Ranking the Top Projects in the TDE Catalog
The hosts attempt to narrow down their top five favorite projects from Top Dawg Entertainment's extensive catalog.
A viewer question prompts the hosts to name their top five albums released under the Top Dawg Entertainment banner at . Both hosts note how difficult the task is given the breadth of the label's catalog across the last decade and a half.
Izzy begins his selection by naming Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly alongside ScHoolboy Q's Blank Face LP at . He also gives credit to Lance Skylar, Isaiah Rashad's The Sun's Tirade, and The House Is Burning before rounding out his list with ScHoolboy Q's Setbacks, arguing that the project laid the initial groundwork for the entire roster at .
Smac approaches the ranking by considering both mixtapes and studio albums at . He brings up Kendrick Lamar's early project C4 and Training Day era work, while firmly securing Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and Ab-Soul's Control System in his personal top tier at . He also selects ScHoolboy Q's Habits & Contradictions alongside Jay Rock's projects, highlighting how competitive the roster was during that peak window.
Izzy reasserts that To Pimp a Butterfly represents the pinnacle of artistic execution from the label's headquarters at , noting how the album's production, sequencing, and conceptual depth set a high standard for hip-hop releases.