Oakland’s entry into pure boom bap, Boxcar Sessions should be as big as Illmatic. The album starts off with the Skull Snaps getting chopped and goes from there—it’s part of the cohort for sure. Confusingly, Saafir’s producer is named Jay-Z, but it’s a different Jay-Z. Saafir has a deep, precise voice and a toolbox of flows and upright bass samples, too. A genuinely great album.

– Sasha Frere-Jones