This should go without saying, but please keep in mind that this is a subjective list of my personal favorite 10 extended plays of 2024, meaning not every EP that’s worth listening to from the past year will be listed here. There are plenty of EPs I love that didn’t make the cut, as well as many EPs that I haven’t heard yet that otherwise would be listed here. I had a busy year, so I wasn’t able to listen to as much music as I would have liked. Anyway, stay tuned for the list of my favorite albums of 2024, which is dropping tomorrow morning. Before we begin, please note that this list is not in any particular order, aside from my EP of the year, which will be at the bottom of the list.
CHIEF by Ilajide & Mic Phelps
This EP is pure fun. Just press play, and you’ll immediately be overtaken by the coveted involuntary head nod. The cover art, which you may or may not find offensive, is a good reflection of the type of vibe the EP offers. I don’t see how any Hip Hop loving stoner could hate on the music here. What Ilajide & Mic Phelps are able to do with their flows is remarkable, and the production from Ilajide himself is pretty melodic and bouncy. This was basically my introduction to Mic Phelps—I had only heard him on a couple features before—and I was sold by the time the project was over. I’m looking forward to hearing more work from him in the future and familiarizing myself with his music because this project is fire.
Royal Blu by Blu & Roy Royal
Blu is one of my favorite rappers of all time, and he dropped a ton of music this year. I sadly didn’t get a chance to check out the two most popular albums he released—Love (the) Ominous World with Exile, and Los Angeles with Evidence. However, I thankfully did have time to try out this collaborative EP with Roy Royal, with whom I was previously unfamiliar. Blu is one of those artists who I can count on to always rap well, so a lot of times it comes down to the production quality when determining if I’ll like a project from him or not. Thankfully, Roy Royal’s beats on this one are really excellent to me. The first few songs are all dope, but the second half is where things get especially great in my opinion. My favorite song is called The Legendary, and it just has a really pretty, soulful instrumental. A lot of the production reminded me of something 9th Wonder would have done during his prime, so that’s pretty cool. I love it. The whole EP is super dope. Check it out.
4632 by Teller Bank$
This might be the most slept on release in this entire list. This project isn’t available on DSPs, so the only way to hear it is by purchasing it on Bandcamp. It’s completely self produced and there are no features, and it’s boiling hot fire. This is actually one of my favorite projects I’ve heard from Teller Bank$, and that’s saying a lot because he’s landed on my year end lists every year since I started listening to him. If I had to compare it to a previous release, I’d say it’s closest to The Pen for Whom the Sword Moves, which is one of Teller’s best albums in my opinion. This one is is perhaps even better though. Pretty much every single track could be considered a highlight. However, my favorite track is the closer, which has a really dark, ominous, almost devilish vibe. It’s an incredible listen. It gets the OG NICK MARSH seal of approval for sure.
YoolaG’z by Sleep Sinatra & bloomcycle
This EP consists of b-sides from Sleep & bloomcycle’s amazing Memory(ummm…) album, which released about a week after this project. It’s fire. Songs like Resurrect and Wreathes & Roses absolutely are just as amazing as the songs that made it onto the official album. If you love that project as much as I do, this is a must listen release, and vice-versa. If you love one, you’ll love the other. I absolutely adore the combination of Sleep’s rapping over these lo-fi, gritty, abstract instrumentals from bloomcycle. Three of these songs are completely absent from the album, so it’s awesome to have these extra tracks. I love it.
The Soil Songs EP by Stik Figa
Stik Figa has been on fire this entire decade, and this latest release is one of the best yet. It contains some of the catchiest and most danceable songs I’ve heard from Stik Figa with beats from DJ Fresh, Johnny Quest, and more. I really wouldn’t mind a Soil Songs LP to be honest. Another project in this style would be really exciting. The beats here are like the perfect soundtrack to driving through a city at night. Stik Figa killed all of them too, especially on the Rappin’ Ass Interlude. That song is boiling hot fire. The whole EP is excellent. Check it out, especially if you’ve enjoyed anything from him in the past. I think it’s one of his best releases ever.
Relic by brainorchestra.
This is one of my favorite projects I’ve ever heard from brainorchestra. The production is just unbelievably polished without sounding too clean and soulless, and he sounds incredible rhyming over them too. It’s the type of project that I just wanna listen to all the way through every time. It’s not the type of situation where I just add one or two songs to a playlist. I wanna hear the whole thing in order every time because it’s a very cohesive listening experience. There’s a minimalistic approach to the percussion on this release, so I suppose people who are averse to that sound might not be as into it as I am. I think Brain does it super well though. He followed it up with a really dope album called The Stone Tablet, which is also fire. This one has kind of a different vibe though. I love it. This one’s amazing.
burning still by Achille
burning still is maybe my favorite instrumental project of the year. It’s one of four releases from Achille in 2024, and the only one that I actually got a chance to listen to. I plan to change that as soon as possible though because this project in particular is fire. Listening to these instrumentals just makes me feel like I’m having a very spiritual experience—especially the latter half of the tracklist. The entire project as a whole is only just under 6 minutes in length, so it’s definitely a short listen, but it just hits really hard while it’s on. It’s super dope. Don’t sleep on it.
TIME BENDER EP by SeKwence & Killer Kane
SeKwence released two of the best projects I’ve heard from him this past year. This one is particularly memorable to me because I was present for the recordings of a couple of the tracks right before the release show for the album he put out in January. This project opens with one of the best songs I’ve heard from either SeKwence or Killer Kane. The tracks are glued together on digital streaming platforms, which may or may not be a turnoff to certain listeners. They’re separated on the Bandcamp version though, so that’s cool. The features from artists like Defcee & Barry Marrow are excellent, and SeKwence sounds as great as ever over Killer Kane’s production. It ends with one of the best instrumental songs I’ve heard in 2024 too. Give it a listen.
“it’s not that deep” by Kembe X
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year after hearing Kembe X’s Sleep Paralysis album with Hippie Sabotage, and it definitely did not disappoint. national anthem is definitely one of my favorite opening tracks of 2024, and this project also contains a top tier Ab-Soul feature on Introverted Extrovert. I’ve become a big fan of Kembe X’s ever since I first started listening in 2016, and he just keeps getting better and better. He’s a super fun vocalist to listen to, and my favorite song is ironically the one where he’s not even rapping. The tracks where he is rapping are fire too though. His flows are insanely catchy, and there are some very memorable, relatable bars here. It’s a fire EP.
And now, my number one favorite extended play of 2024…
Psychedelics Wrote the Bible by Fatboi Sharif & Duncecap
Fatboi Sharif has basically become my default answer when people ask me about the best experimental Hip Hop. I think anyone who claims to love that style who doesn’t mess with Sharif is not to be trusted. This EP with Duncecap is maybe his craziest project yet. I feel like the production Dunce gave him here really pushed him to make some of the wildest music I’ve ever heard in my life. I have to share this anecdote about my favorite track, Boundaries of Regret; basically, I was smoking some ganj’ with my homie and we were listening to music. For whatever reason I thought it would be a good idea to play the aforementioned song. I’m gonna tell you right now—when you’re trying to have a chill time with your homie, that is not the vibe. It scared the dog$#!t outta me. I was just really confused with myself about why I thought it would be a good song to play in that environment. It’s an incredible song though. I think I just wanted to share something cool with my friend, and I didn’t really put much thought into it. Anyway, this is easily one of the coolest projects I’ve ever heard, hence why it’s my EP of the year.
Boom. There it is. Let me know what your favorite EPs of 2024 were in the comment section, as well as what you thought of these projects. Thank you as always for reading. Have a happy new year, and stay tuned for my albums list, which will be up tomorrow morning!
Focus Hip Hop 
What do you think?