Every music enthusiast has a list of their top five favorite albums of all time. Many times, these projects bring back fond memories. On the flip side, fans may have been going through a tough time when an album dropped and the music helped them get through that moment in their life. Then there's that one project that just has everlasting bops. For rappers, it’s no different. Before they were artists, they were hip-hop fans. 2021 XXL Freshman Lakeyah can attest to that. Down in Atlanta during the Freshman cover shoot, she shared her top five favorite hip-hop albums that made an impact on her life.
If you’ve listened to the Quality Control Music rapper's songs, you know she takes pride in spitting hard-hitting bars. The choices for her top five album feature the music she naturally gravitates towards. First up on the “Female Goat” rapper’s list is Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. “I’m definitely gonna start with Nicki’s Pink Friday,” she says. “It’s iconic.”
Lakeyah moves on to No. 2 with Drake’s Take Care. “I’ma say Drake, Take Care. Like, that is just timeless music,” the Milwaukee native explains. “I love timeless music. Not shit that’s gonna be here one day and they worried about what’s coming tomorrow, you know?”
She then moves on to her third favorite album. “Three, I’ma say Lil Baby, My Turn,” she asserts. “Y’all already know there were some hits on there.” Tee Grizzley also makes it onto her list of favorite albums. “My fourth favorite hip-hop album is Tee Grizzley, My Moment,” Lakeyah confirms. “He snapped throughout the whole thing. There’s no skips for me. I love it.”
Lastly, the “Big FlexHer” rapper names her fifth favorite album. “My fifth favorite album is definitely Trina, The Baddest Bitch,” Lakeyah discloses. “I grew up to Nicki and Trina, you know? I ain’t really have a lot of females rappers and Trina is definitely the baddest, forever.”
Get familiar with Lakeyah's top five favorite hip-hop albums below.