P.O.S made a triumphant, innovative return to the hip-hop scene in 2017 with Chill, Dummy, his first solo album since his 2014 kidney transplant. The Doomtree co-founder took his time with the record, and the resulting collection is among the best of his impressive career. The beats are experimental and inventive, lending urgency to P.O.S’ potent rhymes. The LP is rounded out by a wide array of guests — including Kathleen Hanna, Lizzo, Busdriver, Allan Kingdom, and current Best Vocalist Lady Midnight — all of whom add distinctive flair to the fiery tracks. The punk-rock ethos of P.O.S’ early work with Building Better Bombs courses through his style of hip-hop; he injects his beats with an incisive edge and his rhymes boldly express an abrasive world view. But throughout his discography, there’s a guarded sense of optimism, the belief that there’s a better way forward. On Chill, Dummy, there’s also an underlying expression of gratitude to all those who helped him get back to rocking microphones and tearing up stages. 

Readers’ Choice: Lizzo