Courtesy of Right Hand

May 8, 2018

Top 10 Albums By Gov Ball 2018 Artists

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This year, I am proud to say that The Sun will be covering Gov Ball 2018. Check out our list of favorite albums by this year’s performers:

 

1. Khalid — American Teen

Khalid’s debut album American Teen is vibrant and portrays the beauty of youth and hope. On the album, Khalid speaks from the heart about his life. He discusses love and relationships, experimenting with drugs, parents, parties and establishing himself in an uncertain society (all common daily thoughts and experiences of the American teen). Khalid impresses with his vocals and the production shines above that of similar albums.

2. Travis Scott — Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight

Okay, maybe I’m a little biased. Travis Scott is one of my favorite performers of all time, as only a select few artists bring/brought the same amount of energy to each one of their live performances, and I still listen to Birds and Rodeo at least once a week — but hey, The Sun staff agrees with me on this one. Birds is the perfect soundtrack for any setting; whether you are throwing that final end of year party, or just sitting around drinking André and talking about your feelings, Birds has the vibe for you. Expect Travis to tear the stage down at Gov Ball this year.

3. Eminem — Recovery

There isn’t much to say about this album. For so many of us, it holds a special place in our hearts. For me, it was the first album I ever bought. I remember it vividly. I was 11 years old when it came out, and I had seen the ads for it on TV. I convinced my mom to take me to Target, where I refused to leave unless she allowed me to use my birthday money to get the album. Recovery, in my opinion, is one of the greatest albums of all time and is the perfect representation of an artist that is the voice of a generation. Powerful tracks such as “You’re Never Over” and “No Love” dominate the album. Plus, who could forget the original sad boy songs; yes this was before the time of Drake’s Take Care, “25 to Life” and “Space Bound.” I don’t need to tell you not to miss Eminem, because if you did have tickets to Gov Ball and chose to skip his performance, I would be worried about you.

4. Post Malone — Beerbongs and Bentleys

Although relatively new to shelves and streaming platforms, every single song on Beerbongs and Bentleys is a certified banger. The album was streamed over 431 million times in its first week of availability. While no one can deny the brain invasive effects of tracks like “Candy Paint,” “Psycho” and “Rockstar,” for us, the London on da Track produced “92 Explorer” stands out as the clear highlight.

5. Travis Scott — Rodeo

Wow, what a day. I never thought I’d see the day when I would get to rave about Travis Scott twice in one day. Rodeo is a formal introduction of Travis Scott to the world that Owl Pharaoh glimpsed. The album consists primarily of dark, house party vibes and it stands out clearly as one of the best debut albums in hip-hop history. With songs like “Antidote” and “90210,” there is no denying its merit.

6. Lil Uzi Vert — Luv Is Rage II

Luv Is Rage II is more or less a jumbled collection of stadium anthems and bangers, but Uzi sneaks a few sensitive moments in as well — including the smash hit “The Way Life Goes.” Other standouts include “Sauce It Up” and “Unfazed.” But who could forget “XO Tour Life?” This song is one of those that everyone who listened to music during 2017 knew or at least had heard in some capacity. Uzi’s second installment of the Luv Is Rage series shines.

7. Post Malone — Stoney

Let’s put it like this: Stoney is underappreciated. It took almost a full year before any other song off of Stoney other than “Congratulations,” the omnipresent track featuring Quavo, became popular. And that was after a short video of Post singing “I Fall Apart” live went viral. The album demonstrates sonic and song-writing maturity on the part of Post, and his musicianship is undeniable. Watch for songs you don’t recognize but love at Post’s Gov Ball set this year; you can probably find them on Stoney.

8. Eminem — The Eminem Show

If any album stood for who Eminem was more so than Recovery, this was it. First of all, you know it’s going to be a good album when an entire song had to be removed from many of the censored versions of the album — track #9 “Drips.” However, while this album at times goes on a spree of profane hype music that is NSFW, several tracks convey very potent messages that are never to be forgotten in the music world. “Hailie’s song” and “Without Me” are perfect examples of this.

9. Brockhampton — Saturation II

It wouldn’t be a Sun music list be without Brockhampton. The self-proclaimed “best boy band since One Direction” made what could be argued as the best album of 2017 in Saturation II, the only difference is they hadn’t yet gotten the recognition. Songs like “Gummy” and “Queer” are great for jumping around without a shirt on to, and songs like “Summer” puts you so deep into your feels that you may cry. Get ready to laugh, jump and shed a tear with Brockhampton this summer at Gov Ball.

10. Eminem — Relapse/Refill

This was actually the second album I ever bought. I snuck it in the shopping cart at WalMart when I was a little kid. This album is about the last thing you want your fifth grade child listening to, but I turned out okay. It is filled with profanity and grotesque imagery but powerfully conveys a message on mental health and drug addiction in America. Eminem is truly one of the greatest artists to ever live, and the creativity and life experience conveyed on Relapse/Refill is truly incredible.