Laze's Favorites of 2025

There aren't too many hip-hop artists with ten full-length albums out still doing it as well as Aesop. He released two fantastic LPs this year, either of which could fill this space, to be honest. While I Heard It's a Mess There Too is a banger, I'll give this spot to the 1+ hour-long Black Hole Superette which is filled with Aesop's complex vocabulary and references over heavy, off-kilter production.

Not since their debut release have I enjoyed a Babymetal album this much. Lots of fun guest spots from folks like Tom Morello and Slaughter to Prevail with wicked accompanying videos, to boot. (I maintain, with no sarcasm, that their show that I saw back in the mid-2010s was one of the best shows I've seen in the last 15 years.)

One of those EPs that left me wanting more. Great production and thoughtful lyrics from one of those emcees I wish got more attention.

Throw some headphones on, zone out, and let the ultra-heavy bass and swirling dub surround you. Definitely not for everyone, but if the words "swirling dub" and "ultra-heavy bass" got you all giddy, this is your shit.

Thoroughly enjoyable takes on Thelonious Monk classics. I think I listened to this one most of any one on this list (perhaps because it came out in January).

I've been... unimpressed... with the Mass Appeal releases that were so hyped this year, so I waited with a clenched jaw for the new De La album, the first after Dave's death. Thankfully, my concerns were unfounded and this album is nothing short of an absolute joy.

Runs the gamut from avant garde to experimental (“Time Seems to Stop in LA”) to mellow ballad standards (“Embraceable You”).

Everything I’d hoped it would be. Intense, heavy, melodic, and surprising.

Another beauty of a record.

Three modern masters of their respective instruments as a trio? Yes, please. Some truly fantastic contemporary jazz.

McCraven returns to his original methods of recording improvised sets, reworking them by chopping and rearranging them back in the studio, and then heading back out on the road to play the remixed tracks. Every bit as engaging as his best work, I really love this approach to modern improvised jazz.

(I'm including all four EPs in this list, which he refers to collectively as Off the Record. The other three EPs follow this one.)

I spent much of the first few months of this year listening to Pachyman's discography, really digging his approach to dubbed out soul and funk. His latest release is a fun listen with just the right amount of heavy bass, spaced out synths, and light vocal touches.

Old school Irish emcee (seriously, I remember listening to his group ScaryÉire on the Planet Rap compilation in 1993!) does mature, grown man hip-hop with the best of them on his latest. Dark boom bap beats match RíRá's gravelly voice on super solid tracks like "Magnetic," "Ever Present," and "Moves." I also dig the thoughtful "Take It Easy on You," which captures the difficulty of being a middle-aged human trying to stay creative.

The latest in Richmond, VA's lineage of soulful, funky live hip-hop/R&B going back to Jazz Poets Society. Love "Dance with Me" and "BLE" but I think "Laundry" is the sleeper track of the year. (My niece's husband plays keys in the band, but I'd be saying this even if he didn't.)