The Best Of Hip-Hop From The 2024 Uproxx Music Critics Poll

Hip-hop is well-represented in the 2024 Uproxx Critics Poll, in a year defined as much by conflict as anything else. This is the 7th annual version of the poll, in which nearly 300 music critics from across the industry weighed in. The conflict between Drake and Kendrick Lamar produced no fewer than four of respondents’ top songs of the year, while Kendrick’s combative surprise release GNX only fell short of the top favorite because Charli XCX’s Brat had a whole summer to stick in the collective consciousness. 2024 was the year the popular and critical consensus dovetailed, but it was also a year of unexpected breakouts, sharp stylistic swings, and the resurgence of regional aesthetics in rap. You may notice that the Los Angeles area returned to widespread prominence with an insular, exclusive approach redolent of the “for us, by us” philosophy. If “Not Like Us” was the prevailing sentiment in hip-hop, it was a sentiment everyone could get behind; community over commerce, authenticity over mass appeal. The real is back. Be sure to check out the full poll here, and below, explore some of the artists who stood out the most this year. Kendrick Lamar Yeah, I know: Obvious,...