top 10 albums of 2016 – afropunk

They say the arts flourish in times of great turmoil, so at least there’s that. On just about every level, 2016 has been a pretty fucked up year. But it’s also seen perennially promising artists like Solange, Childish Gambino, and Blood Orange release timeless and timely albums that flirt with perfection. It’s seen artists across the underground from BLXPLTN to Abdu Ali to Burn produce powerful uncompromising soundtracks to the revolution. Resistance and resilience both will need a lot of great art to fuel them. And in these uncertain times, it seems like the only thing we can count on is that there’s no shortage of great art to fuel us.

Compiled by AP team
Words by Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

1. Adia Victoria – Beyond The Bloodhounds

On just the strength of the album’s singles released last year, Adia Victoria’s debut Beyond The Bloodhounds was destined for a spot on this list. Backed by an unfairly tight band, Adia Victoria tells stories of heartbreak, alienation, and loss on songs that explore the darker corners of garage rock, blues, and folk. An ever inventive lyricist, Adia Victoria never takes the obvious route, instead relishing in contradictions and misdirection, each listen revealing different shades and new depth.

2. BLXPLTN – New York Fascist Week

Following up 2015’s genre-defining Black Cop Down was never going to be easy. With New York Fascist Week, the band turned everything up two notches. The incisive social commentary cut deeper, the noise got noisier, the heaviness got heavier, hell even the band’s weird sense of humor got weirder and funnier. Released just days before the election, the album proved to be a frustratingly timely temperature check of the nation. Each song is a statement on where we are and how we got here cut through with the band’s unique mix of punk and industrial fury.

3. Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!”

While there’s never been any doubt that Donald Glover was a genius, few people saw the depth or brilliance of “Awaken, My Love!” coming. Steeped in 70’s psychedelic soul and funk, the album finds Glover transcending his likable goofy charm to emerge as a capital A Artist. Over 11 absolutely essential tracks, Childish Gambino picks up the mantle tragically dropped by Prince in April, and presents himself as the heir apparent.

4. Solange – A Seat at the Table

With A Seat at the Table, Solange finally arrived. The singer has spent a decade releasing albums boasting huge talent and bold ideas, but it took until 2016 and the help of Raphael Saadiq for the pieces to come together. The album’s brilliance stems not just from the singers’ unflinching look at gender and race in an infectious neo-soul package, but from the way she digs into her personal life to draw a straight line between the personal and the political.

5. Abdu Ali – MONGO

Declaring himself “the black Katniss,” “Mike Tyson with a limp wrist,” and “Angela Davis with a long dick,” Abdu Ali’s MONGO is an album-length call to arms. A celebration of queer blackness and a soundtrack to the revolution, the album mixes hip-hop, noise, punk rock, and jazz into an irresistible stew. It is pure brilliance.

6. Burn – …From The Ashes EP

The legend of Burn has often overshadowed the band themselves. Their entire discography could barely fill an hour, but the shadow they’ve cast over the past 27 years is long. Though they never officially broke up, few expected a new EP in 2016, let alone one that lives up to and even adds to the legend. But the hardcore band’s …From The Ashes EP is a blistering reminder that some legends never die.

7. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound

Freetown Sound is an album full of contradictions; sparse but lush, atmospheric but hook-filled, minimalist but deep. Released as an album for people who were told they were “not black enough, too black, too queer, not queer the right way,” the album is masterful in its balance of subtlety and powerful emotions.

8. MALLRAT – every breath a fracture

With just 6 songs, MALLRAT establishes themselves as one of the most vital bands in the DIY scene right now. every breath a fracture is the kind of heartfelt minimalist poetry most emo bands think they write but few actually do. Rather than wallowing, MALLRAT use heartbreak and trauma as a means to build community and seek solidarity. And if there was any anthem 2016 needs, it’s the anti-anthem of “i don’t really wanna try.”

9. Frank Ocean – Blonde

Easily the most anticipated release of 2016, Frank Ocean’s followup to his acclaimed Channel Orange spent much of the year as the subject of endless speculation. Though it often eschewed traditional hooks and beats, Blonde’s mix of minimalist guitars, unexpected interludes and beguiling texture cemented Frank Ocean as one of the most fascinating and compelling artists out there today.

10. Samurai Shotgun – Riptide

The Tampa-based quintet blurs the edges between hip-hop, punk, and prog on their sophomore record. Odd time signatures and off-kilter rhythms juxtapose frontman Mateo’s often introspective flow, while the band conjures poorly lit basement shows and pit theatrics. The band summons pure hope out of pain and struggle on the year-summing title track; “swim / push against that riptide.”