2013 was a good year for hip-hop. Most of the major players in rap came out with an album including Jay-Z, Kanye, and Drake, among many others.
Fast forward to 2023, many of these albums solidified rapper’s careers, specifically Drake. Prior to the release of Nothing Was The Same, he was solidifying his name in the industry with his sophomore album Take Care. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It featured the Weeknd, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Birdman, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and André 3000. Songs such as “Marvin’s Room,” “Make Me Proud,” “Headlines,” “The Motto,” served as the singles for the project.
His 2013 release was Nothing Was the Same which had songs such as “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” “Started From the Bottom,” “From Time,” “Worst Behavior.” The album featured guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Majid Jordan, Jay-Z, Jhené Aiko and Sampha. Nothing Was the Same is now 4x platinum by the RIAA.
Drake was not the only one who made a noteworthy album in their discography in 2013. J. Cole released his second studio album, Born Sinner. The album has guest appearances from Miguel, Amber Coffman, Jhené Aiko, James Fauntleroy, Bas, TLC, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent. While J. Cole is mainly known as a rapper, he also produced this album primarily solo but got some help from producers Elite, Syience, and Jake One.
The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and after two weeks in the runner-up spot, it climbed to No. 1. Born Sinner was promoted by the single “Miss America,” but the song does not appear on the album. Instead, “Power Trip,” “Crooked Smile,” “Forbidden Fruit,” and “She Knows” served as the four singles that were from the project. The album has been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA.
Take a look back at ten albums and mixtapes that will be celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2023:
