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By Owen Johnson
While we were all off swimming, hiking, playing Fortnite, or doing whatever else we did over the summer, some big names dropped a series of heavy-hitting albums that changed the course of music for the year, and in a few cases, for all of time!! For this month’s article, I’ll be discussing some of my favorites and why they’re so good.
10. REST IN BASS | Che
Released July 18th, 2025
Rage, Southern hip hop, hardcore hip hop, experimental hip hop
Favorite tracks: Hood Famous, Marcaline, Hellraiser, Dior Leopard, Mannequin
Least favorite track: On Fleek
18 tracks, 48m
Noisy, visceral, and fiery, Che’s sophomore album is a thunderous love letter to pioneering rage albums like X and Whole Lotta Red, characterized by buzzy leads, heavily autotuned screaming, and grinding 808s. With a pair of impassioned features from OsamaSon and Xaversobased, Che goes off about money, clothes, women, foreign cars, and not being G Herbo, while wildly manipulating his voice and delivering zealous adlibs like “WHOAAA!” and “ROCK OUT, ROCK OUT, ROCK OUT!” Overall, it’s incredibly fun, and I constantly find myself returning to it for a burst of energy.
9. DON’T TAP THE GLASS | Tyler, The Creator
Released July 21st, 2025
Pop rap, West Coast Hip Hop, synth funk, dance-pop
Favorite tracks: Sucka Free, Don’t You Worry Baby, I’ll Take Care of You, Sugar On My Tongue, Big Poe, Ring Ring Ring
Least favorite track: Mommanem
10 tracks, 28m
In the midst of Tyler’s aggressive touring schedule for CHROMAKOPIA, he has blessed his fans with a short summery pop album under a new persona, Big Poe. It includes a banger verse from Pharrell as “Sk8brd” (Skateboard P being his Neptunes pseudonym) and syrupy vocals from YEBBA and Madison McFerrin. It’s a sweet, funky, infectious experience that passionately implores you to get up off your couch and get down on the dancefloor. No, seriously! Big Poe starts with the quotes, “Body movement. No sitting still. Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home. Don't Tap the Glass.”
8. private music | Deftones
Released August 22nd, 2025
Alternative metal, shoegaze, post-hardcore, post-metal
Favorite tracks: Cut Hands, Milk Of The Madonna, My Mind Is A Mountain, Departing The Body, Infinite Source, I Think About You All The Time
Least favorite track: Locked Club
11 tracks, 42m
Deftones’ first album following the global shutdown that preceded the 2020’s, shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Californian icons are still relevant in today’s metal landscape. Featuring layers of floaty guitars, magical lead guitar lines, driving bass, entrancing production, and some of Chino Moreno’s most beautiful vocals ever, private music is one of the band’s heaviest and densest projects yet. It’s living proof that they’re still kicking it after thirty years.
7. I Love My Computer | Ninjirachi
Released August 8th, 2025
Electro house, EDM, bubblegum bass, electropop
Favorite tracks: London Song, Infohazard, Delete, iPod Touch
Least favorite track: Sing Good
12 tracks, 39m
I Love My Computer is a bass-heavy, upbeat, carefree house album that’s unpredictable, but predictable enough not to ruin the vibe. Fun vocals, punchy drums, glitchy SFX, and energetic, buzzy synth rhythms make for a short but sweet forty minutes of nonstop electricity!
6. Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You | Ethel Cain
Released August 8th, 2025
Slowcore, singer-songwriter, ambient, post-rock
Favorite tracks: Nettles, Tempest, Waco, Texas
Least favorite track: Radio Towers
10 tracks, 1h 13m
Hot on the heels of her haunting, colossal EP, Perverts, which I reviewed last semester, Hayden Anhedönia has released a stunning sophomore album. Willoughby Tucker is a beautifully composed, yet somber release, characterized by lush vocals, twinkling guitar arpeggios, punchy drums, and droning synths. It’s lyrically bleak, dealing with religious trauma, unrequited love, and Hayden’s difficult experience being transgender. It pulls at the heartstrings, but just lightly enough to keep them still attached.
5. Alfredo 2 | Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
Released July 25th, 2025
Gangsta rap, jazz rap, drumless, boom bap
Favorite tracks: 1995, Mar-a-Lago, Lemon Pepper Steppers, Empanadas, Gold Feet, Ensalada, Shangri La
Least favorite track: Feeling
14 tracks, 47m
The sequel to Freddie and Alc’s 2020 album, Alfredo, Alfredo 2, is yet another mellow, lush, sample-heavy addition to their discographies. Over crackly vintage samples and clicky drums, Freddie delivers some of his most merciless verses yet, describing how the streets of Gary, Indiana, forged his career, and how his dangerous lifestyle has afforded him luxuries most rappers nowadays can only dream of. His almost unparalleled technical proficiency shines through in every bar as he takes shots at various rappers, including Buffalo’s own Benny The Butcher, with whom he’s currently involved in a feud.
4. Racing Mount Pleasant | Racing Mount Pleasant
Released August 15th, 2025
Art rock, chamber pop, post-rock, indie folk, progressive folk
Favorite tracks: Emily, Your New Place, Tenspeed (Shallows), Racing Mount Pleasant, Call It Easy
Least favorite track: Seyburn
13 tracks, 57m
Racing Point Pleasant’s melancholic brand of post-rock really sets them apart from similar groups. This self-titled album is their second, a wintery, soft, devastating display of emotion and heartache. It’s less of an album about lyricism, but rather atmosphere, and it does this flawlessly, with gorgeous brass crescendos, emotional vocals, and heartfelt guitar melodies.
3. Magic, Alive! | McKinley Dixon
Released June 6th, 2025
Jazz rap, conscious hip hop, Southern hip hop, neo-soul, abstract hip hop
Favorite tracks: Sugar Water, Run, Run, Run, Pt. II, Listen Gentle, Magic, Alive!, Could’ve Been Different
Least favorite track: Watch My Hands
11 tracks, 35m
McKinley Dixon hasn’t been on the broader music community’s radar for very long, but Magic, Alive! is an insane show of his talent. This concept album follows a group of five friends as one of them passes away, and the rest are left to face their emotional demons, but the sound of everything juxtaposes that. Most of the eleven tracks go insanely hard, with belting sax and trumpets driving every beat, and McKinley floats over the instrumentals with insane wordplay and fantastic alliteration. Overall, it’s just a fun (if you disregard the subject matter) little jazz rap album.
2. Vanisher, Horizon Scraper | Quadeca
Released July 25th, 2025
Art pop, folktronica, neo-psychedelia, folk pop, experimental hip hop
Favorite tracks: All of them! But, particularly: No Questions Asked, Godstained, Ruin My Life, Waging War, Forgone, and Casper)
Least favorite: N/A
14 tracks, 1h 9m
Former YouTube rapper turned indie musician, Quadeca’s newest effort is an ethereal, unique, and innovative, and yet sobering release that truly brings tears to my eyes. Following a sailor who sets off with no destination to escape from his mental self-destruction, it is an incredible hour of self-discovery, struggles of self-doubt, and deep depression, but every instrumental moment is beautiful and aquatic. Ranging from jazzy samples to beautiful Sufjan Stevens-esque chord progression, floaty vocals, and beautiful piano arpeggios, this is the perfect track!
Let God Sort Em Out | Clipse
Released July 11th, 2025
Gangsta rap, Southern hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Favorite tracks: All! But, particularly: The Birds Don’t Sing, Chains & Whips, P.O.V, F.I.C.O, Let God Sort Em Out/Chandeliers, So Be It, and Ace Trumpets)
Least favorite track: All Things Considered
13 tracks, 40m
This is culturally inappropriate. Virginia Beach-based duo Clipse, consisting of brothers Pusha T and No Malice, released their first album in fifteen years this summer, and it's easily one of the best rap albums I’ve ever heard! Featuring loads of excellent features from the likes of Tyler, Kendrick, Nas, Stove God Cooks, and Pharrell, LGSEO is forty minutes of pure aggression and writing excellence. Pusha and No Malice go crazy with technical ability and multisyllabic rhythms over bassy, explosive Pharrell production, delivering cutthroat, braggadocious verses of luxury cars, big houses, and expensive jewelry, while also diving deep into their childhood trauma, religious beliefs, and the criminal acts they committed in their teens. It’s a completely insane record, and I highly recommend taking the time to listen.
Thank you for reading this article! I hope you enjoyed reading what albums I recommend. Tune in next month for more similar pieces!
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