You can't mention the "Blog Era" of hip-hop without bringing Wale's name into the conversation. During that time he dropped multiple projects, including his classic Folarin mixtape. The DMV native decided to spin the block and restore the feeling that tape brought by releasing the album version of that project in Folarin 2.

Featuring the likes of J. Cole, Rick Ross, and Chris Brown amongst a few others, Wale looked to bring back the spirit that the original mixtape brought while simultaneously looking toward the future. Throughout the album, Wale sampled some of the best records to have ever been created. From sampling Q-Tip's Vivrant Thing on Poke It Out to Faith Evans’ Caramel Kisses on Carmel, the mixtape energy was felt from the jump. "[Folarin 2] was essentially made in the spirit of a mixtape for my day-one fans. Some people love mixtapes more than the album, but it’s one and the same", Wale said in an interview with Billboard.

Though there's still a couple more months left in the year, I can honestly say that "Folarin 2" is a top-5 rap album of the year. From top to bottom, this may be Wale's best work since he gave us The Album About Nothing in 2015. But don't just take my word for it. Listen to the album below for yourself.