Images: Twitter
2018 has been a pretty jam-packed year so far. We've had new albums by heavyweights like Kanye West, Drake and Justin Timberlake plus huge releases by a slew of newbies led by Cardi B. There's plenty of good stuff to talk about, and we're going to get to that, but first here are our least favourite moments of the year so far.
Justin Timberlake's Man Of The Woods
Justin Timberlake went out into the woods and made an album. With song titles like Breeze Off The Pond and Midnight Summer Jam it's almost unbelievable that it wasn't as good as people were expecting, right? As someone who has made a name for himself with futuristic R&B, it turns out not many people were too impressed with him swapping a blazer for a flannel shirt. Did we mention he also had a song called Flannel?
Nicki Minaj's Bed Video
This has just recently dropped so it may mature with age but honestly it's just a bit of a mess. Nicki and Ariana have served A+ visuals in the past but this time around the slapdash editing and bizarre brand placement makes it seem like it was rushed. Maybe that's why Nicki has said that there's another version coming. There better be because this...this isn't it.
SZA Not Winning One Grammy
SZA was nominated for five Grammys and she didn't win one. To make matters worse after she'd lost all her categories she then had to get up and perform her own song. And then, to make matters worse once more Grammys President Neil Portnow said that "women need to step up" in order to improve their chances. Unsurprisingly that comment went down like a lead balloon.
Jay Z's Jet Ski Meme
Poor Jay. You can be one of the most successful rapper and businessmen on the planet with a billion dollar price tag and still be reduced to nothing for one photo. He was snapped riding a Jet ski with a helmet on and the internet took it and ran with it.
Jay Z is the first person on a jet-ski to look like they’re commuting to work. pic.twitter.com/osoYau3ln8
— Tyler Sean Palmer (@tweettsp) July 4, 2018
Rihanna Dropping More Movies Than Music
Rihanna has dropped one movie this year Oceans 8 and she's released zero pieces of music. We're loving the Fenty makeup, socks, lingerie and everything else in between but we're gonna need something soon RiRi. A single would be cute but an album would be ever better. Thankfully, she's confirmed that she's on the studio working on stuff.
The Kanye Saga
Do we need to recap this whole thing? In short, Kanye endorsed Trump, suggested slavery was a choice and dropped his worst album to date all in a matter of months. His public image has taken a beating and he's barely defended what was said in the lead-up to five albums in five weeks streak. To be fair, there was some seriously good music dropped in those five weeks but was it enough to erase what was done? A number one album suggests maybe it was for some.
Taylor Swift's Cover Of September
You know the look on a cook's face when they make you an amazing meal and then you put tomato sauce on it? We imagine that's what Earth, Wind & Fire looked like when they heard Taylor Swift's cover of September. It's a painfully beige version of one of the grooviest songs of all time and in protest we're not going to dance once in September this year.
Tyga's Album Cover For Kyoto
We're just going to pop this one below. It probably doesn't need much commentary.
Drake Hiding A Child
There have been some excellent beefs over the past few years with Drake and Meek Mill's close to topping the list but Pusha T really came for Drake this year. Not only did he critique his raps and further fuelled ghost-writing rumours, he revealed that Drake had a kid. That's TMZ-level shit and Pusha held nothing back on his diss-track The Story Of Adidon. Wisely, Drizzy never responded but he did confirm the kid on Scorpion.
Everyone's Getting Engaged After Two Weeks
First, Ariana Grande got engaged to Pete Davidson after just a couple of weeks and then Justin Bieber announced his engagement to Hailey Baldwin after just a few weeks. It's getting hard to keep on and now we think we're going to have to carry a ring in a pocket at all times just in case we meet 'the one' on the streets.
The Feminist This Is America Parody
A Canadian comedian decided to take on Childish Gambino's This Is America, twisting it into a feminist version but she probably should've spent a moment dissecting the original lyrics. Gambino's version was a powerful comment on black violence and the speed at which people are distracted from outrage. Nicole Arbour's version erases all of that and replaces it with tap-dancing and twerking with a mostly white cast. It was then discovered she'd previously suggested on Twitter that people should get over slavery.