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Dec 31, 2015 By Kyle Mullin

Hip-hop heads will be talking about 2015 for a generation. It was a growth spurt year for the still somewhat young genre. Many of its long held views about race relations, social injustice, and poverty were deepened and nuanced as a response to a seemingly endless parade of police brutality. Meanwhile, the genre’s styles and conventions were vaulted forward like never before. Leading the way were a half dozen youngsters who came into their own. But rap’s elders also put forth thrillingly laudable efforts-from Ghostface Killah to Cannibal Ox and even the all-but-forgotten Dr. Dre, the latter of whom unfortunately didn’t make the cut on this list. Numerous other LPs were also nearly included, from a shocking ante upping by the once irrelevant The Game, to a bitterly underrated turn by perpetual burgeoning MC Mac Miller. Hell, Ghostface alone released a trio of sterling LPs in the past 12 months. This all proves the richness of rap’s current state, making it impossible to limit our favorites to a Top 10. Instead, esteemed critics Jim Scott, Marty Hill, Scott Dransfield, and myself present 2015’s Top 15 hip-hop releases. Feel free to beef with us about those choices in the comments section below.

Click here to read the full Top 15 in our list section.