10 Hip-Hop Albums We Hope To Hear In 2016

If you're a big fan of Hip-Hop, then -- chances are -- you enjoyed the hell of out 2015, much in part thanks to the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Future. We also heard some great singles from projects that we expected to make landfall...which is the main premise of this article. Below, you can check out 10 Hip-Hop albums that (for whatever reason) have yet to see the light of day, yet will (probably) be revealed sometime this year.

Kanye West - SWISH

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Literally this time last year, Kanye West began getting tongues wagging with the release of a track titled 'Only One' (featuring Paul McCartney), which was one of the more personal songs seen from the Chicago emcee (the lyrics in the song were apparently from his late mother Donda, sung through him), which was followed by a folksy collaboration with Rihanna and (again) Macca. While these were all noticeable releases, it wasn't until March when 'Ye hit the world hard with the true-to-form Rap record 'All Day' (above), along with the announcement of a new album titled So Help Me God....this was then later retitled as SWISH.

So, where is it? As it's already been said, Kanye is both a huge perfectionist and one with many other projects happening outside of music; combined, it's clear that we're at the mercy of Mr. West's 'when I feel like it' approach to a proper release date. With the release of the brand new track 'Facts', it seems as if we can hope for SWISH to finally arrive this year.

Drake - Views From The 6

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Even though it seems like a pretty long time since we first heard about Drake's forthcoming album Views From The 6 (we're talking Summer 2014), the Toronto emcee certainly kept his fans full in the meantime. Last year, Drake released two chart-topping projects: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, which also happened to be the number one Rap album of 2015 sales-wise, and What A Time To Be Alive, his super-rushed release with Future. Add in loose tracks and collaborations here and there, a healthy dose of his personal life and a Rap beef, it's as if the world completely forgot that we we're waiting for a proper album.

Then, we got 'Hotline Bling' (above), a single that earned its number two spot on the Billboard charts thanks to its catchy harmonies and (once the video was released) "Dad dancing". It's presumed to be the first official single from Views From The 6, and -- given that it was so wildly successful -- we would be extremely shocked if the album didn't feed off the momentum with a 2016 release date.

Rihanna - Anti

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[Yes, we know that Rihanna isn't Hip-Hop...in this case, it's close enough.]

Rihanna's situation album-wise sounds somewhat similar to Kanye's: it started out with one title (R8, which was announced earlier) before changing into Anti, complete with unconventional artwork. Backing the promo efforts of the project is/was the aforementioned 'FourFiveSeconds' and a hard-hitting, in-your-face single titled 'Bitch Better Have My Money', an apparent ode to an old beef with a former accountant (complete with a NSFW, gore-worthy visual, above).

Over the course of this timeframe, there have been more than a few moments where fans thought that Rih Rih would simply be dropping the album out of nowhere (a common thing artists do nowadays). Today, we still have no Anti and no clues as to a release date; more recently, a producer who collaborated with Rihanna blamed the delay on Travi$ Scott, who has been enjoying a "young-and-fun" relationship with the Barbadian beauty. Unfortunately, no one really knows what's going on...we can only hope that somewhere down the line, we'll see Anti before year's end.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - ???

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Beginning in 2011, Seattle rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have been taking over the Pop-Rap world (an entirely separate area of Hip-Hop*, if you think about it) with hit singles such as 'Can't Hold Us', 'Same Love', 'White Walls' and -- my own guilty pleasure -- 'Thrift Shop', all of which spent a considerable amount of time at the top of music charts around the world. They weren't just striking gold (or platinum, I should say) with singles, either: 2012's The Heist sold well over 1 million copies worldwide. Several awards (including some controversial GRAMMYs) and a few years later, one can say that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are sitting pretty comfortably in a career with a bright future.

Fast-forward to late August 2015, when the world (finally!) got a new single called 'Downtown', which featured Rap gods Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz alongside Foxy Shazam's Eric Nally (above). The song is about mopeds and the music video continues with the "epic WTF" style of past visuals, so there's that as well. Even better, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis recreated said clip during a performance for the MTV Video Music Awards a month later. Add in a new year promise from Macklemore, we were all sure that we would see a new album by 2016...

...which we didn't. So, the big question remains: will Macklemore & Ryan Lewis bring in a new successful LP this year?

[*Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' independent approach to making music and general connection to Indie/Alternative Hip-Hop is noted -- I simply refuse to accept putting them in that category.]

Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers 2: The Weed Album

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For me, Wiz Khalifa is a lesson in perplexity: the Pittsburgh emcee has been selling records at the same rate as many of his Rap peers not named Drake, and even scored the number 1 hit song 'See You Again' with Charlie Puth...despite this, he seems to remain off the radar for much of the Hip-Hop discussion ('best of' lists, album comparisons, you name it). Since the release of Blacc Hollywood in 2014, Wiz has even released enough music (and even a mixtape) to remain, at the very least, in many a music streaming playlist across all platforms. Then there was the whole thing with Amber Rose, further solidifying his place amongst the A-list.

As far as this list is concerned, this one was already confirmed; back in May, Wiz announced that he would be dropping a sequel to 2011's Rolling Papers before confirming that it would be coming in 2016 months later. In addition, fans will also be getting a pre-album of sorts titled Project Khalifa, a collection of unreleased/loose tracks, this month (the above track 'King Of Everything' is presumed to be taken from that forthcoming release). So much win for Taylor Gang.

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V (or something just as good)

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Lil Wayne's never-ending delay of Tha Carter V and subsequent fallout with Birdman and Cash Money is certainly one of the biggest stories of last year, thanks to a soap opera-esque timeline (complete with Young Thug's questionable album title, tour bus shooting (of which Thug and Birdman were allegedly connected to) and talk of Drake & Nicki Minaj's defection from Young Money). Complete savageness...with no respectable project in sight (sorry, folks -- there's no way The Free Weezy Album, Sorry 4 The Wait 2 or No Ceilings 2 should even exist).

So, I imagine you wonder: why would I even include such a long-shot on this list? Because -- after all of that drama -- Wayne and Birdman were spotted hanging out at Drake's New Year's Eve party. That is literally enough for me to keep hope alive.

Skepta - Konnichiwa

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If there's anyone who's taken Grime to uncharted levels, it's London emcee Skepta, who -- along with his Boy Better Know collective -- spent much of 2015 touring the globe and selling out venues literally everywhere. As dope as this is, spending a year performing also probably helped contribute to the year-plus-long delay of Konnichiwa, an album that was initially set to be released last March. With that said, this also proved how things can happen for good reason; while that release date came and went, the Tottenham emcee experienced a meteoric rise, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kanye West (who brought Skepta & Co. on stage during last year's BRIT Awards) and Drake (who stan'ed out to the point of getting a Boy Better Know tattoo)...we'd imagine that both of these artists also contributed to the recording of Skepta's album as a result.

Let's hope that, after getting a star upgrade and global attention, Skepta will finally give Konnichiwa to the fans sometime this year. In the meantime, you can enjoy his current singles 'That's Not Me', 'Top Boy', 'It Ain't Safe' and -- his biggest hit to date -- 'Shutdown' (above).

A$AP Ferg - ???

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Aside from A$AP Rocky (of course), A$AP Ferg has been feverishly carrying the torch for both Harlem, NYC and his A$AP Mob collective; songs like 'Work', 'Shabba' and 'Doe-Active' still remain as go-to turn-up tracks to this day. As such, the Fergenstein is overdue for a project (his debut album Trap Lord dropped in 2013), and he's clearly aware of this fact -- right before Christmas, he turned his hype to peak levels with the new track 'New Level' (above), which features Future. We're sure that a visual for the track will be arriving soon; hopefully, a new album will follow soon after.

Young Thug - Hy!£UN35

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Ah, Young Thug. 2015 has become the year when the Atlanta star was at his most polarising: on one end, Thugger kept the Hip-Hop world enchanted with his style of music, a distorted, high-pitched progression of Atlanta's Trap sound; on the other, career critics complained about his oft-gender neutral styles/verbatim and "off the court" antics (this of course includes his much-publicised attempt to takeover Lil Wayne's Carter series). For those that were able to weed through the clickbait nonsense, Barter 6 and Thug's Slime Season series continued to prove just how different the talented rapper was from the pack; Hip-Hop traditionalists couldn't even avoid him and his superhuman work ethic last year.

Endless random songs aside, we're hype to see how he continues to push his sound to the limits with his forthcoming album Hy!£UN35 (or Hi-Tunes), which -- while said to be dropping this month -- may end up being pushed back in the same way as all of his other projects. Adding to this possibility is his current advertising of Slime Season 3. All-in-all, Thug will more than likely continue to dominate this year.

Iggy Azalea - Digital Distortion

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Had to save the best for last. Iggy Azalea is an anomaly within Hip-Hop (if you want to call it that, although it is); the Australian beauty has shattered worldwide charts/sales with singles like 'Fancy' (featuring Charli XCX) and 'Black Widow' (featuring Rita Ora) throughout 2014. Then, 2015 saw the dismantling of an artist who -- while definitely Australian in any other case -- developed a Southern accent for her raps; this collective shunning from the "purist" Hip-Hop community continued to increase exponentially every time Azalea chose to make an ill-advised response to the growing comments about just how bad her rapping really is (not my personal opinion).

Where does Iggy Azalea stand with music now? Well, we don't know: recently, she's been actively promoting a forthcoming album titled Digital Distortion on social media, although we have yet to hear any music from the project (Interestingly enough, radio presenter Charlamagne Tha God has listened to and critiqued tracks from the album, which is weirdly promising). At the end of the day, Azalea has much to prove with new music: will she continue her success with a sophomore project? Will she continue to use a Southern American accent? Will she go the route of Lil Kim in regards to her overkill plastic surgery? Let's hope the answers arrive in 2016.