Mac Miller started the year with a surprise, posthumous release that feels like eons ago. Six months later, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist teamed up for the perfect quarantine album. Music likely changed forever when tours halted and distribution chains continue to transform as part of long-running trends. Childish Gambino continued to toy with the surprise release format, Drake pushed another "album by a different name" while Kali Uchis and others opted for short, teaser projects. Bobby Manning and Taylor McCloud go through their favorite music of 2020 at the midway point before Taylor interviewed Kemet High of XXL and other publications for how music journalism is meeting the stories and moment of this tumultuous year.