Key Takeaways:

• Comeback albums in hip hop take many types, from post-hiatus returns to post-controversy rebounds.
• Albums like JAY-Z’s 4:44 and Gunna’s a Gift & a Curse reveal how artists channel private progress into highly effective statements.
• From surprising reunions to solo reinventions, these tasks present how resilience shapes rap legacies.

The comeback album has develop into a long-standing joke among fans, largely as a result of the period of time they wait and the music they get in return doesn’t at all times add up. That stated, there are many artists who’ve come again swinging with actually nice tasks.

Before we get into it, it’s value mentioning that the phrase “comeback” can apply to totally different conditions. Most generally, there’s post-hiatus — when an artist releases an album years after their earlier undertaking (resembling Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out or Cardi B’s AM I THE DRAMA?). There are additionally artists who’ve returned after controversy, like Gunna’s a Gift & a Curse and Travis Scott’s UTOPIA, although success on the charts isn’t the identical as cultural forgiveness.

Below, right here’s our roundup of 11 of the most effective comeback albums in rap, in no explicit order.

1. Gucci Mane’s ‘Everybody Looking’

Gucci Mane couldn’t have picked a greater title for his ninth studio album, Everybody Looking, which arrived shortly after he got here dwelling from a two-year jail stint. “I can’t even sleep, I got so much to say / F**k the feds, f**k the police, f**k the DEA,” he rapped on the opener, “No Sleep (Intro).” In addition to “Back on Road” with Drake, listeners had been handled to the aptly titled “Guwop Home” that includes Young Thug and Kanye West on “P**sy Print.”

2. Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Eternal Atake’

We probably would’ve gotten Lil Uzi Vert’s sophomore album, Eternal Atake, a bit earlier had they not been beefing with their former label Generation Now. In reality, a 12 months earlier than the undertaking arrived, the “XO Tour Llif3” hitmaker music/information/lil-uzi-vert-quits-music-1203106198/”>introduced they had been quitting music. Luckily, the 18-track undertaking debuted in 2020 and introduced critical warmth with songs like “Baby Pluto,” “Silly Watch,” and “P2.” Although the unique model solely included a lone function from The Internet’s Syd, the deluxe introduced Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and 21 Savage into the fray, together with 14 extra songs.

3. Meek Mill’s ‘Championships’

While Championships wasn’t launched that far other than Meek Mill’s earlier album, Wins & Losses, followers had been particularly looking forward to it given the circumstances. “What’s Free” introduced Meek along with JAY-Z and Rick Ross months after being incarcerated, whereas “Going Bad” formally buried his years-long feud with Drake. The Ella Mai-assisted “24/7” and “Dangerous” spherical out what’s simply one of many Philly native’s most full LPs.

4. Gunna’s ‘a Gift & a Curse’

There had been loads of doubts about whether or not Gunna may preserve his profession afloat after taking an Alford plea within the RICO case involving him, Young Thug, and a number of other different YSL members. However, a Gift & a Curse shut down any notion that he’d fade out of the dialog. It housed “fukumean,” “back to the moon,” and “alright,” which most likely got here the closest to capturing the back-against-the-wall feeling he was coping with on the time.

5. ScHoolboy Q’s ‘BLUE LIPS’

ScHoolboy Q personally ranked BLUE LIPS over each Habits & Contradictions and Blank Face LP, which is saying lots. However, after sitting with the Los Angeles rapper’s sixth studio album — mature, mysterious, and weak unexpectedly — it’s simple to see why. On “Blueslides,” he displays on dropping Mac Miller and what would possibly occur “if Kamala freed the homies,” whereas the Rico Nasty-featuring “Pop” is a slight departure from his earlier sound. Fans typically surprise why Top Dawg Entertainment artists take such lengthy pauses between tasks, but the outcomes are typically cohesive, totally realized statements.

6. Cardi B’s ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’

Seven years after giving the world what many take into account probably the greatest feminine rap debuts with Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B lastly returned with AM I THE DRAMA? in 2025. Having spent loads of time perfecting her craft, the unique 23-track effort spawned bops like “ErrTime,” the BIA-aimed “Pretty & Petty,” and the attractive drill-inspired “Safe.” Of course, followers already suspected they had been in for an actual deal with, due to early releases just like the Grammy-nominated “Outside” and the JAY-Z-sampling “Imaginary Playerz.”

7. JAY-Z’s ‘4:44’

Arriving 4 years after Magna Carta… Holy Grail, JAY-Z’s 4:44 is commonly described as one among his most stripped-back albums. Hov apologizes to Beyoncé on the title monitor, then hyperlinks up with the pop icon on the very subsequent track, “Family Feud.” And there’s no solution to focus on 4:44 with out mentioning “The Story of O.J.,” the place JAY-Z reminds listeners that our Blackness is one thing the world by no means permits us to flee.

8. Travis Scott’s ‘UTOPIA’

Travis Scott’s UTOPIA is his Yeezus, plain and easy. Much like Kanye West’s 2013 effort, the Houston native’s fourth studio album is one thing individuals both love or like to hate. For these of us within the former group, there’s the ever present “FE!N,” “MELTDOWN” with Drake, and SZA’s honey-hued vocals on “TELEKINESIS.” Also, it is laborious to think about Beyoncé, who seems on “DELRESTO (ECHOES),” exhibiting up on a undertaking she didn’t consider in.

9. Clipse’s ‘Let God Sort Em Out’

It shouldn’t be all that shocking to see Let God Sort Em Out, Rap-Up’s No. 1 choose for Best Rap Albums of 2025, on this record. Clipse delivered in each means they may, from tapping Pharrell to supply your entire undertaking to proving their pen is elite on data like “So Be It” and “Ace Trumpets.” On high of that, the album and its singles earned Pusha T and Malice 5 Grammy nominations. Not unhealthy for his or her first undertaking in roughly 16 years.

10. Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter V’

Although he raps, “Don’t call it a comeback / It was dark, now the sun back” on the album’s “Don’t Cry,” Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V was completely a comeback. He had simply reached a settlement in his music/rb-hip-hop/lil-wayne-wins-lawsuit-cash-money-birdman-8459879/”>authorized battle with Cash Money Records, lastly clearing the way in which for followers to obtain the long-awaited LP a few years after its 2011 predecessor. Some of the gems on Tha Carter V embrace “Mona Lisa” with Kendrick Lamar, “Uproar,” and the emotional nearer, “Let It All Work Out.” It’s not the strongest entry within the collection, however it’s nonetheless an excellent providing from Weezy nonetheless.

11. Doja Cat’s ‘Scarlet’

Doja Cat did her large one with Scarlet, a welcome return to kind after the pop albums she delivered with Planet Her and Hot Pink. Across the predominantly rap undertaking, we acquired the “Say So” artist dropping absolute bars on “Attention” and “97.” While some songs, particularly “Agora Hills,” veer into alt-pop territory, Doja gave her followers the most effective of each phrases with data like “Paint The Town Red” and “Gun.”