2025
My favourite albums from last year, but I'm late
A bit of housekeeping:
It’s been quite some time between now and the last post, but I should hopefully be returning to posting about once (or more) a month, with a huge interview that’s been in the works since last September coming within a week. I’m very excited to finally put that one out and hope people enjoy it.
This year, I hope to be able to do some video interviews as well. All of my interviews up to date have been performed with nothing but my cell phone, and I want to improve the production value. More updates on this soon (I hope).
Before I start talking about some of my favourite albums from last year, I’d like to say thank you to my brother, for proofreading almost every single post with questionable feedback (he’s proofreading this one too), Jadyn, for the logo, Alison, for providing help, resources, and advice countless times, all of my interview guests for their time and patience, the friends who checked out the page, and anyone who has read anything on here. You all made 2025 a special year for me. My main goal for this page is to talk about the things that I like and learn new things while doing it. I hope something I wrote for this blog broadened someone’s horizons in some way, shape, or form.
Thank you for your continued support :)
Also, Happy Black History Month! (It’s absolutely insane of me to say this with only 3 days of the month left, but I digress.)
Kuru - stay true forever
Kuru has been one of my favourite underground rap producers for a few years now, and this mixtape, made in two weeks, has now made him one of my favourite underground rappers. While a bit on the longer end, the chaotic tape draws from electronica, drill, DMV free car music and more to make for a thrilling experience.
Niontay - Soulja Hate Repellant
The most recent project on this list, Niontay’s second full-length release of 2025 further refines the sound of Fada<3of$. Spanning a modest 12 songs in 30 minutes, Soulja Hate Repellant feels like a triumphant victory lap.
Niontay is cool, calm and collected while rapping over these beats, almost as if he’s a part of the beat itself. Not at all to say his presence isn’t felt. In fact, it’s the opposite. He expertly wields irregular flows and cadences in a way that make this project stand out, and I can’t wait to see where he takes this style next.
Gingerbee - Apiary
With the announcement of their final show taking place in March, this is likely the last full body of work from the “multinational internet-based emo screamo jazz band”. The 22-minute genre fluid album does what many acts labelled as “online” often struggle to do: it has fun without a tinge of irony. This approach allows for the songs (especially the brilliant intro “Petal Dance”) to sneak up on listeners with sharp, pointed writing over dynamic and ever-changing compositions. The band’s 20-piece orchestra (put together on Discord) weaves together a sonic tapestry unlike anything I’ve heard before. If it really is their last album, they sure did end it with a bang.
Dijon - Baby
If I was Chance the Rapper, I would hate this album so much that I’d ban it from being played in my presence. Dijon’s second album Baby is all about how much Dijon loves his wife, and reflects on how one can love. This album stands out due to what I’d call an intentional lack of a filter or polish for the sake of sincerity. Think D’Angelo’s Voodoo if it got hooked to 5 different synth boards at the same time. I’d even go a step further and call a lot of the choices on the album intentionally abrasive, especially the mixing at the end of “Rewind,” where Dijon’s voice is literally peaking the microphone while he belts out his fears of his son becoming like him. Love takes on various forms; the good, the bad, the intimate, and everything in between. Each a different “Kindalove.” Baby is the same way. No two songs on this album sound the same, or even say the same things, but all of them are trying to love.
heartstopmiami - Sic Parvis Magna
The mostly self-produced mixtape is able to show the Miami-born rapper’s versatility in what I think is her best work yet. You can read about this wonderful project and more in the interview we did last August, linked below.
Navy Blue - The Sword & The Soaring
His second independently-released album following a brief time at Def Jam Records, The Sword & The Soaring acts as a profound reflection on growth, healing and moving forward. In what I can only assume to be a tribute to the late Ka’s Honor Killed the Samurai (see “Sunlight of the Spirit”), Navy Blue (stage name of rapper, skateboarder, and producer Sage Elsesser) depicts himself as a weary warrior recovering from a series of battles. How long has he been fighting? One can only guess, but we as listeners know that he’s tired. This album asks important questions regarding struggles with oneself: When does the fight with mental health end? How do you know it’s over? Is there an inherent purpose to this battle?
After having fought his battles with mental health throughout his discography, he’s found his answers. Over 16 tracks, Elsesser reflects on his journey and what still weighs on his mind after sheathing the sword. The penultimate “Sharing Life” acts as a personal standout and one of my favourite songs of last year. Accompanied by a serene self-produced instrumental, he reminisces on the battles which came before: “I went through hell so I could share about me, share about grief / When it was terror 'round me, sharing my peace / And sharing life profoundly.” Elsesser acknowledges that knowing and accepting life in all its forms, both the ups and downs, gives you the strength to move forward no matter how small that first step is.
Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love
While the title seems to be a tongue-in-cheek reference at first glance, Earl takes it very seriously and directly. Far removed from his time as a teenager in Odd Future, he has overcome many of the hardships in his life. He’d gotten married and become a father, as referenced in the album’s alternate cover. Parenthood and family loom over this album, whether he’s singing his love for his wife in “TOURMALINE,” seeing his late father’s face in his children on “exhaust,” or recalling prophetic dreams of his son years before his birth on my personal favourite “Heavy Metal aka Ejecto Seato.” What is arguably his most technically impressive rapping yet (especially “CRISCO” verse 2) is packed with pop culture references and indecipherable inside jokes which carry an almost palpable earnestness. There’s no right way to live, laugh, or love, and Earl knows it all too well. “At the end of the day / It’s really just you and whatever you think / I’m airmailing you strength”. Only you can affirm your own existence.
First Day Back - Forward
Early 5th wave emo was defined by projects such as Weatherday’s Come In and Your Arms Are My Cocoon’s self-titled EP. Projects that incorporated elements of bedroom pop, folk, indie rock, electronica and more with emo to make for something fresh and exciting.
5+ years removed from both of these releases, 5th wave emo now finds itself in a “2nd wave revival”. Santa Cruz’s First Day Back sound much more like bands from the 90s than a progression of the 5th wave sound. The 2nd wave influence is also in the band’s name, paying homage to a song by Braid. Instead of choosing to synthesize a completely unique sound like many of their contemporaries, Forward sticks to the genre’s roots while adding their own flair. The album being exclusively composed of live takes adds another dimension of authenticity. The inclusion of the violins and harmonica, both played by vocalist Maggie, allow for the band’s instrumentation to stand out and complement the songwriting. Forward acts as a very strong debut which brings a sound from the past into a present-day context.