point during the middle, but ScHoolboy showed his lyrical strength the whole way through - I can only imagine how many songs didn't make the cut.  I was left smiling, head nodding and sometimes even laughing at the lyrics and brilliance of the beats throughout. Q truly put a lot of a work into curating and producing these tracks.

Some of my favourites from the album are "Groovy Tony/Eddie Kane", "WHateva U Want" and "JoHn Muir" but that changes with almost every listen. Each song has been a favourite at some point. After catching his set in Birmingham last week (gig review pending), it simply solidified his spot on the list. His personality comes through strongly on the album, not even close to being overshadowed by a crazy list of features. Quincy gave me one of my favourite rap albums of the year (there were many other amazing ones) and it stood out so much to me because he spoke about life as candidly as J. Cole but gave us some of the best beats in the business whilst keeping it fresh and thought-provoking. Also, the visuals to back the singles up were some of the most memorable I've seen all year.

ScHoolboy's given us a classic with this one, I'll definitely be referring back to this for years to come. A big future must be on the cards for Q after this gem.