We’ve gotten a lot from rap in the past few months: Meek Mill vs. Drake, Ghostface Killah threatening Action Bronson’s life with a Teddy Pendergrass song playing in the background, Kendrick Lamar’s music being intertwined in political protests, and even a petition to engrave Outkast onto Georgia’s Stone Mountain. But through all the news, we also got a massive amount of what really matters: music.

Whether you were too busy soaking in the summer sun or you actually kept up with the plethora of rap music to come out this summer, we took care of the hard work by sorting out the five best rap albums of the summer, along with providing our personal favorite songs. This list is not in a specific numerical order, is for studio albums only (no mixtapes, apologies to "Cathedral" and "Trap-A-Velli Tre"), and includes studio albums that were released from the last week of May till mid-August (apologies to "To Pimp A Butterfly" and "Cherry Bomb").

1. "Compton: A Soundtrack" - Dr. Dre

My parents always taught me to respect my elders, and I’d be a fool to not listen to them now. Dr. Dre’s OG status alone puts him at the top of any list: his classic albums "The Chronic" and "2001" have had people desperately itching for another Dre album, his two most notable protégés (Eminem and Kendrick Lamar) have made historical impacts on rap, and he has cool kids all over the country wearing his headphones. When Dr. Dre does anything, it generates buzz. So what happens when he releases his first studio album since 1999?

"Compton" is what happens. Before we get into the highlights of the actual music, it’s impossible to go on without recognizing the awesome context around Dre’s tribute to the city that raised him: Compton. The theme of the entire project surrounds everyday life and various aspects of the city. He features local Los Angeles talent such as Anderson .Paak, Kendrick Lamar, and The Game. He’s even donating all of his artist royalties from the album to build a new performing arts center in Compton.

"Compton" has various traits similar to "2001" and "The Chronic." While Dre doesn’t have the most desirable flow, he has some memorable moments, reminding us of his strongest trait in rapping: speaking the straight-up truth while skipping the overflow of metaphors that many modern rappers heavily depend on. This is prevalent in Dre’s first words of the entire project in "Talk About It," where he says,

“I just bought California, them other states ain’t far behind it either. I remember selling instrumentals off a beeper, millionaire before the headphones or the speakers.”

And, of course, the production: G-Funk is what made Dr. Dre a legend, and he has enough accomplishments as a producer for five lifetimes. Dre has always been huge on using real, live instruments in his beats, and the instrumentals on this soundtrack are finely polished and clean. Besides some jabs at progressing his style for the modern age, we get that top-shelf production that we expect from the Doctor.

Just like the artist features in his previous albums, the features on "Compton" are just short of being criminal (in an awesome way). The Game kills it. Snoop Dogg kills it. Kendrick Lamar kills it (most notably in "Deep Water"). Xzibit kills it. Ice Cube kills it. Everyone freaking kills it.

Personal favorites:

• "Deep Water" featuring Kendrick Lamar, Justus and Anderson .Paak
• "Just Another Day" by The Game featuring Asia Bryant
• "Talk About It" featuring King Mez and Justus;
• "Genocide" featuring Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius and Candice Pillay
• "One Shot One Kill" by Jon Connor featuring Snoop Dogg
• " Talking to My Diary"
• "It’s All On Me" featuring Justus and BJ The Chicago Kid
• "Darkside/Gone" featuring King Mez, Marsha Ambrosius, and Kendrick Lamar
• "Loose Cannons" featuring Xzibit, COLD 187um, and Sly Pyper
• " Animals" featuring Anderson .Paak

2. "Dreams Worth More Than Money" - Meek Mill

Anyone you ask will tell you that Meek Mill was the loser of the summer, falling short in a feud with Drake that Meek himself unnecessarily started. You know who has a legitimate reason to not care about any of that? Meek Mill, whose album, "Dreams Worth More Than Money," spent two straight weeks as the top album in Billboard charts. And that’s just the economical success – the music is also pretty damn good.

Personal Favorites:

• "R.I.C.O." featuring Drake
• "Check; Been That" featuring Rick Ross
• "Ambitionz"
• "I Got The Juice"
• "Jump Out The Face" featuring Future
• "Lord Knows"
• "The Trillest"

3. AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP - A$AP Rocky

Pretty Flacko just barely made the cut by releasing his album in the last days of May. In case you’re still not caught up on why Rocky’s album is one of the best of the season, check out our album review that shortly followed the release of "AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP."

Personal Favorites:

• "Wavybone" featuring Juicy J and UGK
  
• "Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2"
  
• "Excuse Me"
  
• "M’$" featuring Lil Wayne
  
• "Canal St."
  
• "Holy Ghost"
  
• "Jukebox Joints" featuring Joe Fox and Kanye West
  
• "JD"
  
• "Electric Body" featuring Schoolboy Q
  
• "Max B" featuring Joe Fox
  
• "L$D"

4. "DS2" - Future

Looking for lyrical inspiration and thought-provoking music while listening to Future is like looking for a quiet place to do your homework in a rave – it’s just not going to happen. In the same sense, you can’t compare Future and his music to the likes of Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole. Future’s music is all about having a good time – it’s meant to be played in clubs and through obnoxiously loud car speakers. Serving as a showcase for his approach towards music, "Dirty Sprite 2" is a plethora of perfect combinations, bringing together Future’s rapping style and heavy trap production -- fellow Atlanta-native Metro Boomin is a major influence on this album. With the exception of a couple of songs, Future stands alone on 17 tracks, showing his undeniable strength to carry music with his voice alone.

Personal Favorites:

• "Stick Talk"
  
• "Trap N**gas"
  
• "Lil One"
  
• "Groupies"
  
• "Commas"
  
• "Where Ya At" featuring Drake

5. "Summertime '06" - Vince Staples

Since the release of his impressive EP "Hell Can Wait" last October, the rap community has been anxiously waiting for Vince Staples' first studio album. In response to the pressure, the 22-year-old from Long Beach, Calif. gives us "Summertime ’06," a two-disc album that comes with 10 songs on each disk. The first disc provides a more upbeat, blissful approach towards life in north side Long Beach, with the second venturing into a darker, self-aware view towards the life of Vince Staples. While it personally didn’t match up to "Hell Can Wait," this album is no disappointment: Vince continues to showcase his superior talents in contextualizing a narrative, along with consistently showcasing his high-class lyricism.

Personal favorites:

• "Norf Norf"
  
• "Bird & Bees" featuring Daley
  
• "Senorita"
  
• "Get Paid" featuring Desi Mo
  
• "Lift Me Up"
  
• "Street Punks"