Best Hip-Hop Album

The reality of hip-hop in Nashville is that, like with barbecue, the city isn’t exactly known for a specific style. What makes Tim Gent or Starlito or Daisha McBride “Nashville rappers” is more about a sense of place than a genre. On Journey, Brian Brown embraces that notion with a debut album that reflects contemporary Nashville in a deep way. Journey is about watching your home change and how that changes you. Brown reflects on gentrification and how that growth doesn’t make its way down to the people who give the city its character and drive its economy. Packed with timely insights and featuring only Tennessee natives, Brown’s debut isn’t just a great record — it says something valuable and vital about the city he grew up in. LANCE CONZETT

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