If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you can probably get a pretty good idea that hip-hop is one of my favorite genres of music.

That’s why it pains me to say that 2019 hasn’t been the best year ever for hip-hop music, especially given how strong the genre has been for the past three years or so.

But in the past two weeks, there have been two separate hip-hop records that have both been incredible, and I just need to talk about both here.

First up, we have “Bandanna,” the second collaboration between rapper Freddie Gibbs and DJ and producer Madlib.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever gotten a chance to say it here, but I’m fairly confident Madlib is one of the best beatmakers in hip-hop history, perhaps second only the late, great J Dilla.

Madlib’s old-school style of beatmaking, focusing on dusty samples from jazz and soul records, has made for the perfect backing track for old head emcees like Talib Kweli, MF DOOM and, of course, Gibbs previously.

And the stylistic perfection continues here. Gibbs’ gravelly delivery is the perfect partner to his dark lyrics, and we truly see the emcee at his absolute best on this record.

Backed by other hyper-lyrical featured artists like Pusha T, Killer Mike, Yasiin Bey and Anderson. Paak, Gibbs and Madlib manage to make the perfect kind of rap record for throwing on a pair of headphones and really paying attention to the lyrics. It’s easily the best rap record of the year, and one of the best in recent memory.

And while “Bandanna” is a headphone record, “Revenge of the Dreamers III” is one made for cruising around. The record is the third —obviously — compilation record from Dreamville, the record label started by J. Cole, and it was born out of a 10-day recording session earlier this year that reportedly featured more than 100 hip-hop artists, including both rappers and producers.

While not all of the 100 artists are featured on the compilation, sometimes it feels pretty damn close to it, as the record is basically a who’s-who of the more lyrical rappers of the modern era.

Dreamville artists like Bas, EarthGang, and especially J.I.D. dominate the tracks alongside label-leader Cole, but they’re supported by outside help from talents like Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples and Ski Mask the Slump God.

The album basically ends up coming across as a “real hip-hop” version of a DJ Khaled album. It’s everyone involved in the rap game right now, but, unlike a Khaled album, it’s actually pretty good.

The album is basically an hour-long posse cut, but what’s amazing about it is the way it shows off the individual styles of all of the rappers involved. Some of it feels East Coast, some of it feels West Coast, there’s a whole lot of Atlanta but more importantly than anything it’s all now and it’s all good.

I expect to be blasting both of these records for some time to come.

‘Bandana,’ the second collaborative record between Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, was released on June 28.
https://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_bandana.jpg.optimal.jpg‘Bandana,’ the second collaborative record between Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, was released on June 28.

Record label Dreamville, led by J. Cole, dropped ‘Revenge of the Dreamers III’ on July 5.
https://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_revengeofthedreamersIII.jpg.optimal.jpgRecord label Dreamville, led by J. Cole, dropped ‘Revenge of the Dreamers III’ on July 5.

By Patrick Kernan

pkernan@timesleader.com

Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan