We can probably all agree that 2020 has been one strange, unpredictable, clusterfuck of a year. However, one pandemic don’t stop no show.

The music industry has slowed down due to the COVID-19 virus, which has caused nationwide closures, tours being canceled and resulted in many people self-isolating to stay safe. Add to that the worldwide protests that have taken place over the last month as people take to the streets to demand justice and equality, and new music has been pushed to the back of many peoples’ the list of priorities. Still, the last six months have provided many fire hip-hop projects to help us through the tough times.

After nearly three years in limbo, Lil Uzi Vert finally put out his sophomore album, Eternal Atake, in March, taking fans back to the future with an intergalactic ride through the cosmos that satisfyingly lived up to the highly-anticipated hype. Lil Baby proved it is truly his time to shine. His latest album, My Turn, earned the Atlanta rapper more stripes and helped prove he's a leader of the new school.

Griselda crew members Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine continued where they left off in 2019, putting in work with their fire projects, Pray for Paris and LuLu, respectively. Last year, Freddie Gibbs had an album of the year contender among hip-hop heads with his Bandana LP with Madlib. This year, his May album release, Alfredo, produced by The Alchemist, is just as hard. Even megastars like Eminem and Drake supplied work.

With the first half of the year coming to a close, XXL highlights the best hip-hop projects to come out in 2020, so far.

See Best Hip-Hop Projects of 2020 So Far

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