2022: The Year, In Songs
December 31, 2022
For the final playlist of 2022, Kevin and I each made our own, individual playlists comprised our 40 favorite songs from the year. We hope you find a song you like and check out the album/larger body of work. Below, we share some thoughts our favorite songs from the year as well. As always, thanks for sticking with us through another year — we appreciate it!
Kevin: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal
Stanley: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal
Kevin: Mirror — Kendrick Lamar
Black men and therapy. Two things that have not always been associated with each other. But we’re here now. From Donald Glover dedicating an entire Atlanta episode to exploring trauma and its impact on his life/actions - to Kendrick creating Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers to center similar themes. Mirror is the capper to, admittedly, a mentally exhausting but also cathartic project that digs in about self-doubt, infidelity, ego, and (Black) trauma. At its core, the album is about what it looks like to do the work to love ourselves and be the best version of ourselves. Along the way, Kendrick makes his most personal album to date. On Mirror, he repeats the mantra, “I choose me, I’m sorry,” and the need he felt to rebuild his life and his family’s life. Mirror attempts to answer critics (i.e. Noname) but also speaks to Kendrick’s overall desire to rebuild his world. His desire to love himself. His desire to implore us to do the same.
Kevin: Heart on Fire — Little Simz
Heart on Fire is a song following the same narrative thread as Lamar’s Mirror. Little Simz’s latest album, NO THANK YOU, feels like a stamp at the end of her current three album run. In particular, Heart on Fire explores themes addressing ego, fame and expectations. Little Simz, like Lamar, can address these topics with depth and sincerity. And most importantly, the music is great! The vocals by Cleo Sol are soothing but the production is haunting. And that composition matches the lyrics/rapping by Little Simz. She is asking herself and the listener to reflect on your lived experience. In her case, is she true to what she said she would do before the popularity? Or is she just playing her part - materialism, looking for the adulation, etc.? think as I get older, self-reflection is a part of the game. Little Simz is sitting with this as she puts time into the game and music business, and her craft. She is reminding herself and us to constantly assess; to be her.
Stanley: Ultraviolet — KAINA (Featuring Sleater-Kinney)
KAINA’s sophomore album, It Was A Home, is one of my favorite albums from the year. The songwriting is tender and forthright, the production is sublime. On Ultraviolet, which features the duo, Sleater-Kinney, KAINA nimbly manipulates genre: going from Rock to Hip-Hop to R&B and more, making for a sonic explosion. It’s a standout track only an already stacked album.
Stanley: Makaya McCraven — In These Times
In an ensemble, it’s often understood that the drummer is the time keeper, the pulse of the music. It’s a hefty responsibility. Makaya McCraven, the drummer and bandleader, offers himself as both record keeper and guide, daringly exploring a range of rhythmic possibilities. The title track, which starts the album, begins with a question of progress, and continuing the work of those before him. The title track is a gorgeous tune filled with lush stringed accompaniment (harpist Brandee Younger shines particularly bright), capped with a fiery alto saxophone solo from Greg Ward.
