Image via Getty/Santiago Bluguermann
We’re just a few days into the beginning of a new year, and so far, it’s been chaotic. “World War III” has been trending on Twitter for half of 2020 and there’s a general feeling of anxiety and uneasiness in the air. Fortunately, it looks like we can expect a lot of great rap music to come out over the next 12 months to help counterbalance it all. It appears likely that everyone from Drake to Kendrick Lamar to J. Cole to Lil Uzi Vert will be returning with solo albums this year, as well as a long list of exciting newcomers who have ambitions to rule the next decade. So, as we look forward to a blank slate in 2020, the Complex Music staff has put together a list of 10 things we’d like to see in rap this year.
A battle for the crown
In 2019, some of rap’s biggest stars retreated to their caves. The absence of solo albums from guys like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole made room for artists like Young Thug and Tyler, the Creator to shine at the top of the charts, but their return sets up a tantalizing showdown in 2020. Having topped most “rappers of the 2010s” lists, Drake will enter the new decade at a time in which most of his biggest competition are also expected to drop albums. Of course, outside of Cole and Kendrick, it’s also possible we could see rappers like JAY-Z jump back in the ring, as well as younger artists like DaBaby and Lil Uzi Vert, who will be bringing fresh energy into the new decade. It looks like it’s going to be an exciting, competitive year for rap. —Eric Skelton
A drill takeover
If we had to place an early bet on a regional subgenre to break through on a national, mainstream level in 2020, it would be Brooklyn drill. Throughout 2019, rappers like Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, and 22Gz put in work to build the national profile of their subgenre, until BK drill exploded in the final moments of the year. Producer AXL Beats, who was instrumental in taking the UK drill sound (which was itself inspired by the Chicago drill movement of the early 2010s) and bringing it to New York, recently told Complex, “I think that’s going to be the sound of 2020 [...] A lot of mainstream rappers are going to hop on drill.” So far, it seems he’s right. In late December, Drake and Travis Scott each jumped on drill beats, with “War” and “GATTI” respectively, and we’d love to see that trend continue in 2020. It’s about to be (another) huge year for drill. —Eric Skelton
‘Eternal Atake’ and ‘Whole Lotta Red’
There are a lot of artists we would like to see drop new music in 2020 (refer to point No. 1 on this list), but we hope that also includes long-anticipated projects from Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti. Uzi’s Eternal Atake and Carti’s Whole Lotta Red were expected by many to arrive in 2019, but due to record label issues and a series of unauthorized leaks, both projects were nowhere to be found. Despite the mishaps of last year, it looks like 2020 will be huge for Uzi and Carti, though. Although a firm release date has not been announced for either album, Uzi tweeted on December 25 that he is “gonna treat 2020 like 2016,” which seemingly refers to the era in which Uzi dropped three projects in a seven-month span with Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World, The Perfect LUV Tape, and 1017 vs. The World. So, for everyone who has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Eternal Atake, it looks like it’s all about to pay off in a big way. —Jessica McKinney
More crews
Are rap crews becoming cool again? A couple years ago, when crews like Young Money and G.O.O.D. Music became less tight-knit than they had been in the past, it seemed that we might end the decade with less of an emphasis on rap collectives than we once did. But we’re entering 2020 with a bit of momentum in these regards, after Dreamville, JACKBOYS, and Griselda each released exciting crew projects in 2019. Similar to the “battle for the crown” listed above, we’d love to see this trend continue in 2020 and watch one of these groups compete with Top Dawg Entertainment (and others) for the distinction of rap’s best crew. —Eric Skelton
Another great year for female rappers
2019 was a big year for female rappers. We saw an array of diverse female artists see recognition for their talent, as rappers like Megan Thee Stallion, Rapsody, Rico Nasty, and Doja Cat dropped critically-acclaimed projects, while others like Tierra Whack earned attention and cosigns from peers for outstanding music videos and freestyles. Female rappers are showing their versatility, and as the current pool of artists continues to rise to superstardom, the hope is that more women will be inspired and strive to occupy more space in the game. —Jessica McKinney
The next step of the Griselda wave
It’s no secret that rap has been drifting in an increasingly melodic direction for years. But, of course, whenever a stylistic trend swings far one way, you can always expect a counter-punch in the opposite direction. For every sing-song rapper, there’s another artist sitting somewhere, plotting a way to bring back hard-hitting lyrical rap. This past year, the Griselda crew out of Buffalo started to break through on a national level with gritty raps from Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and Westside Gunn. They even caught Drake’s attention, who ended 2019 by using a Benny the Butcher lyric on Instagram and took time to shout them out in his Rap Radar interview. “I think what they're doing is great. It just reminds me of a different time,” he said. “It’s not easy to do, to make that music and come off wavy and be interesting. Even the label name and the tag, it’s ill. I’m happy for those guys. They deserve it.” In 2020, we’d love to see Griselda build on their momentum, and for other young, lyrically-minded rappers to be inspired by their success. —Eric Skelton
An OVOXO project
Drake made headlines for addressing his long-rumored beef with the Weeknd on his 2019 single, “War.” On the track, he suggested that their beef was over, rapping, “You know that’s been my nigga/Yeah, we just had to fix things, family 6ix tings, we can’t split up.” He later elaborated on his relationship with the Weeknd during a two-hour interview with Rap Radar. Although fans suspected the former collaborators began feuding around 2013 over creative differences, Drake said, he “never had resentment toward, like, ‘you didn’t want stay on OVO.’” He continued, “I never expected Abel to stay on OVO.” In the same interview, Drake says his biggest regret is not that Weeknd never signed to his label, but that “we didn’t give people that album, that tour.” Although the rapper finished his thoughts on the subject, admitting they still have a way to go before everything is fixed, hopefully the two can come to some kind of understanding, so an OVOXO album actually happens. —Jessica McKinney
More credit and recognition for producers
Producers have often been overlooked over the years. “As long as I’ve been doing it, people have been trying to take credit for what I’ve done,” Antman Wonder told Complex in July 2018. This same sentiment has been echoed by several other producers over the last couple of years. Hit-makers like London on tha Track and Sonny Digital have been vocal about the lack of producer credit, telling Revolt that some producers get overlooked for their contributions and even miss out on properly getting paid for their work. On the bright side, the industry been evolving in a better direction recently. Producers like Mustard, Kenny Beats, and Metro Boomin have found success over the past couple years by successfully branding themselves and releasing solo or joint projects. We have hope that their success helps more producers get the same praise and recognition, as they turn into stars in their own right. We’d love to see more producers release solo or joint albums in 2020, get more recognition when major artists release new music, and nabbing Grammy nominations and placements on year-end lists. —Jessica McKinney
Frank Ocean’s rap album
OK, I’ll admit it. Even the Complex Music staff is divided on this one. Some Frank Ocean fans were disappointed by his new songs, “DHL” and “In My Room,” and many would prefer if he sticks to his roots and sings forever. But others are excited by his new direction and would like to hear a full rap album from Frank Ocean. Anyone who read my 800-word rant on the subject knows that I’m firmly in the latter camp. After hearing Frank flash his skills as a rapper on songs like “Sunday,” “RAF,“ and “Oldie” for years, it finally feels like the right time for him to release a full rap album. The first time I heard Frank’s impressionistic flow on “DHL,” all I could think was, “Oh, shit, he’s been listening to Playboi Carti’s baby voice flow.” And, honestly, it works. Sure, we all want Blonde and Channel Orange Frank to return some day, but a rap detour would be great before that time arrives. —Eric Skelton
Clarity on the charts
Rap has been dominating the Billboard charts in recent years, but a sense of confusion is also at an all-time high. In 2018 and 2019, we saw rappers like Nicki Minaj express frustration (to put it lightly) over other artists who use merch bundling tactics to inflate their album sale numbers on the charts. We also witnessed confusing moments like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” getting removed from genre-specific charts. To Billboard’s credit, with the rise of streaming, it has become increasingly difficult to accurately translate what’s really happening in the music industry to the charts, but everything could be more clear. It was recently announced that Billboard will include YouTube streams when calculating album sales in 2020, in an effort to better reflect consumption habits on all platforms. This is expected to help improve the chart position of YouTube-friendly artists like YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and we hope it will also provide overall clarity. Our fingers are crossed. —Eric Skelton