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The Best Albums Of 2026 So Far

More than a dozen NC hip-hop projects you should hear, as chosen by SE & Friends.

Ryan Cocca

• 8 min read
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The Best Albums Of 2026 So Far

I realize there is a world outside of North Carolina. Believe it or not, I've actually been to it a few times.

And yet I find that one of the most enjoyable things about a regional endeavor like Super Empty is the opportunity—maybe as some form of rebellion against our overwhelmingly vast, globally interconnected reality—to temporarily pretend otherwise. To treat a given place like an isolated landscape and ecosystem unto itself, one in which what happens there is all that matters—everything else distant, exotic, unknown.

Few recurring features at SE remind me more of this somewhat silly notion (and its obvious modern-day illogic) than lists like today's. Even for the subset of people who obsess over music, there's seemingly less free time to spend with a heavier torrent of releases than ever before; just getting through what major names like Pitchfork or Bandcamp have assessed to be the best new music in a given week can feel like its own Herculean task. To then expect that any sizable contingent would wade deeper, past the usual curatorial guides like genres, or even music labels, into "things with some connection to the same state as me," seems naïve at best, a futile waste of time at worst.

Still, we do it a couple times a year anyways, compiling lists for an audience—"fans of specifically hip-hop/R&B from or associated with North Carolina"—that doesn't really, in the technical, psychographic sense, exist. It's true that the cost of concert tickets from major touring acts is out of control, and that comparatively, many of these artists from your home state could be seen (and supported) for a lot less. It's true that in these songs, you're more likely to hear references to places, people, and points of interest that you personally know, which is always fun. But the biggest factor in approaching music in such a geography-centric way is you just sort of have to want to—despite it being digital art that could be pulled up in an instant by anyone, from anywhere; just as you too can listen to work with origins anywhere else.

Idiosyncratic as this behavior may be, there's proof in our midyear "Best Of 2026 So Far" list that I'm not alone in it. Our first nine selections come from SE contributing writers or community members with a similar appreciation for regionality, spanning a broad spectrum of NC sounds, area codes, and ages (to appreciate the full scope, try flipping directly from Unitus' 4 DA THRILL to Lute's Hard To Reach). I've thrown another few picks of my own in the ring after that, and then for the truly dogged, included links to the many albums shouted out in our Instagram poll the other day.

However many of these albums you actually get to, I hope exploring this list makes you feel closer to NC in one way or another, as the process of making it always does for me. I also hope that one or more of these artists find their way into your regular rotation, alongside all the music from everywhere else. The point isn't to advocate for some provincial, blinkered approach to art that shuts out the world—far from it. But it's nice knowing that if this place truly was all we had, if NC was a self-contained society not unlike the autonomous "Souf" depicted on Altair Kareem's imaginative protest album from January of this year, we wouldn't be left wanting for something to listen to. Not the slightest bit.

Without further ado, these are our Best Albums Of 2026 (So Far):

Anthony's Pick: Altair Kareem - Altair Kareem Is Da President Of Da Souf

Released January 6, 2026

You remember those "Kid President" YouTube videos back in the day, when the internet was more pure? Now imagine if they were all grown up and wanted to lead the South as it seceded from the US. - Anthony Seaman

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Tyler's Pick: Sonny Miles - G2

Released March 31, 2026

Sonny Miles blessed us this year with some unreleased leftovers from his Gamma era with his EP G2. Sonny flexes a vocal restraint with a Miles Davis-by-way-of-D’Angelo kind of phrasing that makes me to have a quarter-love crisis right alongside him. “I ain’t trying to be foul/ shit I’m trying to get flagrant.” Have mercy. Shit might get you pregnant just by listening. - Tyler Bunzey

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Sazi's Pick: CJ Monét - Confessions of a People Pleaser

Released May 22, 2026

I just resonate so much with every song on the album. You can feel all of the intention she put into it. - Sazi

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Big John's Pick: Unitus - 4 DA THRILL

Released May 1, 2026

This has been my favorite project so far this year from the NC homies. I feel like this project really captured Unitus in so many ways when it comes to his artistry—he provided every vibe I was looking for. "Coke Bottle" is my favorite song. - FBE Big John

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Dime's Pick: Lute - Hard To Reach

Released June 8, 2026

Lute’s pen game is crazy right now. I love the vulnerability, talking about things he’s gone through, his time away from music. Very relatable whether you’re a fan or not. - Dime

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Engineears

Alaetra's Pick: Gauxstman - Montana Tape

Released July 8, 2026

Gauxst sounds totally at home on The Montana Tape. His signature street wisdom and witty adlibs make the project truly feel like a step into his world. - Alaetra

Stream it on Apple | Stream on Spotify

Zay's Pick: James Vader, Mikey Wang Lavish, K Fisha - OUT THE TRUNK ALL STARS

Released June 26, 2026

A perfect testament to an artist model that’s worked for so many, but still holds true to [Mikey and James]. They’re both basically hometown heroes with the out-the-trunk and self-promotion mindset, so this album feels like somewhat of a victory lap for the both of them. - Isaiah Jones

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Dash's Pick: Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon - As Of Now

Released January 30, 2026

On As Of Now, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon does it all, combining humor, heartbreak, a virtuosic flow, and an outstanding ear for production to make one of the year’s absolute best records. - Dash Lewis

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Adrian's Pick: JAMMThaNubian - OPAQUE

Released April 17, 2026

JAMMThaNubian’s OPAQUE is chock full of lush beats and clever entendres, making for an eminently replayable tape. - Adrian Tillman

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Ryan's Additions:


Professor Payne and rohtwiq. - profwiq

Some music just sounds like it belongs on vinyl. The languid production of Professor Payne is undeniably of that milieu, complemented perfectly here by the effortless but heady enthusiasm of Charlotte's rohtwiq. I've been coming back to "tenny" in particular all year, and am fully bought in on whatever these guys (and frequent collaborator Sacredd919) do next.

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Freedom x Dallasito - Necessary Pressure

A remarkably polished mix of wisdom, braggadocio and bounce from a 252 artist you'll almost definitely be hearing about more in the years to come. Over Dallasito's production, Freedom sounds like an artist in full command of his craft and his message.

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Marc Spano - Arrival Time

As NC hip-hop heads, it's our treat that one of the sharpest ears in modern boom-bap is the LA-dwelling Charlottean Marc Spano. Even better that so much of what makes him great has been distilled on Arrival Time, with verses from a stellar and generation-spanning cast of emcees—from relative newcomers like Jah-Monte Ogbon and Kaleel Carpé to OGs Supastition, Planet Asia, Skyzoo and more.

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Trent Josiah - Music is Rebellion

From what he says to the way he says it, Wilmington native Trent Josiah is a clear disciple of (and now successor to) a long tradition of raw, heart-on-its-sleeve Southern hip-hop storytelling. On Music is Rebellion, his hometown pride and professional ambitions are greater than ever—on "Jumpman23": "I'm from the same city as Jordan, tryna be the one they think of"—and the result is his best body of work to date.

Stream it on Apple | Stream it on Spotify

Khalil Nasim - STILL SOBER

There was no reason to expect the successor to THE DISAPPEARING ACT—Henderson native Khalil Nasim's staggeringly good debut album from last year—to be anything other than exceptional. On STILL SOBER he manages to impress anyway, not only doing his thing on vocals and production, but also, as on TDA, pulling top-of-their-game performances out of everyone around him, including Deviants associates Cardigan, Cloudy Envy, 9OFHEARTS, Sifi!, and anu.

Buy it on Bandcamp

JADA x S14H - THE ZENITH

Not everything in life has to have a twist. Sonically and spiritually, THE ZENITH doesn't diverge much from what you'd expect of a debut album from 9th Wonder's daughter (JADA), executive produced by 9th himself. And still, it's one of the best releases of the year—unapologetic golden-era revivalism that's smooth enough to be background music, but thanks to Fayetteville emcee S14H, also has a lot to say, too.

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on vinyl from Fat Beats

Vanny Preem - CARNIBOYS

If initially Vanny's energy, commitment, and attitude made me a fan, it was Charles Morse's review for us last week made me a true believer. Like many a great album, CARNIBOYS exists entirely in an environment of its own creation—in this case, a hellish, manic carnival with an uncomfortably close resemblance to the world we're increasingly living in.

Buy it on Bandcamp

wavyliving - SPLENDID CINEMA, YES INDEED!

The rambling, all-caps song titles, the proliferation of Japanese characters on album artwork alongside a cultivated image of pseudo-Britishness on IG, philosophical ponderings like "IF I DON'T SPLASH, WHO WILL?"—it's not hard to identify the hip-hop avant garde that Raleigh native wavyliving belongs to. Characteristic of the best work in that sphere, the songs on SPLENDID CINEMA unfold with the scrambled but occasionally brilliant quality of hastily recorded voice notes, with a subtle sense of humor that these days is welcome, yes indeed.

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

Lord Fess - North State Blues

Few have given more to the Durham music scene than Lord Fess, so it was a beautiful thing to see him given the community celebration this January that he's long deserved. The occasion? The release of North State Blues, a short but powerful EP that represented his most fully realized artistic statement yet.

Stream it on Apple | Buy it on Bandcamp

More picks from the community: