Hip-Hop Albums We're Still Waiting On For 2024

Explosive beef, chart-topping albums, critical acclaim, huge festival moments, performance highlights, financial success, and plenty of amazing LPs have made 2024 quite the killer year for hip-hop. Fortunately for fans, it seems like things are about to get even better with new projects from Ice Spice, NxWorries, Megan Thee Stallion, Lupe Fiasco, Denzel Curry, Don Toliver, Lil Yachty and James Blake, and many more officially dropping very soon. But beyond confirmed release dates, there are also a handful of rumored drops, delayed rollouts, teased arrivals, and mythical full-length mysteries surrounding some of our favorite artists this year.

As such, we decided to sit down, look back, and think of what are the most anticipated or consequential hip-hop albums that we've still yet to receive in 2024 (excluding these with official release dates). Some of these are confirmed to exist and be dropping this year but don't have an official release date at press time, others are long-teased or delayed LPs that have been in the rumor mill for a while, and a few are simply wishful thinking based on recent moves, singles, releases, announcements, etc. We obviously missed a lot (namely Lil Uzi Vert's LUV Is Rage 3 and Barter 16, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's Missionary, Polo G's Hood Poet, rumors of a new Pusha T album coming soon, and many more), so let us know what project you're looking forward to getting in 2024 the most down in the comments section below.

Read More: Best Rap Albums & Songs Of May 2024

First off, we have what might be the most long-awaited album on this list, which is whatever Cardi B decides to drop as her sophomore effort. With previous singles between disparate eras in mind like "WAP," "Bongos," and "Enough (Miami)," it's clear that she's been working on this for a long time and has changed her plans at almost every turn for whatever reason. In fact, Bardi recently said that there won't be a new album in 2024, but her label Atlantic Records seemed to disagree. We don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes, but hopefully, we get this sooner rather than later. It feels like we've been in rollout mode for this longer than any other LP on this list.

Cardi B's next album is actually tied for the project that's been anticipated for the longest, and J. Cole's The Fall Off has definitely been anticipated the most between those two and, frankly, out of any album here. Not only is it coming from one of rap's greatest pens of the past 15 years, but its long-teased title indicates something tough to achieve these days: finality. Whether or not Cole drops It's A Boy before this or if he dives straight in, this could easily be one of hip-hop's biggest moments that might see one of its most beloved artists have a graceful exit. If it's everything the Dreamville boss suggests, this will be a top-tier release in this catalog, if not his best.

Moving onto another frustratingly long wait for an album, A$AP Rocky's Don't Be Dumb is a downright tease at this point. It's been six years since TESTING. We've gotten massive performances and singles, two children with Rihanna (who's also on the hot seat for long-awaited albums), a whole lot of interviews and press, merch, events... and still nothing. Of course, we're sure that the Mob's boss has some legitimate reasons for these delays and really wants to perfect his craft and set everything up exactly as he wants. We don't blame Rocky for that, as we think that it will probably be an amazing body of work, but he's running out of chances to make it as big of a splash as it could be.

Well, "Houdini" came out, and it was such a divisive and aggressively combative single that maybe you're not looking to Eminem's next album that much. But perhaps that's the trick: despite all the hate his recent catalog received, The Death Of Slim Shady might be Marshall Mathers' biggest transformation in decades. His alter ego remained somewhere in his albums no matter what he made, and this could either be a cringe-inducing nostalgia bait or an unmasked look at the real emotions and processes behind the Detroit legend's place in the rap game. Maybe he'll focus on reception, maybe it will be on his antics, but it will definitely be one of hip-hop's most buzzing conversations of 2024.

All the new Chance The Rapper singles have folks feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, a zone we love to be back in following The Big Day's exaggerated attempts to achieve this in 2019. Star Line promises a lot of warmth, introspection, humble perspectives, and lyrical skill based on singles like "Together" and "Buried Alive." The Chicago spitter is already sharing a lot about his evolution and mind state through these cuts, and the total package will presumably be even more therapeutic and powerful. It feels like he's growing into himself and not out of his past choices, which is exactly how one should bounce back after jokes and trolling became synonymous with his name and that of his last album.

JID's got double the pressure to perform but half the doubt in his abilities compared to everyone else on this list. He dropped one of the best albums of the decade so far with The Forever Story and now has not one, but two LPs on the docket. The first is the Atlanta lyricist's follow-up (or deluxe?) to his 2022 album, reportedly titled Forever & A Day, and the second is a teased Metro Boomin collab project. For what it's worth, Metro's already had a busy year with his Future series and might have even more on the way with 21 Savage for a potential Savage Mode III release. But the thought of two new full-lengths from one of the best rappers working today just has that special sauce to it, so here's hoping we get at least one of them in 2024.

You didn't think we forgot about Timbaland teasing Missy Elliott's first new solo album in almost 20 years back in 2023, did you? While there isn't as much current hype or reason for speculation, the idea that Misdemeanor is working on new music and releasing it soon sounds too good to be true. We'd love to be wrong on that, because with a tour later this year and other extracurricular projects, we'd be absolutely ecstatic for more greatness from the Virginia native. Like other albums on this list, this doesn't really only apply to 2024 specifically, as it's one of those teased that came before that we're just constantly on the lookout for (much like Boldy James and J Dilla's mythical Drug Dilla).

Now, we're back to one of the biggest moments of 2024 that quickly became one of its biggest question marks. We don't know for sure why Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's VULTURES 1 sequels haven't come out as scheduled (twice or maybe even three times in a row). I mean, it's a Ye rollout: at least we got one album, right? Nevertheless, it feels like this was the "big" 2024 rap narrative before the Drake and Kendrick Lamar business heated up. Maybe there's a connection there, but the more likely answer is that the duo just wasn't ready, able, or willing to follow through. We'll see if this changes or if we can add VULTURES 2 and 3 to the Turbo Grafx 16 and Yandhi pile.

Mr. Two Phones is one of the most hyped 2020s rap leaders right now, and The Melodic Blue has been patiently waiting on a follow-up since its 2022 deluxe. Through a short film, some huge performances, and social media teases, a new album reportedly titled Child With Wolves seems to be going in an even darker, moodier, and more opaque direction. Maybe that's why the mystery around the album is so heavy. But Baby Keem already did so much to set himself apart from the pack, and out of any album on this list, he really has the potential to make this installment even better than his previous work. With that in mind, our fingers are crossed for a new peak, or at least a significant level-up for Hykeem Carter.

While JPEGMAFIA dropped the excellent SCARING THE HOES collab album with Danny Brown last year and showed off his un-f**k-with-able rapping and production, he hasn't dropped a solo project since 2021. Don't get us wrong, we love Peggy and Danny as much as the next terminally online rap publication, but with his additional work on VULTURES 1 and collabs with redveil, Raveena, and Armand Hammer in mind, we can't help but think that his next move in 2024 will be very different to last year's team-up. As one of hip-hop's best artists right now hands-down, the Baltimore creative is going to burst through the door and make the mainstream and underground shiver in fear, because that's what he's done since 2018's Veteran at the very least. This next LP after LP! will also follow a random and surprising spat with... what was his name?

Oh yeah, Freddie Gibbs. Peggy spat aside, the Indiana MC also had some killer contributions to Ye and Ty's album and also celebrated the ten-year anniversary of his legendary Madlib collab, Piñata. During their concert commemorating this, they hinted at the third installment of their joint series, Montana, dropping very soon. It would line up with the five-year wait for Bandana in 2019, and would most likely be another AOTY contender for the Big Boss Rabbit and one of the greatest producers of all time. Expecting this album to be great is one of the safest bets you could place, and let's hope that betting on its 2024 release also has good odds. After all, we know for damn sure that they're not very high for this next release...

"2024, music!" Playboi Carti raps on his December 2023 single produced by Kanye West, "2024." This was before "BACKR00MS," before the other Instagram tracks, before his VULTURES appearances, and it now stands as one of the most false statements in hip-hop this year. Jokes aside, this shouldn't really be a surprise: the Opium boss has never been good with keeping release "promises," being super communicative, or constantly dropping for fans. But we know that whenever he does pop out... there are few things that can match that energy and raw excitement. For all we know, Music could be Narcissist or Antagonist or whatever else, and it could be scheduled to come out in 2065. But vamps will be vamps for the rest of eternity, and they'll all be in the pit for when Carti's next move finally lands.

The last inclusion on our list may be the most delusional, but it would also arguably be the most impactful and important if it happens. The last we heard from Kendrick Lamar studio album-wise was him denying his status as the savior, and the last we actually heard from him was cementing himself as the greatest rapper of his generation and beyond. Like many other aspects of the Gemini's dualistic artistry and career, beefing with Drake seems at odds with himself in a certain way. But the album rumors are already there, he's got his Juneteenth show in L.A., and everyone wants to know what else he has to say, what he wants to reflect on, and what we can learn from his words, sounds, and visuals.

As such, K.Dot might just offer one of the biggest victory laps in hip-hop history through a new album, and he will have to prove that his battle with The Boy wasn't just a ploy to set the stage for it. How he could even do that in a way that erases all skepticism is beyond us, yet some folks think that it's the smartest thing that he could do right now. Kendrick Lamar has never struck us as a clout chaser or an egomaniac, and a new LP would probably still prove his title as one of rap's best-ever songwriters and storytellers. So whether Kendrick's victory inspired it or it has nothing to do with it, a new album from him wouldn't place the crown on his head, but it will definitely soundtrack the ceremony.