It’s rare to have several of the most critically-acclaimed rappers of all time drop in the same month.
Well in June, that’s exactly what happened.
Drake and Pusha T Beef
Coming into the month of June, hip-hop was hot on social media and in all media with the Drake and Pusha T beef, with Pusha’s album “DAYTONA” dropping on May 25 and Drake’s diss track “Duppy” dropping the same day.
Pusha T’s scathing “Story of Adidon” diss seems to be the last in the back and forth between the two, as Kanye West and hip-hop OG J Prince put an end to the beef.
Kanye West
On the first day of June, the often-praised, often-criticized Kanye West dropped “Ye,” his eighth solo studio album.
The album was the second release in his 7-track album series, all featuring Kanye as the main producer.
Kanye is the most-polarizing person in hip-hop of 2018, due to several questionable statements and his relationship with Donald Trump.
He’s also one of the most successful, influential and highly-rated artists in hip-hop history, with more than 20 million albums sold, more than 200 awards won and several highly-rated albums. He has an average rating of 80 on Metacritic with his highest-rated album having a score of 94.
Black Thought and 9th Wonder
Not to be forgotten, Grammy award-winning bar-spitter Black Thought dropped his EP, “Streams of Thought” with the decorated North Carolina producer 9th Wonder on June 1.
9th Wonder has taught and spoke about hip-hop at colleges such as Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, North Carolina Central University and Duke University.
While Black Thought is a member of the legendary Roots band, a regular on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and often considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, by several media outlets and fellow rappers.
Nas
Six years after Life Is Good, Nas dropped his highly-anticipated 11th solo album “NASIR” on June 15, another album that was part of the Kanye West-produced 7-song album series.
Nas is one of the four rappers often mentioned on the unwritten “Mt. Rushmore” of hip-hop which also features Biggie, 2Pac and Jay-Z (who he had an extensive beef with).
It’s undeniably clear that Nas is one of the greatest rappers of all time, with more than 20 million albums sold and an album that is often considered the best rap album ever in “Illmatic.”
With NASIR, Nas scored his twelfth Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart.
Jay-Z and Beyonce
Out of seemingly nowhere, hip-hop’s royal couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z dropped a joint album, “EVERYTHING IS LOVE” the next day on June 16.
As with Nas, it goes without mentioning that Jay-Z is one of the greatest rappers of all time, with more than 50 million albums sold, more than 100 awards won and several widely-accepted classics.
Drake
June ended with the biggest name in hip-hop currently, Drake.
On June 29, Drake dropped his double-album “Scorpion.”
The album completely shattered streaming records on multiple services with more than 100 million streams to date.
Drake is already one of hip-hop’s most accomplished artists with more than 90 awards won and millions of albums sold.
R.I.P. XXXTentacion
On a more somber note, June was also the month that 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed in Florida.
It’s safe to say June 2018 should be one of the more memorable months in hip-hop history.
