Weapons-grade 808s, luscious horns and a megastar’s early steps: the best music our writers discovered this year
From a slept-on Chief Keef banger to an overlooked Taylor Swift classic and a neglected jazz Kenny, we reveal the older releases that have got us going this year

As someone generally averse to the fact that album releases never seem to slow down any more, even at the end of December, I managed to miss Chief Keef’s 4NEM when it dropped in late December last year. Known for pioneering drill before it splintered into a thousand different global subgenres, the Chicago rapper is beloved for the kind of abrasive, potty-mouthed raps that older listeners shake their fists at but which send younger listeners into a craze.