In the game of rap, there’s no denying the willingness for drama.  The one thing that’s slid a little under the radar is the success that one West coast label is having. Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) not only held their own, but they’ve consistently put out quality records. The best news… the train of good music won’t leave for a while.

The most popular member of TDE is rapper Kendrick Lamar, which unless you’re a recluse, you have heard of. Kendrick is the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, his debut major label release good kid, m.A.A.d city was named to Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 best debut albums of all time. Saying that K-Dot (Lamar) is great, is straight up disrespectful… The dude is legendary and truly is a lyricist that transcends time. TDE is obviously much more than just Lamar though, they boast rappers: Schoolboy Q, Isaiah Rashad, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and singers SZA and Lance Skiiiwalker. TDE put themselves on the map with their 2013 cypher at the BET Hip-Hop Awards delivering some of the most in-depth verses, that rap has seen in a long time.

The 2015-2016 campaign has been good for TDE to say the least and what has truly convinced me that they are nothing to be messed with. First off, Lamar released To Pimp a Butterfly which garnered two nominations at The Grammy’s. Then on September 11, 2015, the label released rapper Jay Rock’s album 90059. This album debuted at 16 on the Billboard Top 200, and really delivered. By God, Jay Rock’s song, Vice City, is one of my favorite songs ever, and one I highly recommend. In 2016, TDE struck gold. Kendrick Lamar released untitled unmastered, Schoolboy Q released Blank Face LP, and Isaiah Rashad released The Sun’s Tirade. All three albums were a huge success for TDE.

With all of their labelmates firing on all cylinders, it’s only a matter of time until Top Dawg takes its rightful place as the masters of the Hip-Hop genre. The thing that I enjoy most out of this group is the amount of great work they all put in. It seems like they piggyback their success off of one another, and they really know how to use their time in the recording studio. The rap game is moving in hundreds of different ways, but you can’t deny their meteoric rise, and ascension to the best label in music.