My favourite “green” albums

One thing people know about me the more they talk to me is how much music is a large part of my life. I was raised by a Dad that listened to music like Roxy Music, Led Zeppelin, Supertramp and a Mum that loved Earth, Wind & Fire, pretty much all 90s RnB and obviously, our lord and saviour - George Michael.

I had this issue with music where I was a little too heavily influenced by people around me. I listened to what my friends, exes, family members would put on and I think my music taste was morphed by them a lot of the time. I would go through phases of listening to artists that didn’t stand the test of time for me, However, there were a few exceptions to that rule.

When you start to ask yourself what music YOU actually like, it ends up being a bit of a self discovery. Why do you like this type of music? What does it do for you, exactly?

The weirdest thing which no one could have predicted was my absolute undying love for Hip Hop and RnB. It doesn’t matter where I am or what mood I’m in, it just makes me feel amazing. People do still look down on Hip Hop because they just think it’s all about “bitches and hoes” which of course, is quite the topic in most tracks put out there, but it’s so much more. It’s modern day poetry where people talk about real lived experiences, politics, social economical disadvantages and discrimination. They tackle these issues with verbal gymnastics in ways you wouldn’t have even thought to do. That’s why, a lot of these albums will be in the hip hop genre and I hope you enjoy reading.

I also hope that you can get some great recommendations from it, too.

Kendrick Lamar
Untitled Unmastered
2016

Favourite tracks:
Untitled 03
Untitled 06
Untitled 08

I remember when this album came out and not a lot of people were really raving about it. It was released a year after “To Pimp A Butterfly” practically slapped everyone across the face. It was almost like Kendrick didn’t really feel like he had to make a huge statement with this one - almost like he was thinking up of these incredible tracks at 2am when he couldn’t sleep. Because of that, it’s one I really enjoy coming back to from time to time.

The untitled songs feel like a concept album that heavily leans on jazz and pure funk inspiration with experimental drums and saxophones just to name a few. I have danced time and time again to this while cooking in my kitchen/diner. It’s one of those albums where you simple just have to listen to it and see what you think.

Bad Bunny

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
2025

Favourite tracks:
Perfumito Nuevo
CAFé CON RON
EoO

I remember the day this album launched because it was on a rainy day in January and it felt like it came out of nowhere, completely steamrolling everyone’s spotify streams. I had liked Bad Bunny’s music a lot before that point, but he was never an artist I’d choose to put on repeat. That was until DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was released. Holy crap this album is just an absolute solild 10/10 masterpiece and Bad Bunny deserves all the awards. I’m someone where I will stick an album on and I’ll refuse to skip. The first song, NUEVAYoL just throws you into the deep end immediately and you’re just hooked from the get go.

The whole album has this important underlying message about identity and preservation. Like yeah, it’s still music you can move to, but it’s also talking about real issues people in his country are facing. Colonisation, gentrification, the island losing parts of itself, people feeling pushed out of their own home. He raises this issue in the album about the same thing happening to Hawaiians right now and it’s great to raise awareness. History books are full of American “success” but never the realities of what they’ve done to indigenous people, so if an album encourages people to take an unbiased look into history in all it’s forms, then that’s a huge success.

In this album in terms of genre, he leans hard into Puerto Rican sounds like salsa and bolero but then mixes it with reggaeton and trap. So it feels old and new at the same time, like he’s stitching generations together like one large colourful quilt. My boyfriend and I have listened to this album on repeat. It’s still as good as the first day I listened to it and I still can’t turn it off for the life of me. I love this album so much, that my boyfriend actually bought us tickets to watch him in Marsielle for our 3rd year anniversary, so I’m pretty much counting down the days until July.

There’s also this reflective energy running through it. The title literally means “I should’ve taken more photos,” which is basically him saying he didn’t fully appreciate moments, people, or even his culture while he was busy blowing up globally. So there’s this mix of pride, nostalgia, and a bit of regret underneath everything.

If you haven’t listened to this album - I beg you. Do it.

MF.DOOM
MM..FOOD
2004

Favourite tracks:
Beef Rapp
Deep Fried Frenz
Rapp Snitch Knishes

This will go in my green album list because yes, it is mostly green so it counts in my book.

Firstly, this album is just downright insane and I don’t think they’ll ever be another album like it in my lifetime. I’ll never forget about finding out that MF DOOM passed away, in Leeds of all places. I was absolutely gutted. He’s a lot of people’s favourite rappers and yet, the average person won’t have heard about him at all.

This album is my favourite one of his and yes, I do love Madvilliany and that’s usually the favourite, but this one instead just slaps a bit harder.

The whole album runs on this food theme (hence the name), but it’s a bad gimmicky like “lmao look at these burgers and fries.” He uses food as a metaphor for everything. Consumption, greed from the top 1% keeping the working class poor, the music industry, people just mindlessly taking in whatever they’re fed without a second guess to who it really benefits. It’s extremely clever how he pulls it off without sounding like he’s schooling you. Instead, you listen, say “Goddamn” and then start to understand what he’s rapping about and why.

Structurally, it’s one wild ride. Short tracks, random skits, weird samples from old comic book cartoons. On paper it should be a mess. But somehow it works because DOOM’s voice and flow together create this crazy masterpiece.

What’s going on
Marvin Gaye
1971

Favourite Tracks:
What’s Going On
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

I feel like Bad Bunny and Marvin Gaye would have gotten on so well given their two albums that talk about very similar themes about feeling displaced in your own country and how things around you just aren’t making sense anymore.

So What’s Going On is basically Marvin looking at the world during the Vietnam War and being like… “why is everything so messed up, and why is no one actually talking about it properly?”. The title track is like a guy coming home and just not recognising anything anymore. There’s violence, protests, tension everywhere, and he’s just trying to make sense of it amongst the struggle.

But it’s not just about the war. It goes into everything. Racism, poverty, police brutality, even the environment. Like “Mercy Mercy Me” is literally about the planet being ruined, which is kind of wild because it is relevant now, which just goes to show that nothing really changes if the wrong people are in power. It makes me think, how on earth was this wonderful man singing about this all the way back in 1971 and we’re still pulling people into wars and destroying the planet for profit? STILL.

You would think “christ, this is going to be a difficult listen” but it actually isn’t. Even thoug the themes are extremely tough, it sounds calm, velvety and explains how he feels in a digestable way, instead of shouting them at you. He’s asking you to think with him about literally what’s going on and how we can change the world for the better. Maybe we should all listen to this album on a weekly basis…

SZA
Ctrl
2017

Favourite Tracks:
Supermodel
Love Galore
The Weekend

SZA’s Ctrl is such an unfiltered album that really captures what it’s like to be in your 20s and feel a bit crap about yourself. You don’t have a clue what you’re doing, especially when it comes to love and self-worth. Throughout the album, SZA is constantly going back and forth between wanting something real, doubting her image and worth, acting unbothered while actually being sensitive, and then caring way too much when things don’t work out. It’s messy, but in a very real way.

A lot of it comes down to feeling like you’re not enough. Not pretty enough, not chosen, not secure. Songs like “Supermodel” and “Drew Barrymore” carry that feeling where she knows exactly what’s going on. She’s not in denial, she’s just letting it play out and riding the wave anyway.

SZA is only two years older than me, so when this came out, it felt like listening to someone who just got it. Looking back now, as I’m about to turn 35, it’s a bit sad to realise how much I cared about what people thought of me. I spent so much time in my 20s comparing myself to people who looked nothing like me instead of appreciating what was different. I was chasing being thinner, having a “perfect” nose, a flat stomach, instead of focusing on my uniquely large eyes, nice smile and incredibly thick hair people would die for.

Listening to it now feels like a full circle moment. I’ve learned how to accept myself and not care so much about how I’m perceived. Part of that definitely comes with age. You grow up watching trends change constantly, seeing body types go in and out of fashion like it’s nothing. One year it’s curves, the next it’s ultra-lean. It makes you realise how pointless it is to base your worth on opinions that were never really about you as a person in the first place.

I just hope she’s found that same kind of peace too.