Dylan’s Favorite Independent Rap Records of 2025
My favorite rap under-the-radar rap releases of 2025, from Bay Area swag rap and psychedelic freakouts to a euphoric footwork/juke/rap hybrid
Rap is always in a constant state of flux, and I’ve come around on that being a good thing. Just over 50 years after its birth, the genre has fragmented into niches of niches occupying every space from anonymous YouTube and SoundCloud uploads to self-sustaining independent stalwarts to soulless AAA labels that might as well be commissioning backing tracks for FanDuel ads. Like last year, I’m using my year-end list to hold a magnifying glass up to the rap projects that slipped through the cracks, the records that attracted thousands of very active listeners rather than millions of casual ones. My placements are judged based on both overall quality and replay value—basically, these are the 20 projects that rarely, if ever, left my rotation after they first appeared.
I mostly strayed from bigger names in the indie-rap scene for this list—no Mike, Billy Woods, or Navy Blue, even though all three dropped fantastic albums this year. (I interviewed Mike for our Credit History series, Woods for our Words Matter series, and Navy Blue was the most recent guest on my Reel Talk movie night series.) And my master list of projects had over 70 entries before I had to make some hard cuts, many of which were for artists I’ve already covered for the site this year. Everyone here is below the surface to some extent, just itching to become your new favorite rapper or producer.
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