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10 Best Foreign Albums Of 2017

2017 saw full-length releases from rappers we know to be at the peak of their powers—Future (twice), Kendrick, and Drake all made a run at an album of the year—and proof from veterans, Jay-Z in particular, that he's still at the height of his. And, as always, a new crop of artists arrived on the scene. 2017 heralded the major label debuts from a new class of SoundCloud rappers like Lil Yachty, Lil Pump, and Lil Uzi Vert—to varying degrees of success.

There were far, far more than 50 great albums this year. Here is Complex's picks for the 10 best Foreign Albums of 2017.

10. Drake, 'More Life'

Label: Republic Records
Released: March 18

More Life is the work of an artist who doesn't want to be contained in any creative boxes, but is also in search of honest inspiration. It isn't his most definitive work by any means, nor will it be a classic. Partnering with the likes of South Africa's Black Coffee and the UK's Giggs, Jorja Smith, Sampha, and Skepta not only help him gain saturation in these areas, but also big up artists he's been a fan of. Perhaps this is the product of his Canadian upbringing or his world travels, but it's both a calculated commercial maneuver and a testament to his true enjoyment of art—ideas that shouldn't be treated as mutually exclusive.

9. Daniel Caesar, 'Freudian'

Label: Golden Child Recordins
Released: August 25

This is apparently marriage proposal music, because people keep popping the big question at Daniel Caesar concerts. Not a single shorty said “no,” and can you blame them? You’re there, taking in“Get You” live, tears in your eyes, emo as Bleep—who’s gonna say no to marriage in a situation like that? Freudian is one of those R&B albums that are more love than lust, unless you’re into crying during sex. Then this is the perfect record for you. —Angel Diaz

8. Lil Uzi Vert, 'Luv Is Rage 2'

Label: Atlantic Records
Released: August 25

Of all the rappers to break out in 2017, Lil Uzi Vert was, by leaps and bounds, the most compelling. Springboarded by the idiosyncratic "XO Tour Llif3," Vert crafted a full-length album that's as weird and forward-thinking as its best song. It's an album that gets better with every listen, justifying its tracklist length as hidden gems continue to emerge (as of this writing it's "For Real," a stunningly strange, spare beat that showcases off Uzi's tossed-off charisma, that is a favorite).

7. Migos, 'Culture'

Label: Quality Control Music
Released: January 27

Even without “Bad and Boujee,” the buoyant track that got the Migos a Donald Glover co-sign and blew them up into megastars, Culture would still be one of the best albums released this year. Get past the title track kickoff, where an overexuberant DJ Khaled throws everything off-balance, and Culture is front-to-back bangers, a touch under an hour with four perfectly placed features from the right rappers.

6. Tyler, the Creator, 'Flower Boy'

Label: Columbia Records
Released: July 21

Flower Boy is the definitive statement in an evolving conversation Tyler, The Creator has been having since he burst onto the scene as a petulant teenager. In many ways, it's also the end to that conversation in part to his strengthened musical skill set, and part to his maturation as a man.

Serving as his fourth studio album, the anxiety and excitement that come with personal evolution run through the 14-track project. Tyler's art has always been inherently selfish: He makes what he wants, when he wants. But for a guy who has made a career of extravagant, self-pleasing showmanship, an invitation to truly learn more about the mastermind feels like an offering to the people.

5. Sampha, 'Process'

Label: Young Turks
Released: February 3

Sampha broke into mainstream consciousness by way of Drake's 2013 single "Too Much," which sampled his ballad of the same name. It feels like he's been around for some time now, popping up sporadically with a handful of guest contributions to artists much more famous than he (add Kanye and Beyoncé to that list), fueling anticipation for a full length release from the London-born artist.

Process , his debut album, satisfies that hunger, providing a clear gaze into the mind and spirit of a man who is still very much a work in progress. With the combination of his hypnotically haunting vocals and pithy but divulging lyrics, song like "Timmy's Prayer," "Under," and "What Shouldn't I Be" dunk his listeners in a pool of emotions, but avoid drowning them in melancholy or a banal presentation. Tracks like "Plastic 100°C" and "Reverse Faults" feel like someone coming up for much-needed oxygen, revealing fully formed thoughts that are examined in the reflection of the water's surface.

4. Future, 'HNDRXX'

Label: Epic/Sony Records
Released: February 24

Much has been written about the bifurcation of Future’s artistic self as displayed on the two albums he dropped back to back in February. Where FUTURE is the rough, raw, and rugged trap-leaning collection of immensely hummable jagged edges, HNDRXX is the smoother, more polished, radio-ready collection. Only problem is we’re talking about Future. Conflating artistic output with one’s supposed private life is dangerous because, in reality, who really knows what’s going on behind closed doors? But we’re talking about Future. The guy who told us this is the album is he wanted to make his entire career. The guy who went through one of the messiest celebrity breakups in recent memory; one that resulted not only in the loss of custody of a child, but a Jay Z lyric warning others of the pitfalls of ill-managed relationships lest you wind up like Future. So when you hear Future say “this codeine ain’t got nothing to do with my little child,” it’s easy to connect the dots.

3. SZA, 'Ctrl'

Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Released: June 2017

“How do I satisfy myself sonically?" was SZA's guiding inquiry when creating CTRL, but the question could just as easily been, simply: “How do I satisfy myself?” After several uneven EPs that failed to break through to a larger audience, CTRL offers what S and Z lack—fully realized, cohesive production, and a wildly vulnerable, crystalline snapshot of the 27-year-old singer. It also shows you who she’s striving to become—as an artist and as a human.

2. Jay Z, '4:44'

Label: ROC Nation LLC
Released: June 30

No one expected 4:44. There were rumors that Jay Z would release an album that spoke to and answered for the hurt his wife displayed throughout her multiplatform tour de force, Lemonade, but no one—if we’re keeping it a buck—expected it to be good. It’s not that Hov’s never been contrite—songs like “You Must Love Me” and “Song Cry” prove he can bare his soul with the best of them—it’s more that he didn’t instill much confidence in the lead-up to the album’s release. The guest verses he contributed to songs like “Pop Style” and “I Got the Keys” featured stilted flows and stodgy wordplay. He seemed to be knocking the cobwebs off; not yet ready for primetime. Also, Jay Z is a single year younger than Rakim and has a net worth hovering around $810 million. Rap being, as they say, a young person’s game, Hov would be forgiven for not having the wherewithal to crank out a classic rap album this late in the game.
1. Kendrick Lamar, 'Damn'

1. Kendrick Lamar, 'Damn'

Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Released: April 14

Kenny’s third studio release (or his fourth, depending on who you ask) shows off the most important thing an artist can give to their fans—growth. Everything Lamar has attempted in his near-mythical run of a career to date, he perfected on Damn. The radio singles have staying power, there are no skips, and it’s digestible. It's as ambitious as good kid, M.A.A.D. city and To love-vendor A Butterfly, yet breezes by, in many ways Lamar's most accessible album to date. But still, my favorite thing about the album are the random Kid Capri drops, which make it feel like I’m listening to a ’90s DJ mixtape and take me back to the time I fell in love with this sport called rap music.

Damn is good kid, M.A.A.D. city’s true sequel, reworking the religious undertones and stories of his upbringing in Compton of his major label debut, but Damn is more polished, more mature, more intricate, more perfected. The ideas are essentially the same, but this time around he’s a successful superstar rapper dealing with things he’s never had to deal with before, and a bird's eye view of the life he's left behind. Lamar showed true vulnerability on this album and in turn opened his chakras and wiped the crust out of our third eyes, a true genius at work.

Culled from www.complex.com

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