The biggest rap news of April is the three-way Kendrick Lamar / Drake / J. Cole beef that just escalated on the last day of the month with Kendrick’s “Euphoria,” but it was also a great month for new albums. It can be hard to keep up with all the great rap albums, mixtapes, and EPs that drop all the time, so, as a way to help keep up with all of it, here’s a roundup of the 6 rap albums from April 2024 that stood out to us most. We also probably still missed or haven’t spent enough time with some great April rap albums that aren’t on this list. What were some of your favorites of last month? Let us know, and read on for the list (unranked, in no particular order).

AG Club – BRODIE WORLD
TheNamelessCollective/Epic

If you miss internet-mixtape-era rap collectives like Odd Future, A$AP Mob, Black Hippy, Pro Era, and Raider Klan, and AG Club isn’t on your radar, change that now. The San Francisco rap collective’s name stands for Avant-Garde Club, and their inner and extended circle includes rappers, producers, video directors, skaters, graphic designers, and more. Since forming just a few years ago, they’ve already been co-signed by some of the lifers of that aforementioned era (they played Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival last year, A$AP Ferg guested on a remix of their 2020 breakthrough single “Memphis,” and they opened onetime Raider Klan member Denzel Curry’s 2022 tour, which also included likeminded up-and-comer and AG Club collaborator redveil), and they share that generation’s love of blending hip hop classicism with weirdo futurism. Their new album BRODIE WORLD has everything from subwoofer-shaking art-trap to lush, organic soul, and guest appearances come from Texas-based A$AP Rocky/Joey Bada$$ acolyte Mike Dimes (who was also on part of that Denzel Curry tour), Atlanta weirdo Mercury, and another Joey Bada$$-influenced up-and-comer, Igwe Aka. It’s a lean 10 songs in 28 minutes and it’s a blast to listen to. They get compared to groups like Odd Future as often as that group got compared to Wu-Tang, but it’s less about sharing an exact sound and more about sharing the drive to make whatever music they want, regardless of trends. In what can sometimes feel like a stagnant, RapCaviar-driven landscape, AG Club are shaking things up.

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bbymutha – sleep paralysis
True Panther

bbymutha was born in Chattanooga and she now lives in Atlanta, but the rapper’s True Panther debut sleep paralysis was inspired by a trip to London, where she was able to experience the UK electronic/club scene firsthand. The result is an album that marries bbymutha’s boisterous dirty south bars to a backdrop of underground dance beats, and it’s a very rewarding blend. Even with an influx of songs coming out lately that combine hip hop and dance music, sleep paralysis stands out as bbymutha’s own wild, weird ride. She recently lamented that people have a tendency to box her in, but I think it’d be pretty hard to hear sleep paralysis in comparison to any of her previous releases and do that.

GloRilla – Ehhthang Ehhthang
CMG/Interscope

Memphis rapper GloRilla took the rap world by storm in 2022 with “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and her ensuing Anyways, Life’s Great… EP, and–at least as far as the fast-paced rap world is concerned–she slowed down a little bit since then. But it looks like she’s gearing up for a big 2024. She’s opening Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour, and she just dropped this new mixtape, which also features Megan on its addictive breakout single “Wanna Be.” The lines between “mixtape” and “album” remain blurry, but this feels like the old school version of the former. 12 tracks, no sweeping introduction or album arc, just GloRilla rapping her ass off. And she remains really, really good at doing that.

Young Miko – att.
The Wave

Young Miko crowns herself “rookie of the year” on the first song of her debut full-length album att., and it feels like an understatement. The Puerto Rican rapper/singer has had one of the fastest rises in Latin trap and reggaeton in recent memory, and att. makes good on the promise of all the infectious songs and guest verses that got her to this point. She has a few well-picked guests–she reunites with her “Classy 101” collaborator Feid on “offline,” brings in influential reggaeton vets Jowell & Randy on “ID,” and taps transgender rapper Villano Antillano for the queer anthem “MADRE”–but Miko doesn’t overcrowd her grand introduction. It’s a cohesive, well-sequenced, no-filler album and a powerful statement from start to finish. Young Miko isn’t “next”; she’s already here.

RiTchie – Triple Digits [112]
self-released

Last year, rap group Injury Reserve made the decision to retire their name after the 2020 death of group member Stepa J. Groggs and continue on as By Storm. They’ve so far only released one single as By Storm, but now group member RiTchie releases his debut solo album. With production from RiTchie himself, his By Storm/Injury Reserve partner Parker Corey, AJ Radico, Melik, J Fisher, FearDorian, and Reske; and appearances from Aminé, Niontay, and Quelle Chris; Triple Digits [112] finds RiTchie bouncing back and forth between rapping his ass off and diving into something a little more melodic and soulful. (On “Get A Fade,” RiTchie auto-tune-croons his way through a cover/interpolation of DIY indie popster Radiator Hospital’s “Cut Your Bangs” with the lyric switched to “you say you’ll get a fade and I’m calling your bluff.”) After going in a deeply experimental direction on Injury Reserve’s last album, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Triple Digits [112] finds RiTchie blending his weird side with some of the most widely accessible music of his career, and this new look is a very good fit.

Cavalier – Different Type Time
Backwoodz

New Orleans-via-Brooklyn rapper Cavalier has long been an underground rap staple, and now he teams up with billy woods’ Backwoodz label for his latest solo LP, Different Type Time. It follows December 2023’s collaborative album with longtime collaborator Quelle Chris, and Chris had a large role on Different Type Time too–he produced eight of its songs and served as associate producer/consigliere. Other producers on the album include Messiah Muzik, Ohbliv, Ahwlee, and Child Actor, and guests include Dominic Minix (who also sings in ska band Bad Operation), Lord Chilla, Billzegypt, and Eric Jaye. Different Type Time finds Cav doing what he does best, and if you’re new to him, this is a fine introduction. The lush production and in-the-pocket bars connect the dots between rap’s mid ’90s era and its current underground. It’s the kind of thing that never goes out of style, especially when it’s done this well.

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Honorable Mentions
Anycia – Princess Pop That
Bladee – Cold Visions
Eddie Kaine & Big Ghost Ltd – Last Exit To Crooklyn
Future & Metro Boomin – We Still Don’t Trust You
Gangrene (The Alchemist & Oh No) – Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
LustSickPuppy – Carousel From Hell
Mozzy – Children of the Slums

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Browse our Best Rap Albums archive for more.