J. Cole

Rap had a strong year. You just need the right ear to catch all the good stuff. We've been spinning these projects nonstop, so without any further ado, here are the 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2014.

In The Boombox Battle this week, songs from J. Cole and Fetty Wap compete for the win.

J. Cole "didn't believe in their projections," but the rapper has come out on top with his third album, ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive,’ selling 361,120 copies in its first week of release.

In response to Questlove's call for protest music, we highlight some of the best hip-hop songs that speak unvarnished truth about race politics, police brutality and points of contention.

J. Cole raised eyebrows with his polarizing song ‘Fire Squad,’ where he mentions Justin Timberlake, Iggy Azalea and Eminem in his lyrics about white entertainers dominating hip-hop and other aspects of black music. While many have interpreted the lyrics as a diss, Cole cleared it all up during his interview on Power 105.1′s Angie Martinez Show.

Unless you haven't noticed, it looks like J. Cole has fully embraced his artistic and conscious side. The Roc Nation rhymer stopped by 'The Late Show with David Letterman' on Wednesday (Dec. 10) to perform 'Be Free,' a song that he released earlier this year.

Rapper J. Cole continues to share his intimate storylines of his past with the video for ‘Apparently.’

J. Cole releases his third studio effort, '2014 Forest Hills Drive.' Find out if the rapper's album is worth a listen.

When J. Cole gave a slight diss to Mackelmore, Justin Timberlake, and Eminem on the song 'Fire Squad,' it was easy to assume that Em would be the first one to respond. But that wasn't the case. Instead, Detroit rapper Trick Trick spoke up and reportedly threatened to "lock the gate" on Cole.

By the looks of it, J. Cole is embracing the fact that his album '2014 Forest Hills Drive' leaked earlier this week. The rapper hasn't addressed the matter, and instead, he releases visuals for the opening track, 'Intro.'