Doomtree member/emcee/vocalist/poet Dessa has been going strong for pretty much all of the 2010s, ever since she dropped her first album, A Badly Broken Code, back in 2010. Since that time, it’s been a life of constantly touring, collaborating, writing, and creating, both as a solo artist and as part of the Doomtree crew. Now, five years after her last solo album, Dessa comes back with Chime. Dessa is a multifaceted artist, so there are always a lot of different angles to consider whenever she does something.

Last year, L.A. underground hip hop legend 2Mex released his first album in seven years when he dropped Lospital, capping off a comeback from a serious health scare that saw him lose his leg to diabetes. Now, as the dust settles on that album and 2Mex gets back to thinking about what comes next, he drops The Gentrification EP. There’s nothing wrong with a filler EP when it’s done right, and it’s done right with The Gentrification EP.

New York emcee and producer ELUCID had a busy 2017, releasing two solo projects, an album from his group Armand Hammer with billy woods, and several guest spots, including all three Beans albums. There’s no rest for the weary, though, as he comes right back with another solo album, Shit Don’t Rhyme No More, as he hits the road with Milo and JPEGMAFIA. At this point in his career, ELUCID could easily go through the motions and just release an album featuring some dark beats and his raspy low voice, and fans would be happy.

GOD.DAMN.CHAN. is a producer originally from Portland, Maine, best known for his work with emcee Spose. Last November, he packed up all of his belongings and moved with his girlfriend and dog to Los Angeles, where he quickly integrated himself into the beat scene there. Now, we get his first proper solo album, Slush. Slush is an interesting album in a lot of ways. For one, while this is his debut solo album, Chan is far from green as a producer.

It was four years ago that we first got the debut album from Lynchburg producer Lakim, This Is Her. Released back when Soulection still functioned as a label, the album held a lot of promise as he crafted his own unique blend of hip hop and house that he called Future Bounce. He’s remained relatively quiet since that time, but now he comes back with a new EP called Nightfall.

2017 had been a busy year for Coolzey, who released two EPs, Coolsay Too and Kilzey. That wasn’t enough for the Los Angeles-based artist, though, as he comes back in 2018 with his third official full-length album, Coolzey and the God Damned Friend Killers. If you’re already familiar with Coolzey, you know the one thing you can expect is that you don’t know what to expect from release to release. It could be nerdcore, it could be lounge, it could be rock, it could be any number of things.

Detroit’s Black Milk has been one of the most consistent artists of the 2010s, working as both emcee and producer. The last time we heard from him was in 2016, when released a live instrumental album, The Rebellion Sessions, with his band, Nat Turner. Now he’s back with a new solo studio album, FEVER. When all is said and done, Black Milk will be one of the names we discuss when we talk about the great hip hop artists of the 2010s.

5.1.nine.0.2. is a Canadian hip hop duo, consisting of emcee Derek Mackenzie and producer Recordface. Their name comes from the combination of area codes for both artists, bringing together Nova Scotia (Mackenzie) and Ontario (Recordface). Mackenzie’s roots go back to the early ‘90s, when he was part of the group Hip Club Groove, which also had affiliations with Sixtoo and Buck 65. Recordface doesn’t go back quite as far, but got started in the mid-‘00s with the group OK Cobra along with emcee Fritz tha Cat.

Phonophage is a producer from Cincinnati who is part of the Fort Ancient Records collective. His last solo effort was an EP called What Waits in the Woods, which came out last October. Now he’s back with another EP, Bakewell. At first listen, you might think that this is just another downtempo instrumental hip hop release. While you wouldn’t be completely wrong, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t listen a little closer to hear all of the interesting ways Phonophage is complicating the subgenre.

URBNET is a Canadian label, but they occasionally look beyond their borders to release some music. This time, they look towards Tokyo to bring in a young producer by the name of EYTREG. He’s only been putting out music since 2015, but he’s been fairly prolific since then. His latest album is One’s Hidden Agony. One’s Hidden Agony is being presented as an album, but it feels more like a beat tape in practice.