Top Albums Of 2024 - Kelela’s Picks
we asked our music-lover friends to share their top albums of the year. here’s kelela’s top 10:
Honorable Mention: Escaper — Sarah Kinsley
10. LOVESEAT — Still Woozy
9. ELITE VESSEL — Lexa Gates
8. CHARM — Clairo
7. COWBOY CARTER — Beyoncé
6. CYAN BLUE — Charlotte Day Wilson
5. GNX — Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick dropping an album as a final victory lap to this historical summer was the absolute cherry on top of an already great year. Every track is a certified loverboy bangerrrr — mf got me crip walking in the kitchen wearing my snapback sideways. Bing-bap-boom-boom-boom-bap-bam!
4. ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL — Doechii
From the release of this Grammy-nominated mixtape, her verse on Balloon, and her Tiny Desk and Colbert performances, Doechii is the moment and my new favorite artist. Standouts: “DENIAL IS A RIVER”, “CATFISH”, “BOOM BAP” (“It’s everything. I’M EVERYTHING!”), and “NISSAN ALTIMA”.
3. I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU — JPEGMAFIA
To be honest, it took me a while to get into JPEGMAFIA. I’ve liked a couple of songs over the years and did have fun with his last album and DLC pack, but this year’s release was an instant favorite. Front to back, an extremely entertaining album. The punk rock rap of it all makes it a headbanger that could replace a Celsius on leg days. While I love the chaotic energizing tracks like “SIN MIEDO”, the gentler rap and sample on “either on or off the drugs” was the standout. Peggy has always been incredible with the samples and production but the ones on this album — especially the Jade sample on “I’ll Be Right There” and the Brazilian vibes on “it’s dark and hell is hot” — just hit on another level for me.
2. CEREMONIAL CONTRAFACT (EMPATHOGEN DELUXE) — WILLOW
Throughout the years, Willow has moved through different styles and genres like no other her age. With Empathogen, she completely blew me away. I’m constantly in awe of Willow’s dedication to studying and growing her musical skills, and you can tell she really throws herself into the entire process. From the unfamiliar time signatures to the scatting and throat singing, this was something that I’d never really heard before in her work. Willow’s music always seems to hit a deep emotional cord with me and that’s especially clear with “b i g f e e l i n g s”. Other favs were “home”, “no words 1 & 2”, and “down”. I had to specify the deluxe version on this list because those three song additions (“wanted”, “layers” and “to you”) are too delicious to not mention. Empathogen was so vibrant and engaging that it ended up being my most replayed album of the year.
1. CHROMAKOPIA — Tyler, The Creator
Tyler makes my top artist lists every year and had an incredible four-album run prior to this release but with CHROMAKOPIA, I believe he’s tapped into something really special: a perfectly refined mix of everything that he does so well (rapping, melodies, production, arrangement). This project has some of my favorite ad-libs (“or those women!”). “Noid” has a great bass work by Thundercat. I love Santigold’s vocals on “Thought I Was Dead”. Every second of “Sticky” is a delight from the horns and drums, to Solange’s vocals, to seeing Tyler and Sexxy throw it back at CFG. Speaking of: Doechii’s verse on “Balloon” is just too good (“I air this bitch out like a queef” ??! Well, YES!). The standout for me was “I Hope You Find Your Way Home”, a beautiful bookend to the project. His mother’s voice cracking just about brought me to tears and the synth that plays through the end of the song gets me every time — it’s a perfect ear tickle. Tyler’s instrumentation on CHROMAKOPIA has me continuously doing stank face so you can bet my ass will be seated for whatever artistic endeavor comes next.