10 Best UK Albums Of 2019

10. AJ Tracey - AJ Tracey

It may seem that AJ Tracey seemingly came out of nowhere in 2019, but he has been slowly cultivating his sound for years now. 2016 was probably the year he truly broke out. His collaborative effort with fellow London rapper Dave entitled Thiago Silva exposed him to a whole new audience, with the video hitting over 25 million views on YouTube.

This was soon followed by his Lil Tracey EP later in 2016, with singles like Luke Cage, Pasta and Buster Cannon becoming hits in their own right.

Naturally the release of his debut album was highly anticipated, especially after his prolific 2017 and 2018 with a string of successful singles and another EP.

His self titled debut arrived in early 2019 and he couldn't have made a stronger first impression on the popular music crowd. Perfectly towing the line between confidence and arrogance, his raps about his lavish lifestyle and his rise to fame remained consistently witty and somehow relatable for most of the album.

The success of the UK garage throwback track Ladbroke Grove cannot be understated. It’s been a radio station lineup staple up and down the country since it was released, peaking at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. All of this without signing a record label.

AJ Tracey’s debut effort is all we could have asked for from him.