Crafting this list brewed a potent concoction of sentimentality and regret, amusement and displeasure, comfort and unease. Yes, the positive feelings I have generated through listening to 450 albums that came out in 2022 outnumber any sliver of negativity, as the privilege of hearing again from favorite artists of mine while unveiling new favorite acts is as rewarding an outcome as any. With this behemoth of an undertaking, however, comes self-doubt and an endless stream of internal interrogation: What do I value in an album? How can I rank albums that tap into different genres, different emotions, different phases of my year? Do I even really like this album considering it took me four listens to finally gain an appreciation for it? The list goes on…
The uncertainty seeps in when I overthink the purpose of curating this list. My goal is not to create an objective ranking of the thousands of 2022 albums that warrant mass recognition, as there will never exist an objectivity to pitting pieces of music against each other. Rather, my list should offer a glimpse into the albums that narrated my year, the albums that pushed the boundaries of my preconceived notions of masterful artistry, the albums that kept my attention in a world that seeks to pull it in billions of other directions.
The common thread here? It’s my f***ing list, and I would never steer you wrong. In navigating through this list, I hope you are able to find something that makes you move, makes you sit still, makes you form a stank face, makes you cry, makes you think, and (above all) makes you feel.
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25: Kenny Beats — LOUIE
Much like the evolution of his close-knit community on Twitch, the composition of Kenny’s first project could not feel more organic. The CT native (yes, I have chosen to forgive him for repping “outside of the city” as opposed to the 203) pays tribute to his father on LOUIE, as the sample chops, vocal contributions, tape recordings, and other instrumental embellishments all seamlessly mesh to paint a picture of their close relationship — one that summoned artistic reflection following the news of his father’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis. His father’s imprint is felt from the intro track Leonard, as we hear a voice recording of him explaining why Kenny’s mother calls Kenny Louie instead of his name, Leonard. From there, LOUIE unfolds into a therapeutic sequence of beats, featuring vocal performances that play into the atmospheres of the instrumental backdrop rather than overtake them. The nostalgia Kenny evokes through intricate beat creation is palpable, as LOUIE is a masterclass on how to conjure up narrative and meaning without a heap of lyrical content. LOUIE embodies a pensive walk in the park: although it may not have always been this way, ample greenery surrounds, and clear blue skies lie ahead.
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24: Nick Hakim — COMETA
The third studio album of Brooklyn-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Nick Hakim captures love in the form of honey trickling off of the dipper and onto the tongue. Hakim’s sweet, serene vocals gently rest in the ambience of the production, entrancing the listeners and subsuming them in that phase of love which overcomes all senses and sensibilities. The strength of COMETA rests in Hakim’s refusal to succumb to the norms and tendencies of traditional R&B/soul artists; although his voice has the capacity to command all attention on a track, he treats it as one of many instruments sewn together to form a lush fabric. Album cuts like Ani and M1 epitomize this approach, as they exude psychedelic magic at the intersection of R&B/soul vocals, indie soundscapes, and pop lyrics and refrains. An unwavering display of affection, COMETA begins (“Ani wanted real love, glad I found her”) on the same note as it ends (“This flame for you keeps glowing, it will never die”). This album illustrates crooning over guitar strums by candlelight more vividly than any release of this decade thus far.
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23: redveil — learn 2 swim
At the height of the Covid pandemic, Maryland-born rapper redveil caught the ears of the young hip-hop head masses with the release of his second project, Niagara — a statement boldly proclaiming that this sixteen-year-old who writes, raps, and produces his own music belongs in the contemporary hip-hop landscape. Two years later, the now eighteen-year-old artist is realizing his potential, releasing his third full-length effort learn 2 swim and touring alongside a prominent act in Denzel Curry. veil’s 2022 output sees him in elevated form, yet with the same troubles plaguing his mindstate. On diving board, veil opens his verse by demonstrating a heightened, mature awareness of his surrounding world and his place in it: “By grace, I’m alive, I’ll be damned if I’m anything but great/Be ducking the climb, I’m trucking ’bout mine and seeking whatever that mountain take.” With this measured perspective on his obstacles, Veil does not fail to seek the joy and confidence in this climb, as indicated in tracks like pg baby: “Every second spent to never have another autumn/That was back when every day was solemn/Now they falling under me, I’m leading every column.” With brilliant sample use, heady (yet coherent) messaging, and increasingly poised delivery on full display, learn 2 swim will be remembered as both a standalone feat of contemporary hip-hop and as a stepping stone in the career of an ascendant rapper of all trades.
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22: Freddie Gibbs — $oul $old $eparately
Up to this point in his career, Freddie Gibbs is no stranger to curating a consistent body of work. The formula has been reliable: link up with a well-regarded hip-hop producer, craft a cohesive project together that gives both the emcee and the beatmaker shine, and allow time to eventually declare it a modern classic. This formula even granted him a nomination for Rap Album of the Year at the 2020 GRAMMYs. Despite the story of gradual (as opposed to overnight) success finally reaching what would be a peak for most, Freddie has shown that he will never grow comfortable in his spot… and $oul $old $eparately carries all proof necessary. Collaborating with several essential hip-hop producers — KAYTRANADA, Boi-1da, and DJ Paul, to name a few — Freddie expands beyond the grit and grime that have defined the sonic textures of his previous works and shifts into more polished mainstream mixes. Sure, Freddie purists may have scoffed at a lead single like Too Much and questioned how a Moneybagg Yo feature would mesh with other cuts on the album. Moments like Too Much, however, are what cement this album as a highlight of an already stellar discography. To feed into mainstream aesthetics while feeding loyal fans with second helpings of past collaborations — trading coke raps with Pusha T on Gold Rings, giving Anderson .Paak the space to deliver a hook on Feel No Pain, etc. — achieves what most artists can only shoot for. The lavish aura of $oul $old $eparately parallels that of a dimly-lit underground casino, and until further notice, Freddie has pushed all of his chips to the middle of the table.
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21: UMI — Forest in the City
Forest in the City may serve as LA-based singer-songwriter UMI’s debut full-length record, but a preceding catalog comprising a couple of EPs and several singles made fans no stranger to her artistry this time around. An UMI track often marks an escape from the chaos and into the calm, guiding the listener with a soothing vocal tone that floats atop mystical guitar strums. Aptly named Forest in the City, this album replicates the aforementioned experience over a 50-minute span, the irony being that she is providing her listeners the forest in their figurative cities while seeking to find a forest of her own. The first full track, sorry, offers the clearest glimpse into this journey: “I wanna go slower, slower/I wanna start over, over/I wanna go home, but home’s just so out of reach/Not even in my gravity, how sad for me.” The duality of Forest in the City is rooted in UMI tackling the harsh realities of day-to-day obstacles — isolation, self-care, and the longing for love from another — while maintaining a composed demeanor. While the content of the album can wander into seemingly directionless fantasies at moments, it would be tough not to argue that what is purposeless on the surface is purposeful in the album’s totality: to meander is to escape, and to escape is to eventually find what is real.
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20: Black Thought and Danger Mouse — Cheat Codes
A public service announcement to rappers who have recently amassed a following and found success in their craft: congratulations, but these cats from the ’90s are still cooking. Sure, Philadelphia emcee Black Thought may not be collecting GRAMMY nominations with The Roots these days, but he is certainly not reveling in his previous accolades. In the past five years, he has delivered a three-volume solo series titled Streams of Thought; he has delivered the best radio cypher of all time on Hot 97 with Flex; and he has delivered a slew of features alongside 2010s rappers who bring their sharpest pen to attempt to keep up with him. In a genre that continues to adapt with the times, Black Thought continues to give, and give, and give. Cheat Codes — his most recent quest in collaboration with versatile producer Danger Mouse — adds yet another gold medal to his Olympic career. The Danger Mouse imprint throughout the sequencing of Cheat Codes distinguishes the album from the Streams of Thought series; the way in which Black Thought commandingly dishes socially relevant, timeless messaging and wordplay has always operated as a benchmark for his raps, but to absorb such richness over consistently eerie samples and live-sounding drum patterns gives each track unimaginable depth and punch. To curate a seamless tracklist that includes features ranging from A$AP Rocky on Strangers to the late MF DOOM on Belize demands all possible respect. As long as his mind remains intact, a Black Thought appearance will always interrupt and reset the hip-hop status quo.
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19: Montell Fish — JAMIE
Pittsburgh-born Christian musician Montell Fish has composed a project that belongs on the Blonde family tree. The foundation of JAMIE — titled after his ex-girlfriend — is built upon heartbreak and the inescapable fragility that surrounds it. The delicacy with which Montell approaches each track cuts through the lo-fi textures, one falsetto run after another on the verge of breaking down. The acoustic guitar courses through the album’s 26-minute run time; Montell leaves all guitar squeaks out in the open, matching the achiness of his vocal tone. The thematic content of JAMIE parallels the desolation brought to life in the instrumentation, as Montell mourns the loss of love and questions his existence without its presence. On Fall in Love with You., he questions whether he is deserving of the love he yearns for: “And I know I’m not perfect with love/But maybe I could be worth your love.” This questioning spirals into feelings of worthlessness and destruction on tracks like Talk 2 Me, as he calls out to God and awaits His response: “Talk to me, why don’t you talk to me like you used to?” Breaking the fourth wall to conclude, I was astonished to see the number of Christian Montell Fish fans denouncing his career trajectory, citing his new music as “straying from God.” As a fellow (non-practicing) Catholic, I scoff when such unforgiving attitudes come from those whose identities are allegedly built around forgiveness. Vulnerability demands respect, not ridicule.
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18: FKJ — V I N C E N T
An omnipresent tranquility has been unlocked… and it emanates from the hands of French multi-instrumentalist FKJ. To attempt to place V I N C E N T in the box of a particular genre is to accept defeat before one even begins. Since his self-titled debut album French Kiwi Juice, FKJ has always strove to mesmerize; whether glistening piano keystrokes, woozy sax solos, or his own airy falsetto, he sits in the middle of these congruently moving parts. V I N C E N T accentuates these unchanging elements of FKJ’s compositions, yet elaborates on them through a lens of childlike wonder and the nostalgia that accompanies it. The intro track, Way Out, is a welcome into the atmospheric scene FKJ creates, as he softly repeats the lines “Just a way out, just a way out” to lull the listener into a dreamlike state and signal a departure from reality. The refrain of the following track Greener — featuring captivating guitar riffs from Santana — feeds into the transcendence FKJ facilitates, as he repeats the cliché that “it’s always greener on the other side.” By the concluding track of the album, Stay A Child, FKJ embodies the state of the listener, wishing for life to “make [him] small like before.” As the album ends and forces its audience to rejoin reality, the silver lining is that the world of V I N C E N T will forever exist to revisit.
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17: Jeshi — Universal Credit
Nothing about Universal Credit is elegant or charming… and Jeshi would be disingenuous if it was. The rapper out of East London has shouldered a traumatic upbringing — one plagued with fatherlessness, knife violence, and other social ills. The album’s title, Universal Credit, refers to the UK welfare program that forces millions of unemployed citizens into a dehumanizing cycle of poverty. From the first full-length track, Sick, it becomes apparent that Jeshi is not one to mince words when discussing his own place in said dehumanizing cycle: “Think I’m getting sick of late nights/Sick of tryna sleep, close the blinds from the light/Sick of seeing colors every time I close my eyes/Sick of things going wrong and never going right.” The most potent moments of Universal Credit occur when Jeshi vividly recounts his darkest days through recurring imagery. One such motif he employs is the cigarette — one of several vices he alludes to that encompass the hand-to-mouth lifestyle socially imposed upon him. National Lottery concludes the tracklist with perhaps the most compelling depictions of his environment. He recalls the black hole of daytime TV, black mold on the windows, and a Zanco crack phone while using the chorus to reference his weekly stabs at The National Lottery. It is no easy task to represent the mistreatment of 5.7 million UK citizens, yet the poetic plea Jeshi brilliantly constructs commands the attention of the casual onlooker and of the Tories.
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16: WESTSIDE BOOGIE — MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES
The delivery of Compton-born hip-hop artist Westside Boogie possesses an intangible quality that deepens the connection between his mind and his audience. MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES may as well be an audiobook of his memoir, with each track representing a new chapter. While the tracklist fluctuates in mood and tempo, the throughline of MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES lies in two facets of Boogie’s artistry: 1) wavy guitar-rooted production most aptly described as mellow bounce, and 2) the ceaseless stream of consciousness Boogie bares. The final product is an unmasked triumph that induces aggressive head-nodding and simultaneously tugs at the heartstrings. In a genre subject to veer into themes of braggadocio and self-righteousness, Boogie uses MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES to reckon with his flaws in the hopes of moving beyond them. On the most melodic cut of the album, NONCHALANT, Boogie reveals a blatant lack of trust in his love interest and even acknowledges it as such: “Hope when I bring you ’round the homies, it’s the first time/Probably not, though/I understand if you ain’t tell me ’cause you know that I be judging.” Only one track later, on LOLSMH II, do we see Boogie confronting the root of the trust issues he possesses in relationships by telling his interest, “[I’m] running from my issues, don’t give me your praises/Just want you to know that even heroes still need saving.” The theme of the album reveals itself in this very line, as Boogie adds a powerhouse of a project to a slate of 2022 hip-hop albums that strive to acknowledge trauma among Black communities, interrupting its cycles and recognizing such processes as (super)heroism.
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15: Ravyn Lenae — HYPNOS
The excitement surrounding Ravyn Lenae and her ascension into the contemporary R&B scene is hard to contain. Having only released a couple of EPs before this year, the Chicago vocalist has hit the ground in a Usain Bolt-like sprint with the release of her debut full-length record this year. Ravyn’s presence on each HYPNOS track mimics that of an extraterrestrial entity, willing her audience into the celestial space she calls home. The otherworldly magic of her artistry begins and ends with her voice and its distinct, multi-layered versatility. In one sense, her vocal chops and accompanying instrumentation toe the line between traditional and alternative R&B; her graceful runs on tracks like Inside Out bear close resemblance to the genre’s predecessors, while her performance on M.I.A. illuminates her ability to traverse into Afrobeats and more synth-based, futuristic R&B. In another sense, Ravyn’s voice displays remarkable range that she maximizes in all corners of HYPNOS. The elasticity of her runs makes for the smoothest transitions from lower to upper register, meshing flawlessly with the ambient production throughout the album. This is best exemplified on Skin Tight — a mesmerizing track featuring guitar and chorus contributions from Steve Lacy that make space for her voice to cut right through. Ravyn Lenae does not sound like anyone else in the present-day R&B landscape, and she’s making herself at home in the niche she has carved.
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14: Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights
Has any artist skyrocketed into the forefront of popular culture as abruptly as Steve Lacy? One minute the Compton product is jamming with The Internet, the next he’s creating the most viral track of 2022 and likely taking home all the GRAMMYs he deserved years ago. What changed to catalyze this transformation and drastic shift in public perception? Well… nothing, really. Gemini Rights carries nothing short of vintage Steve Lacy performances, chock full of entrancing guitar loops and an unassuming vocal delivery that fills the necessary gaps. The key aspects of Gemini Rights that distinguish the album from previous works are the narrative focus and slightly grander production. The spoken intro to Amber encapsulates the central themes of heartbreak and falling back into love that Lacy explores from a variety of angles: “Once upon a time, there were two lovebirds — one shy, one so not. They met each other at the perfect time, and one just didn’t know how to handle it.” When considering the aforementioned angles from which Lacy approaches this personal story — from guarding his heart on Helmet, to embracing the uncertainty of it all on Mercury, to confessing that his love has not faded on Sunshine — the universality of Gemini Rights becomes salient. The recognition is finally matching the talent for Steve Lacy in 2022, and his refusal to sacrifice his musicianship for clicks means his career arrow points nowhere but up from here.
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13: Quadeca — I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You
The public treatment of a renowned adolescent YouTuber parallels that of a childhood TV star: the identity portrayed on screen engulfs any effort to grow up and out of this performative self… unless a bolder, reimagined performative self takes its place. Growing up, LA-based artist Quadeca amassed a sizable following on YouTube through FIFA pack openings, as well as rap-themed videos that included emulating the styles of famous emcees and writing diss tracks towards other YouTubers. Despite his early profile classifying him as a member of Eminem’s fast rap fraternity, Quadeca has discarded this side of his craft through an intense and stunning evolution of sound. Although hints of this transformation could be sniffed out on his last album From Me To You, I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You sees this metamorphosis fully realized. The concept album explores existentialism from the perspective of a ghost who has just died and left his family, revisiting core memories of his mortal life over an eerie instrumental palette of folktronica, indie, and hip-hop. From a chilling perspective on revisiting childhood on picking up hands, to a Danny Brown feature from the viewpoint of carbon monoxide on house settling, strokes of genius fill this project. Perhaps most jaw-dropping of all is the immersive production, as Quadeca takes numerous successful risks with staticky mixes that double down on the ghoulish theme. Much like the ghost on the track knots, the poignancy of I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You does not fade to black: it cuts to static.
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12: JID — The Forever Story
Though it took four years for East Atlanta spitter JID to release his third solo project, The Forever Story, his pen has not taken a single vacation day. Stealing the show on two Dreamville tapes and a Spillage Village album, elevating every track he features on, popping up at festivals and attracting the most boisterous audiences — the hunger to climb the ranks of contemporary hip-hop artists only continues to grow. Every verse that escapes the lips of JID is trademarked by immaculate technical ability, a mind-boggling master of fitting more syllables into a pocket than previously thought possible. These staples of a JID listening experience run rampant throughout The Forever Story; the album’s opener, Raydar, sees these capabilities at their fiercest, leaving an impression akin to that which Kendrick Lamar fans witnessed when first listening to DNA. off of DAMN. What distinguishes The Forever Story from JID’s previous works is the intimate glimpse into his upbringing and the connections he possesses (or doesn’t possess) with his six older siblings — a familial bond placed under a microscope through vivid storytelling on tracks like Crack Sandwich and Sistanem. For JID to form and execute a narrative that spans an entire album without sacrificing the sharpness of his rhymes requires tremendous effort… and yet he makes everything seem effortless. He may never have “dreamt of mumbling words in front of hundreds,” as he states in the closing track 2007, but JID no longer mumbles words in front of hundreds: he paints on canvases in front of millions.
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11: Beyoncé — RENAISSANCE
“I’m that girl, it’s just that I’m that girl” may as well be the thesis statement to yet another masterclass on self-love and self-confidence from Houston royalty Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. At this phase of her career, there isn’t much else that Beyoncé needs to prove to solidify her spot as one of the most influential performers of this generation. Since her last solo release Lemonade — easily her most vulnerable work to date — she has remained active through a variety of artistic mediums, including cinema, fashion, and further music collaborations. As the world gradually reentered public spaces and learned to collectively dance and mosh again, Beyoncé introduced RENAISSANCE as a guiding force. If there were ever a question as to whether Beyoncé could seamlessly transition into thumping house music, it has been answered in pronounced fashion. RENAISSANCE moves from start to finish as a DJ set with masterful transitions to tie together each individual song. Most notably, the three-track run from CUFF IT, to ENERGY, to BREAK MY SOUL deserves shine for its smooth progression. Beyoncé would not have been able to transition into the house space, however, without the influences of Black queer predecessors who established the genre’s roots. When major artists expand into other unfamiliar genres, many tend to do so without proper care for or acknowledgment of their histories. In the case of RENAISSANCE, the production credits, sample choices, and feature inclusions all pay homage to the genre that has given her new soil to firmly plant a stake in.
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10: Denzel Curry — Melt My Eyez See Your Future
Florida rapper Denzel Curry has never been one to withhold emotion on the mic. The draw to Denzel’s previous work, in fact, could be primarily attributed to the aggression with which he delivered each bar, channeling a DMX gruffness that would command the attention of anyone in earshot. As a result, Denzel’s discography has always equated to a series of harbored feelings desperately needing to be released, no matter how coherent. Melt My Eyez See Your Future will be remembered as the turning point in Denzel’s career — one defined by mature introspection that seeks to understand the underlying trauma rooted in his past tendencies and behaviors. Denzel tackles the subject matter on Melt My Eyez in a measured light without losing the intense edge that has characterized his past work, as he opens the album with his most confessional track to date, Melt Session #1: “My temptations are amplified when I get alone/Tried to separate the action from the man/I wholeheartedly understand why I need to grow even though I’m grown.” The tracklist is rife with less busy production than typical for a Denzel project, a calculated choice that centers the lucidity of his messages. To be clear, this enhances the sonic quality of the album — instrumentals like Ain’t No Way and X-Wing satisfy those craving turn-up anthems, while the beats on tracks like Mental and The Ills tap into a jazz-influenced space Denzel has seldom inhabited. Amidst the systemic racism, alcoholism, family abuse, and mental health issues he has endured and heart-wrenchingly elaborated on, Melt My Eyez See Your Future was an essential step for Denzel to keep walking.
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9: SZA — SOS
After five years of patiently waiting for the New Jersey singer to follow up one of contemporary R&B’s most revered releases in Ctrl, SZA has made it loud and clear that she is tired of the games. Although SZA did not vanish from the public eye in those five years — a combination of smash singles, smash features, and a smash Crocs collaboration doing the trick — SOS is a clear indication that time and space have shifted her priorities. For starters, it is evident from the outset that SZA wants nothing to do with the “good girl” image often forced upon ascending R&B acts; if any proof is needed, the refrain of Kill Bill introduces a carefree edge to the highest degree: “I might kill my ex, not the best idea/His new girlfriend’s next, how did I get here?” Her ability to wrap blunt messaging in cloudlike riffs smokes practically any other artist who utilizes that contrast out of the water… but we already knew that about SZA. The stark distinction between SOS and her previous records is the expansion into other sonic palettes. With 23 tracks and a runtime of over an hour, SOS steers into directions unimaginable to the masses previously familiar with her work. F2F sees SZA delivering an impassioned heartbreak pop-punk anthem; the theme of heartbreak carries over into an emo pop ballad, Nobody Gets Me; and SOS (the title track) and Smoking on my Ex Pack tap into SZA’s rapping abilities with bars about having an ass that’s not natural and throwing a sneak diss at “your favorite rapper” (do what you will with that information, but he’s likely from Canada). SZA pulled the curtain all the way back on SOS, yielding her most weighty, unforgiving, compelling, and catchy tracks to date.
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8: Joey Bada$$ — 2000
Brooklyn artist Joey Bada$$ possesses the aura of a legacy act… and yet he’s only 27 years old. This adds up, however, when considering the relevance Joey has carried in the hip-hop sphere since releasing the conscious rhyme book, 1999, at just 17 years of age. Joey has established himself as a household name in both rap and TV/cinema over the past decade, refusing to be boxed into the New York boom bap image under which he first rose to prominence. “I can take five years off ’cause my shit is timeless,” Joey brags on the opener The Baddest, addressing the five-year break between his last album — the politically charged feat of artistry, ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ — and now. Coming off of such a heavy, ambitious contribution to his catalog, the release of 2000 marks a literal and symbolic return to Joey’s roots, as he revisits the sound of his adolescence while reminiscing about the changes he has witnessed in his own life since then. Tracks like Brand New 911, Eulogy, and Zipcodes provide him the opportunity to step back into his comfort zone and refuel his faithful listeners with updated, gold-tinted content over familiar instrumental tapestries. 2000, however, does not end in the same rosy manner it begins. Head High pays homage to the block Joey grew up on and the tragedies he endured (“Where I’m from, the stories never end with no happily ever afters/Just broken families forced to start new chapters”), while Survivors Guilt marks Joey’s first commentary on best friend and Pro Era member Capital STEEZ since he took his own life in 2012. These tear-jerking moments tie together a reflective body of work that does not try to do too much, but just enough to remind hip-hop culture of Joey’s platinum-coated seat at the table.
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7: Nas — King’s Disease III
Legend has it that the Fountain of Youth was relocated in 2020 from St. Augustine, Florida to the studio of Queens hip-hop legend Nasir Jones. Alternatively, the arrival of producer Hit-Boy may have simply yielded results akin to a full-on submergence into the Fountain of Youth for an emcee with over three decades of poetry to his name. Has any other rapper experienced a second wind in their career that matches the quality of their prime product? The King’s Disease series has not only put other contemporary hip-hop acts on notice — it has sparked discourse surrounding where these new installments rank in his total discography (yes, the one with Illmatic and It Was Written in it). Each King’s Disease release improves on the last, as Nas and Hit-Boy have naturally sharpened their craft as a duo with more reps. Nas establishes his thoughts on the series right out the gate on the intro track, Ghetto Reporter: “They argue KD1, KD2, and Magic what’s harder when/KD3 go harder than all of them.” It’s hard to disagree with Nas Escobar, as King’s Disease III offers a stellar combination of humor, nostalgia, and wisdom over the tightest, most versatile batch of instrumentals Hit-Boy has offered. Cuts such as Once A Man, Twice A Child and First Time showcase Nas in unbeatable pockets reminiscent of previous creations the duo has concocted; such familiar territory, however, does not stop Hit-Boy from giving Nas an NBA Countdown hype track (30), a drill breakdown that could feature Pop Smoke or Fivio Foreign (Reminisce), and other instrumental moments novel to a traditionally boom bap artist. Nas and Hit-Boy form a perfect marriage — they bring out the best in each other, and their chemistry has well withstood the honeymoon phase and beyond.
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6: Saba — Few Good Things
The Chicago product released his third studio album in a vastly different place than his first. 2016’s Bucket List Project put Saba on the map with his biggest track to date, Photosynthesis. His second studio album, 2018’s CARE FOR ME, outgrew the “slept-on” category and inserted his artistry into conversations with other prominent contemporary hip-hop acts. With more eyes on his third effort than ever before, Saba uses Few Good Things to eloquently capture his hyperawareness of his elevated platform and all of its symptoms. More specifically, Saba delves into the pressures that have come with expanding beyond the West Side of Chicago at an exponential rate. On Survivor’s Guilt, he bluntly reveals this overarching theme across the project: “This album’s confessions of a man moving quick, wonder [if] he regret it/Once I make a band and get rich, rich, rich, rich.” The meditative aesthetic of Come My Way serves as the backbone for a daydreaming Saba, as he mentally revisits the days of yearning for enough stability and cash flow to take care of his family and friends. By the end of the album — whether lamenting the loss of friends along the way on the title track Few Good Things (“Like a concierge, I showed the way of our concerning past/But everybody can’t come along, I’ve come to terms with that.”), or evoking nostalgia through detailed images of his childhood on 2012 — Saba is grounded in his greener pasture, yet mournful of what he has sacrificed as a result. Few Good Things is chock full of rich, layered introspection that grapples with the philosophical question: what does it mean to have everything you need?
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5: Little Simz — NO THANK YOU
Fresh off of her 2021 masterpiece Sometimes I Might Be Introvert — a breathtaking, cohesive memoir of an album that ran away with the 2022 Mercury Prize — North London rapper Little Simz has defied the artist convention of basking in the success of her hard work for at least a year or two before returning to the studio. This is not the only convention broken with the release of NO THANK YOU — a surprise release on a Monday in mid-December. This album directs her focus to the ills of the record industry, as Little Simz spends its 49 minutes of runtime tearing into a business that has exhausted her and profited off of her name. The album’s opener, Angel, cuts right to the chase with a coherent six-minute thesis statement that holds no punches: “They don’t care if your mental is on the brink of something dark/As long as you’re cutting somebody’s payslip/And sending their kids to private school in a spaceship.” Not only does Simbi bare her personal instances of mistreatment at the hands of label executives, but she additionally interweaves information for aspiring artists to take to heart, kicking knowledge on tracks like No Merci (“I am not a human being you can gaslight/If the contract more than two pages, it’s a bad sign.”) and Heart on Fire (“Marble floors and tall glass doors is what you’re in for/Did you read the clause?”). Little Simz does not lose a step over the lush, grand arrangements of producer Inflo, further exhibiting one of the strongest chemistries between an artist and an instrumentalist in all contemporary music. Above all, the main takeaway of NO THANK YOU is articulated most succinctly by the most on-fire rapper of this decade on the song Sideways: “I didn’t know the word ‘no’ could be so freeing.”
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4: Loyle Carner — hugo
South London artist Loyle Carner is no stranger to baring his soul on wax. Previous projects of his have demonstrated a sensitivity seldom found explicitly in the work of a hip-hop artist, as his love for his mother, his wife, and his other friends and family comes to life through his illustrative rhymes over mellow production. Loyle pivots from these tendencies on his third studio album, hugo — a collection of tracks rife with subject matter that has clearly weighed on his mind for years. hugo seamlessly tackles a handful of interconnected concepts, opening the album with a laundry list of everything he hates and fears on the track Hate: “Let me tell you what I hate, everything I ain’t/Everything I’ve done, everything I break.” This stream-of-consciousness delivery steers into the self-hatred he has internalized as a biracial man since childhood. Loyle has never shied away from grappling with his racial identity, as he has previously reflected on growing up in an all-white household in the absence of his Guyanese father. The anger and resentment he has harbored for his father, however, takes center stage on hugo and unveils a range of emotions not typically experienced when listening to his music. hugo marks a brilliant display of enduring the seemingly interminable process of grief, eventually reaching a place of forgiveness with his father on the closer HGU: “I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you/’Cause I know that it’s within you and I’m better when I’m with you.” Loyle works through generational trauma in the hopes of creating a life of clarity for himself and his child; hugo will inspire others to do the same.
A more in-depth review of hugo can be found here.
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3: Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
The world twiddled its thumbs for five years awaiting a fresh set of verses from Compton-born artist Kendrick Lamar; some treat his discography as a catalog of fine-tuned rap verses, while others treat it as a present-day Bible. In many ways, the release of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers serves as Kendrick’s response to those who worship his work, humanizing his presence in the mainstream through a vast array of creative lenses. On Worldwide Steppers, Kendrick reflects on the flaws behind a charitable Christmas toy drive he ran in Compton: “My last Christmas toy drive in Compton handed out eulogies/Not because the rags in the park had red gradient/But because the high blood pressure flooded the catering”; We Cry Together features an abusive argument between Kendrick and actress Taylour Paige, the details so blood-curdling that it feels intrusive to listen; and the refrain of Crown repeats the phrase “you can’t please everybody” over the reverberations of a grand piano. The execution of peeling all of these layers back in the form of a therapy session builds a lasting tension that finally “resolves” on the track Mother I Sober — the tear-jerking tell-all of the album that breaks the fourth wall as Kendrick comes to grips with the abuse he faced as a child and how that feeds into the generational trauma within his family. The reactionary side of music criticism has questioned the longevity of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, predominantly citing the more mainstream production choices across the tracklist as too “for the moment.” It is the diary-like aspects of this album, however, that not only give it a well-deserved life in the current mainstream, but also give it a timeless quality for future generations to wrap their heads around.
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2: Omar Apollo — Ivory
Omar Apollo has come a long way from composing tracks in the attic of his childhood home in Indiana. Although Ivory marks the first official studio album of his career, Omar has popped up in the Discover Weekly playlist of every alternative R&B frequenter at some point in the last four years. His artistry resides at the intersection of woozy electric guitar strums and heavenly falsettos, his catalog forming a soundtrack fit for a hazy drive at sunset. While the bulk of Ivory does not stray from this aesthetic, Omar is undaunted at the prospect of tapping into other soundscapes in refreshing ways. The Neptunes bring him into their world on the track Tamagotchi, a Latin trap banger built for success on your local hits radio station. Cuts such as Talk and No Good Reason add playful, upbeat moments to a project teeming with emotional, mellow moments of reflection. Even in the more familiar-sounding corners of the album — from anguished Spanish crooning on En El Olvido, to effortless floating over minimalistic instrumentation alongside Daniel Caesar on Invincible, to ballad belting with every ounce of his voice on Petrified — Omar laces each track with distinguishable characteristics that showcase even more versatility than previously explored. Ivory captures heartbreak from every angle, a series of vulnerable phases that reach a (now viral) climax on Evergreen: “You know you really made me hate myself/Had to stop before I’d break myself/Shoulda broke it off to date myself, you didn’t deserve me at all.” Ivory wears two masks — one an open letter to the young man who left Omar devastated, the other an ambitious composition that engulfs all sensations and launches his artistry into the stratosphere of essential contemporary music.
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1: Silvana Estrada — Marchita
I’ll save the analysis for this album breakdown and lean further into the lens of personal experience… and to be honest, this choice is rooted in a lack of confidence that I can do this singer and her artistry justice. In all transparency, Marchita — the debut album of Mexican artist Silvana Estrada — does not fit the mold of my typical album of the year selection. Up until 2022, my AOTY nod has always been awarded to a collection of tracks that I have lived with for an extended period of time, finding new favorite tracks along the way and gaining a new perspective on the music with each listen. Despite the fact that Silvana released Marchita at the top of the year, I did not stumble across it until the beginning of December (amidst my usual last-month search for any stragglers to which I’d like to lend an ear). I did not know anything about Silvana Estrada, her previous body of work, or even her genre — I just put my earbuds in as I cooked dinner, and pressed play. The result was one of the most moving first listens I have ever experienced, her acoustic guitar plucks coupled with her chilling vibrato caressing untapped emotions. It was my first real understanding of the phrase “Music transcends language,” as the lyrics of Marchita are in Spanish. Not being able to fully comprehend the lyrics of an artist has detracted from my enjoyment of music in the past, with heightened attention to the confusion of the words leaving me disengaged with other production-based elements. Marchita flipped this typical reaction on its head, the soundscapes so immersive that I was compelled to pull Genius up for subsequent listens and analyze the beauty and depth within the lyrics in Spanish and in translated English. Marchita is the first 10/10 album I have come across since Loyle Carner’s Not Waving, But Drowning… and that came out in 2019. No other album has more effectively embodied the thoughts and feelings experienced in the throes of heartbreak. Yes, Marchita ending the year as my AOTY was as unexpected a twist as possible for me… and yet, that only further affirms the organic nature of crafting this list.
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Bonus content: my favorite tracks of 2022 can be found in this playlist! Cheers! -Eb
