Best Overlooked Albums of 2020

It’s the end of the longest year of our lives, folks. I’ll spare you the typical “2020 was a year like no other” hooplah, because that too has been played out to the point of exhaustion. Let me just say, TGIA2021. Let’s get to the music!

2020 was a pretty solid year for music, overall. Household artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Justin Bieber were all able to release quality records with typical chart-topping success. We saw the new heads of Hip Hop (Lil Uzi Vert, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, Bad Bunny) release absolutely phenomenal projects. Established vets got in on the fun too, as artists from Fiona Apple to Freddie Gibbs to The Chicks all released top notch efforts of their own.

I wasn’t sure how artists without the resources of a Swift or Grande would fare without access to, say, recording studios, in-person collaboration, and live music for the majority of the year. From what I could tell, if the quantity of projects produced by lesser-known artists was reduced, the quality certainly wasn’t.

Here are 5 albums that stayed in my rotation through quarantine and beyond:

Art Form Of Whatever II // Jared Evan

Shades of: Jon Bellion, Cautious Clay, Christian French

After a steady release of stand-alone singles over the past two years, the 31-year-old singer/songwriter’s latest project, Art Form of Whatever II, is a perfect blend of old- and new-school Evan. The first half of Art Form leans heavily on his hip hop and jazz abilities. It’s highly reminiscent of his acclaimed collaborative album with Statik Selektah. And while the front half shows off Evan’s lyricism and storytelling, he seamlessly transitioned the album into a back side chock full of sonic pop and R&B hits. It’s a really interesting combination of old school boom-bap hip-hop and alternative R&B that is just stuffed with extended instrumental riffs and harmonies. Jared Evan’s been doing this for more than a decade and his latest effort certainly doesn’t show any signs of falling off.

Standouts: “Ending Credits (An Ode to Pieces)”, “Splatter Paint”, “II”

Limbo // Postcard Boy

Shades of: Ryan Beatty, Bruno Major, COIN

Limbo is a six-song EP from the 20-year-old native of San Diego. I had put one of Postcard Boy’s singles on a playlist a few years ago, but hadn’t explored any of his other work until just a few months ago. It’s a surprisingly deep and thorough library from such a young artist. Limbo is a beautiful bit of world-building that’s instantly familiar. Over the course of the 20 minute runtime, gentle guitar plucks, layered synths, and lo-fi beats create the landscape for a gorgeous bedroom indie pop project that explores the complexity of leaving one’s youth. The freestyled melodies throughout are what earns Limbo a spot on this list. It’s just so perfectly imperfect.

Standouts: “Company”, “Dazed”, “We’ve Been Here Our Whole Lives”

Industry Games // CHIKA

Shades of: Cardi B, Tierra Whack, Tobe Nwigwe

I WANT IT TO BE KNOWN THAT I MADE THIS LIST BEFORE THE GRAMMYS NOMS WERE ANNOUNCED. And besides, I’m still not seeing Industry Games on too many Best-Of-2020 lists.

Chika is a 23-year-old phenom from Alabama that’s just killing the game right now. She sings, raps, songwrites, acts, and models. Consider Industry Games both an announcement and a warning shot. The soft intro gives way to the title track and Chika doesn’t look back. Over the next six songs, the Warner Records artist runs absolute CIRCLES over, under, and around the beat. What stands out to me most is the absolute ease with which she switches flows and shifts from rap to melody and back. In Industry Games, Chika touches on body image, women empowerment, the foolishness of the Rat Race, and more. Chika offers a much-needed voice to the marginalized and overlooked, and has done it with only a few songs put out in the world.

Standouts: “Industry Games”, “Crown”, “Balencies”

Limbo // Aminé

Shades of: Cordae, Drake, BROCKHAMPTON

Aminé burst onto the scene in 2017 with the smash hit “Caroline” that earned him a spot on XXL Magazine’s Freshman Class. Always having been known for his infectious personality and swaggering lyricism, Aminé understood he needed to combine his joyous youthfulness with a more refined, pragmatic vision to craft a sustainable legacy. Limbo -- yes, another project on this list called Limbo -- is the product of that process. Over 14 songs (or 21, if you choose to listen to the Deluxe version), Aminé devours beautifully-produced beats that are always about 4 degrees left of mainstream center, something that’s become a signature feature of his music. Limbo is just a really fun listen! Every song will keep your head bobbing while occasionally rewinding 10 seconds to confirm that, yes, he really did just reference Jim Carrey’s The Mask. And while Aminé tackles some larger issues that come with realizing your own adulthood, you can still find verses about Arthur memes, Steve Harvey miscues, Winona Ryder shoplifting, and the Malice at the Palace (Actually, you can find all of that in one verse of one song. It’s great). You can hear Aminé relishing who he’s always been, while setting himself up for a productive career in the future.

Standouts: “Shimmy”, “Riri”, “Compensating”, “My Reality”, “Easy”

Hey, I'm Here For You // Harry Hudson

Shades of: Wrabel, James Taylor, Chelsea Cutler, The Band CAMINO

How do you follow up a great debut album (Yesterday’s Tomorrow Night) that contained a Top 10 Spotify Viral Chart song in “Yellow Lights”? With the equally stunning, epically produced sophomore album Hey, I’m Here For You. The boundary-breaking 27-year-old pop artist from Roc Nation released an absolute masterpiece in late November. This soulful, folk-adjacent, alt-rock album offers a story of gain, loss, and being there for those who are most important to you. Hudson’s awe-inspiring melodies are paired with absolutely bombastic production to create 42 hauntingly beautiful minutes. A pair of features from Astrid S and Jaden are perfect additions to an already amazing project. In a time as weird, lonely, and disorienting as the last 10 months have been, this album anchored me to something solid. What that something is, I don’t know, but it’s a piece of art for which I’m so thankful to Hudson.

Standouts: “Push”, “Holdin’ On”, “Addiction”, “Closing Doors”, “Just Slide”