It is the end of 2017 and thank God. With all the craziness of this year, it was great to find solace in my favorite thing, music. Despite a troubling climate around the world, we at least had some great music to at least provide some sort of distraction. And while we listened to popular albums like Kendrick and Jay Z, some albums didn’t get the limelight they deserved. Below are my favorite underrated albums of 2017.

Kehlani-SweetSexySavage

This album is basically my best friend in music form. It understand me, it sympathizes with me, it listens to me, doesn’t think I’m crazy. SSS is about the journey of a woman being comfortable with herself and balancing love and independence. It is about leaving the shell of pain that you have been used to and being comfortable with loving yourself. Its also just a really fun album and empathizes every adjective it is named after.

Favorite song: “Personal”

Smino-blkswn

I first discovered Smino last year at a Redbull SoundSelect concert and become obsessed. I fell in love with the with the mix of rap, funk and gospel and it felt like each week since it came out in March I’ve discovered a new aspect of the album of the like. It just such a textured album that doesn’t fall sort on lyrics or productions. This album also motivated me to see Smino live three times this year, and with the live instruments and his voice, I would pay good money to see him numerous more times. I’m excited for what’s to come next.

Favorite song: “Wild Irish Roses”

They: Nü Religion: Hyena

I feel like me liking They. shows that you should actually read those press releases that people in the industry are hounded with because sometimes it is actually really good stuff. I got a press release with They.’s music back in 2016 and I only gave it a chance because I heard the name before since They. had opened for Bryson Tiller earlier that year. I feel in love with the song “Deep End.” Fast forward to 2017 and once their debut album came out I was a huge They. Stan, getting super early to their concert to be in the front row and singing along to every song. What’s great about this duo is that they don’t make any shortcuts in their lyrics or productions, and knowing that the end product is fully created by the group is amazing.

Favorite song: “Deep End”