2024 was nothing short of unpredictable. Travis Scott fans learned who Killer Mike was when he swept the Grammys, Drake went on a 20v1 rap battle with half the industry, Young Thug finally walked free, and look-alike contests became a nationwide obsession. Amid the chaos, hip-hop remained a force to be reckoned with, delivering a steady stream of unforgettable albums from both rising stars and seasoned legends—proving once again that the genre is nowhere near decline.
Of the thousands of albums released last year, these were the 10 most streamed rap albums on Spotify—chances are, they also made an appearance on you or your friends’ Spotify Wrapped.
10. ‘GNX’ by Kendrick Lamar — 703 million streams
Kendrick Lamar caused thousands of fans to submit a last-minute PTO request when he surprisingly dropped his newest album in November. GNX had the biggest debut week for a rap album this year, claiming the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 and occupying the entire top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. “Peekaboo” ft. AzChike, “tv off” ft. Lefty Gunplay, and “hey now” ft. Dody6 blew up on social media, giving more exposure to the lesser-known LA artists Kendrick tapped for features.
The album shows how “indignation remains a valuable motivator of Lamar’s art” as “every track is oozing with the culture that helped raise and create who Kendrick is today.”
9. ‘MEGAN’ by Megan Thee Stallion — 748 million streams
Megan delivered one of the most popular female rap albums of the year with her June release. The project debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The tracks “HISS” (now RIAA-certified platinum as of September 26), “Mamushi” featuring Yuki Chiba (now RIAA-certified gold as of December 12), and “Where Them Girls At” were all early fan favorites.
Megan Thee Stallion on the album is “mining different aspects of her identity and personality at her leisure” while delivering “clever lyrics that play with humor while maintaining her bad b**** vibe.”
8. ‘2093’ by Yeat — 800 million streams
With his album 2093, Yeat traveled to the future and delivered a dystopian sci-fi trap soundscape. The album’s No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200, alongside VULTURES’ No. 1 debut, marked the first time two hip-hop albums took the top spots in 122 weeks. Some of the must-listen tracks include “If We Being Rëal,” “Breathe,” and “Psycho CEO.”
Rolling Stone felt the rapper had “enough daring leaps out of typical Yeat territory to warrant repeat listens, but Yeat’s ambition ends up being the album’s undoing.” Nevertheless, fans disagreed and felt that there were “freaking awesome ideas in here, and the production is fantastic all around, but there’s absolutely no way this needed to be an hour and ten minutes long.”
7. ‘One of Wun’ by Gunna — 865 million streams
Fans of Gunna had a good year and will quickly point to his 2024 offering to prove he’s still One of Wun. Full of catchy tunes, Gunna’s flow floats over the skittering Atlanta trap beats he’s become synonymous with. There are the usual flexes about shopping sprees balanced by moments of introspection. On “Today I Did Good,” he talks about the lifestyle changes that gave him a G.I. Joe transformation, and “On One Tonight” captures the spirit of perseverance.
Reviews of the album praised Gunna’s “variance in flow,” while others felt that the “production was carrying him.” Nevertheless, it was a popular pick on Spotify, and the album helped him achieve his biggest streaming year yet.
6. ‘Chromakopia’ by Tyler, the Creator — 1 billion streams
Tyler, the Creator may have started his rollout out of nowhere, but it’s no surprise that he delivered another classic project. CHROMAKOPIA spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 299.5K units in only four days of the first tracking week thanks to its unusual Monday release. On the album, he got into his bag on songs like “STICKY” with Glorilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne, “DARLING, I” with Teezo Touchdown, and “BALLOON” with TDE’s Doechii.
For fans of older Tyler music, it might be “the braggadocious, Cherry Bomb-sounding tracks that really hit,” while other fans appreciated the “wonderful blends of Neo-Soul, RnB, Hip Hop, and Jazz.”
5. ‘Hardstone Psycho’ by Don Toliver — 1.04 billion streams
Don Toliver delivered a dark and moody soundtrack for the Wild West of his psychedelic trapverse with HARDSTONE PSYCHO. Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, Don met the high expectations that the lead single “Bandit” set. On “Brother Stone,” he had great chemistry with Kodak Black over a haunting piano riff and successfully paired his trap sound with sexy drill pioneer Cash Cobain on “Attitude” (along with a feature from your auntie’s fave artist Charlie Wilson).
Reviewers said that if “you like high-energy Hip-Hop, there will definitely be something on this album for you,” with the overall project being “executed perfectly.”
4. ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ by Eminem — 1.31 billion streams
While the album celebrated Slim Shady’s death, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) proved that Eminem is musically alive and well. He continued his 11-album No. 1 debut streak on the Billboard 200, with all 16 songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with the breakout hit “Houdini,” the project had other stand-out tracks, including “Tobey” with Big Sean and BabyTron and “Habits” with White Gold.
Critics found the album to be ”funny, shocking, contradictory, utterly outrageous, offensive, sentimental, clever, dumb and occasionally even (whisper it) wise,” with fans stating that this is “the best effort from the bearded Em era.”
3. ‘Vultures 1’ by Ye, Ty Dolla $ign — 1.67 billion streams
Despite multiple delays and controversies, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign finally their comeback when they dropped the first part of the Vultures trilogy on February 10th. The overall project stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for two weeks, and all 16 songs placed on the Billboard Hot 100. As of November 29th, the album is also RIAA-certified gold.
The Playboi Carti and Rich The Kid assisted hit “Carnival” marked Ye’s first No. 1 song since 2007’s “Stronger,” and Ty Dolla $ign’s first No. 1 song as a lead artist. Some other major tracks included “Burn,” “Back to Me” with Freddie Gibbs, and “Fuk Sumn” with Carti and Travis Scott.
Nevertheless, Pitchfork felt the album had an “uncanny, even hollow air,” and even Ye’s biggest supporters thought it was “completely unhinged whilst still cohesive.”
2. ‘American Dream’ by 21 Savage — 1.67 billion streams
After it was revealed that 21 Savage was born in the UK in 2019 (with plenty of memes to follow), he shared his version of the American Dream this year. He secured his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, with 14 songs from the project making it to the Hot 100 (he is the 16th artist to have at least 100 career entries on the chart). The overall album is also now RIAA-certified gold as of November 29. Some of the biggest tracks include “redrum,” “letter to my brudda,” and “dangerous” with Metro and Lil Durk.
According to critics, American Dream shows “21 Savage at his most luminescent,” with fans agreeing that the rapper “made his own personal trapsterpiece.”
1. ‘We Don’t Trust You’ by Future, Metro Boomin — 1.88 billion streams
When Future and Metro dropped their collab album in March, they shook up the rap game and set the wheels in motion for the historic Kendrick vs. Drake showdown. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and had the year’s “biggest week by both equivalent album units and total on-demand official streams” at the time. It is also officially RIAA-certified platinum as of November 29.
Along with the obvious banger “Like That,” tracks like “Type Shit,” “Cinderella” and “Show of Hands” also stood out, with a verse from A$AP Rocky that pulled on Drake’s braids.
Variety said the body of work is “chilly, melancholy, deep-beat-booming hip-hop that rocks and rages,” while some fans pointed out that “there are a couple of filler tracks that don’t offer much, but when it hits, it HITS.”