Our top musical moments of 2023: the good, the bad, and Andre 3000’s magical return

2023 was a strange year for music. The year was supposed to be all about the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, celebrating the music that brought us here and looking forward to what’s next. And while there were plenty of salutes to the genre, rappers produced very few innovative or noteworthy projects this year. Instead, R&B continued to evolve and we saw several singers drop classic music seemingly every few weeks. 

That isn’t to say hip-hop was devoid of goodies: We got tremendous moments, some great albums and a multitude of commemorations for the genre’s golden birthday. Plus we were blessed with an Andre 3000 album just like we always dreamed! Sort of.

With all that happening, you know what we had to do. For the third year in a row, David Dennis Jr. and Justin Tinsley convened to discuss the highs and lows of the year while also looking to the future.

Album we can’t stop listening to

Victoria Monét — Jaguar II

There’s been a lot of talk in 2023 about the lack of artist development. Unlike in the past when record labels drilled new acts with endless rehearsals and hours of media training, these days artists are being thrust into big stadium shows and music festivals without having the music or stage presence to pull it off. In this climate, Victoria Monét feels like a breath of fresh air. She’s doing everything right to be the next household name — from her indelible stage presence to immediately relatable lyrics and an album that is as good an R&B project as you’ll hear this year. Jaguar II feels like a straight-up party with the singles such as “On My Mama” and “Party Girls.” But it’s also a rumination on love (“How Does It Make You Feel?”) and closure (“Good Bye”). The album has landed her seven Grammy nods and pretty much a guarantee that 2024 is going to be her year. — David Dennis Jr.

Don Toliver — Love Sick

When Love Sick dropped back in February, the project was an instant personal favorite. Now that 2023 is in its final days, the album has stood the test of time when so much of the conversation this year has been around projects that didn’t. Whether he’s rapping or singing, Don Toliver knows how to make a hit. And he also knows how to make a cohesive project. He told British GQ last year that he wanted the album to sound like “futuristic R&B and soul.” With a gang of records such as “Private Landing” with Future and Justin Bieber, the uber-infectious ballad alongside Charlie Wilson “If I Had,” and the phenomenal “4 Me” with Kali Uchis, consider it mission accomplished. — Justin Tinsley

Why we love Andre 3000’s album, New Blue Sun

Let me be honest for a second. I’ve never been big on the idea that Andre 3000 needs to release a solo album. Would it have been great, and would I cancel all plans so I could listen to it the very millisecond it dropped? Absolutely. As a person who has struggled with anxiety, the topic of releasing a solo album always seemed to make Andre 3000 wildly uncomfortable. As part of OutKast, he’s helped shape so much of the soundtrack of my life. As a solo artist whose features are basically hip-hop’s version of Halley’s comet, I’ve come to appreciate Andre the rapper whenever he feels comfortable being just that.

So with New Blue Sun, I knew what to expect going in: the total opposite. I promise I’m not just saying this because it’s Andre 3000, but I genuinely love the project. Meditation has become a big part of my daily life and this album came right on time. I’m not calling it classic, but I will use the term “necessary.” Plus, it’s already a mainstay for my infant son’s bedtime routine. And anything that can get him to sleep quicker than good ol’ fashioned white noise is just fine with me. I find myself starting and ending my days with New Blue Sun. And I love that for me. — Justin Tinsley

I was happy about the Andre 3000 album before I heard a single note. While so many fans were disappointed that Three Stacks wasn’t going to be rapping on his first album since OutKast’s 2006’s project Idlewild, I found myself smiling at the news. Andre 3000 has spent so much of his career seemingly exasperated by the expectations, politics and circus that came with making music. But for this project, he sounds like he has a real passion for what he’s doing. More importantly, he sounds happy. And if there’s anything I’m always going to celebrate, it’s a 48-year-old Black man finding a happy, creative place and living in it. While the album doesn’t include a single word, Andre 3000’s passion shines through. That’s enough for me. — David Dennis Jr.

The congrats, you played yourself award

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis

Journalist Joel Anderson put it perfectly a few weeks ago when he noted that the slaying of Tupac Shakur in 1996 was never really an unsolvable mystery as lore has come to suggest. One reason? An OG Southside Crip named Duane “Keffe D” Davis. Davis is the uncle of the late Orlando Anderson, the man Shakur stomped out at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson boxing match, and the guy believed to be the triggerman later the same night when Shakur was fatally shot. How do we know this? Davis confessed that he has been the subject of an investigation led by former Los Angeles Police Department detective Greg Kading since 2009. Davis confessed a lot, actually. And he just kept talking about the killing of Shakur over the years. Seriously, go to YouTube and search his name and no less than 20 interviews will pop up with him talking about all sorts of things: his Tupac fandom, why the hit on Shakur was actually by happenstance, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged involvement in the shooting and conversations that Davis had with the three other individuals in the car right before Shakur was shot. Davis even wrote a memoir about it all!

Nearly 30 years later, the rent came due for Davis in September when his house in Nevada was raided and he was arrested for his alleged role in Shakur’s murder. And it never would’ve happened had he understood one vital lesson: Just because you have immunity in one investigation doesn’t mean you get immunity in all investigations. — Justin Tinsley

Grammy 2024 prediction

SZA wins album of the year

New year, same drum. Since the Grammys first rolled out the prestigious album of the year category in 1959, only 11 Black artists have walked away with the award. And only three Black women. Well, if this Grammy non-voter (ahem, me) has anything to do with it, SZA will add her name to the list of winners, thanks to her landmark album, SOS. Propelled by massive hits such as “Kill Bill,” “I Hate U” and “Snooze,” the latter being one of the greatest R&B records of the last decade. The album is also full of empowering introspection mixed with all too relatable vulnerability. In short: The follow-up to the equally potent CTRL has no weaknesses. SZA is in the category with heavy hitters such as Janelle Monáe, Jon Batiste, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Olivia Rodrigo and the presumptive favorite, Taylor Swift. The competition is heavy, but I stand on business. It’s SZA’s year. — Justin Tinsley

Live performances we can’t stop thinking about

Kendrick Lamar at ‘One Music Fest‘

One Music Fest is a unique music festival. Even though festivals such as Coachella and SXSW may have Black headliners, the audiences will usually be mostly white. However the festival books stars such as Janet Jackson, Kendrick Lamar and Megan Thee Stallion and, yet, it still maintains a mostly Black audience. Lamar, who headlined the final night of the festival, couldn’t help but notice it, too. He mentioned the crowd keeping the beat when singing along a cappella. He noted the Black security guards rocking along to his set, right before he went into “Alright.” The song, which includes the lyrics “and we hate po-po” was, of course, a protest anthem in 2014 and has become a rallying cry for Black folks working toward a better world for ourselves.

Seeing Lamar perform “Alright” in front of tens of thousands Atlantans — some of whom are also in the midst of a battle over the construction of a multimillion-dollar public safety training center dubbed “Cop City” by activists — felt like a spiritual explosion. There was one man chanting along, arms raised to the sky. Another woman pounding her chest. Pure joy, defiance and passion. As I sang along I thought about the security guard who gave me hell when I tried to use my press pass to get in. His anger rose every time his attempts to deny me entry were rebuffed. A fiasco that had me in a bad mood for most of the weekend. But that didn’t matter when Lamar was on the stage. At that moment, I was feeling alright. — David Dennis Jr.

Killer Mike performing ‘Michael’ at Tabernacle in Atlanta

At the aptly named Tabernacle venue in Atlanta, Killer Mike, Trackstar the DJ, and the Midnight Revival choir took us to church. The stage looked like a pulpit, complete with a flower dedicated to his late mother, who died in 2017. Killer Mike tried to get through “Motherless,” whose opening lyrics are “my momma dead” in front of his hometown crowd full of family members, friends and lifelong followers. He choked through the opening lines but it was clear he wouldn’t make it. Trackstar, Killer Mike’s longtime DJ, stopped the record to start over. The Revival singers were trying to cover. Killer Mike was sobbing. Audience members were wiping tears from their eyes. Maybe everyone should’ve moved on to the next song. Killer Mike tried again. Stopped. And again. Finally, he powered through the song, taking breaks as more tears flooded his eyes. We were hanging on to every line. He got through the song, and you could hear a pin drop.

This is Killer Mike and what he did with Michael. You can argue with his politics, but you can’t deny that the man put together a body of work you’ll need to be absent a pulse to not to feel with everything you have. These are grown-man bars and an album for us to feel along with him. — David Dennis Jr.

Juvenile’s ‘Tiny Desk’ Performance

Juvenile’s journey to the vaunted Washington stage located inside NPR’s offices was actually quite hilarious. He went from having no clue what a Tiny Desk concert was to having one of the best feel-good performances in the series’ storied history. All year long, Juvenile’s been celebrating the 25th anniversary of 400 Degreez, the album that essentially morphed Cash Money Records into a household name near the turn of the century. But the best thing about Juvenile’s Tiny Desk performance was his smile. He looked genuinely grateful to still be a name people cared for and about. And with a catalog like his alongside arguably the greatest rap producer in Mannie Fresh — punctuated by the eternal “Back That Azz Up” — it was easy to see why.

Now if I do have one bone to pick, it’s this. I live 20 minutes from the NPR offices. What does a brother have to do to get an invite?! — Justin Tinsley

Trend of the Year 

The return of the killer guest verse 

In 2001, Eminem appeared on Jay-Z’s “Renegade” and had what was widely considered a show-stealing verse. That verse became a target for Nas to aim his barbs at Jay during their feud (“Eminem murdered you on your own s—,” Nas spit on “Ether”). For the last 20 years, rappers have been afraid to get outshined on their own records. But that fear has been slowly subsiding and rappers stealing the show has become more widely accepted and embraced. This year saw the trend become a thing of beauty again as Cardi B went on a tear, turning guest verses on Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor” and Offset’s “Jealousy” into her own standout moments. But she wasn’t alone: J. Cole continued his elite run on Drake’s “First Person Shooter” and Yachty’s “The Secret Recipe.” It’s OK to get outshined, rappers. As long as the song is good, it doesn’t matter. — David Dennis Jr.

Podcast you should be listening to 

(Besides Rap Stories)

The Club 520 Podcast

Ok, this isn’t necessarily a music podcast, but they do discuss music from time to time. There may be a million basketball podcasts nowadays, but one of the very best comes from three friends: Bishop, DJ and retired NBA veteran point guard Jeff Teague aka The Club 520 Podcast. When I tell you it’s hands down the funniest, yet charming hoops-related shows out there, on my mama I’m not lying. Bishop and DJ are master conversation conductors. Teague’s storytelling is second-to-none, and is sure to leave you in tears of laughter. It’s part self-deprecating, part nonchalant. Whatever the equation, the NBA universe is a far better place with Club 520 around. Just listen to this clip of Bishop and DJ trying to figure out why their boy decided to shove NBA star LeBron in a playoff game years ago.

Teague, who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in his final season, averaged 12 points a game in well over a decade hooping in the NBA. That’s far more than I ever could, but not exactly Hall of Fame numbers either. Now, as a media personality? Let’s just say he’s off to a great start. Club 520 is the unfiltered, yet charming self-care every hoops fan needs in their life right now. — Justin Tinsley

Verses we can’t stop thinking about 

Best — Phonte on Black Milk’s ‘No Wish’

Phonte has always been one of the most vulnerable, raw and honest rappers to grab a mic. He’s been so open that it’s easy to feel like you know everything about him based on what you’ve heard on wax. But his verse on “No Wish” takes us to a deeply personal place that is both liberating and hard to listen to. In one verse Phonte writes an entire memoir about surviving childhood sexual trauma and how his battle with that pain defined so much of who he became as a man. What’s so beautiful is that Phonte takes us to a rare place where his wounds are exposed, but he allows us to bask in his defiance of those scars to remind us he’s still not someone to mess with on the mic. — David Dennis Jr.

Worst — DaBaby on ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World’

I’m from an era when an artist, say 50 Cent or Lil Wayne, would take another artist’s beat, completely dismantle it and make it their song. Well, that’s exactly what DaBaby didn’t do with Burna Boy’s hit record (which was originally Brandy’s hit record), “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” I pride myself on not being a hater, and I’m not hating when I say this should’ve never left the studio. Don’t believe me? On this post alone, the video was viewed more than 22 million times. That sounds amazing — until you read the replies and retweets. They’re uglier than airports during the holidays.

DaBaby is a far cry from the level of superstar he looked poised to become back in 2019. Largely by his own doing, if I may add. But he has to have someone in his corner who will keep it real with him. Friends don’t let friends release records like this. Let’s not let this happen again in 2024. — Justin Tinsley

Yep, we saw Usher, too

Back in July, my wife and I, with two of our best friends, got a chance to see one of the most talked-about shows in America. Let me tell you this. I can’t claim to have seen everyone, but I’ve seen a ton of live shows. Usher’s Las Vegas residency could very well be the best I’ve seen with my own two eyes.

His catalog is one thing. Showmanship is another. To have both at the rarefied levels Usher does is completely unfair. Just when you think you have a chance to sit down and catch your breath, there’s another six- or seven-song run that’s every bit as nostalgic as it is therapeutic. I know the NFL is head over heels for Taylor Swift right now, but let’s just hope they invest that same energy into Usher. Ask anyone at Andscape, and they’ll tell you I’ve been planting my flag on the Usher/Super Bowl hill since this time last year. But mark my words, after seeing him live, we’re potentially in for the greatest halftime show ever. His residency is that good. And Usher has been even better for far longer — with no signs of slowing down anytime soon either. Next year could be another defining campaign for the R&B Atlantan. So it’s fitting the current King of Vegas starts off there with the entire world watching in February. — Justin Tinsley

I didn’t see Usher until Thanksgiving break and let me tell you the man is in the third prime of his career. The stage presence, the breath control, the amount of hits — it’s unparalleled by just about anyone whose name doesn’t rhyme with fiancé. I demand that Usher just get to do his whole Vegas show for the Super Bowl halftime. Who cares about the game? Let him bring out the stripper poles, the skates, and the crowd participation.

What struck me the most, though, was the variance between shows. The show I saw was different from the clips I saw on social media. Usher is a man in control of his craft and had everyone eating out of his hands. Just one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. — David Dennis Jr.

Add these to your holiday to-do list 

The Blog Era podcast

Without “the blog era” — the period during the late 2000s and early 2010s when internet blogs were major cultural barometers — you aren’t reading these words. From me and David. We’re proud products of that era (and long live The Smoking Section!). Brothers Eric and Jeff Rosenthal of It’s the Real are, too. They delivered the definitive time capsule of a period that not only changed the music business, but so many lives and careers along the way, from artists, journalists, executives and creatives.

The podcast is 10 episodes, which makes now the perfect time to binge the series as everyone shuts things down for the holidays. — Justin Tinsley

May The Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story

Little Brother is one of my favorite rap groups of all time. The story of their last 20 years has been one of the most talked-about and speculated upon for the entire time. Now, thanks to the good folks at Rap Portraits, we are getting the full, honest, unfiltered story of Phonte, Big Pooh and 9th Wonder. This is a rare documentary about a breakup and reconciliation where two people (9th Wonder was not in the doc) were candid about their separation while also finding a way to come back together in the end. While this may seem like a doc about a legendary rap group, it’s really about friendship, forgiveness and vulnerability. This is as definitive as it gets and is in the annals of rap documentary classics. — David Dennis Jr.