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daily-coloring · 4 months

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Best of 2023 - Albums

Unbelievable year ... Fallen pop stars are returning, long time not seen artists are turning up in a best possible shape, producers making music under their own names, ... First of all I really enjoyed a few soundtracks this year especially Anthony Willis's Saltburn and Arnaud Rebotini's L'lle Rouge. Surprisingly I listened again on repeat a few DJ mixes too. Danny Tenaglia's new Global Underground was a pure treasure, James Zabiela's home session just made me dance for an hour in the living room, as well as Andy Butler's energetic set did too.

01. Roisin Murphy - Hit Parade - "If Hit Parade isn’t Murphy’s best album, it’s certainly her wildest and weirdest. Nowhere else is the scale of her ambition more evident than on the percussive and atmospheric “Free Will.” Murphy says she doesn’t believe in free will but that you should “just make believe that you can write the play” anyway. It’s yet another indelible statement that couldn’t come from anyone else." - Slant Magazine

02. Rebecca Black - Let Her Burn - "An acceptable stretch of Let Her Burn gives Black a chance to reform a persona she had never had any control over until now. As fundamental a shift as perhaps expected, Black warrants this change of pace but there is something inevitable about how these perspectives are formed and how retaliation to reactionary dogpiling a decade ago comes to the forefront. Working hard and pushing through with this half-hour debut LP is exceptional, with spotty highs and consistently solid mixes that give those electronic undercurrents a beat-worthy working. Destroy Me is a crucial highlight in getting to the core of reinvention but also in engaging with how buoyed Let Her Burn is by how much of an opposition it takes to the early works. Black has let her burn, whatever “her” was. Let Her Burn razes and destroys as much as it can, and it works as a successful, credible debut." - Cult Following

03. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Hana

04. Clark - Sus Dog

05. Everything But The Girl - Fuse

06. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori

07. Mermaidens - Mermaidens

08. Kesha - Gag Order

09. Anna B Savage - in|FLUX - "So as a follow up to A Common Turn, this does feel like an album where, lyrically and thematically, we are dealing with an artist who has battled some of the previous demons, accepted the daily flux of life, and found a way to focus on the moments when life feels most complete. But in a musical context – Anna also seems to have taken that feeling, that love of contradiction, into the songs. At moments explosively ecstatic, at others wrought with emotion – and filled with influences and sounds from areas not explored on the previous LP – the album brings a bunch of disparate sounds and feelings together to create a powerful and impressive whole. Most impressive of all is the fact that, after an album that sent Picky Bastards into a spin for the whole of 2021, Anna has released something as good if not better." - Picky Bastards

10. HMLTD - The Worm

11. JMSN - Soft Spot

12. Orbital - Optical Delusion - "It’s an album of unlikely collaborations. Day One features the operatic talents of Dina Ipavic, while Are You Alive, sung by Lily Wolter of Penelope Isles, floats into moodier, more analog territory. Best of all are The New Abnormal (Golden Girls’ Kinetic turned inside out) and the anti-gammon state of the nation rant of Dirty Rats." - Record Collector

13. Spelling - SPELLLING & The Mystery School

14. Future Utopia - We Were We Still Are

15. CLT DRP - Nothing Clever, Just Feelings

16. Joy Wellboy - The Ones That Got Away

17. Pierre Rousseau - Twenty - Music for Etudes N°20 - Spring Summer 2022

18. Joyce Muniz - Zeitkapsel

19. Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra - Racing The Storm

20. Thomas Azier - The Inventory Of Our Desire

21. Sofia Kourtesis - Madres

22. Not Waving - The Place I've Been Missing

23. Restive Plaggona - Ignis

24. Deichkind - Neues Vom Dauerzustand

25. Daughter - Stereo Mind Game

26. Daði Freyr - I Made an Album

27. Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)

28. Surgeon - Crash Recoil - "Crash Recoil is probably about as close to a live Surgeon record as we’re ever going to get. Child views producing and performing as two disparate disciplines, which they are, and he goes about each in a very different way. This also means it’s about as close to a traditional pop/rock approach to writing and recording as you’re likely to find from an electronic producer, woodshedding tracks on the road and sharpening them to a diamond sheen. More bands and producers should think of adopting the approach as it clearly can yield stunning results, as evidenced by this glorious offering." - Spectrum Culture

29. Duran Duran - DANSE MACABRE

30. When Saints Go Machine - Rosy

31. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

32. Maps - Counter Melodies

33. Laurent Garnier - 33 tours et puis s'en vont

34. Benedikt Frey - Fastlane

35. ANOUK - Deena and Jim

36. Anthony Naples - Orbs - "The New York producer once known for muscular house and techno continues to drift into the ether, channeling ’90s chillout and dub techno into his singular vision." - Pitchfork

37. James Holden - Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities

38. Hifi Sean & David McAlmont - Happy Ending

39. Tirzah - trip9love...???

40. Kelela - Raven

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postambientlux · 4 months

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BEST AMBIENT OF 2023

BEST AMBIENT ALBUMS of 2023 curated by @holsgr

50 : Linus Alberg - Elements

49 : Laurel Halo - Atlas

48 : Alex Smalley - Moments at the Re-engage

47 : Pepo Galán - Family Harmony

46 : Oval - Romantiq

45 : Lunar Corp - Tourism

44 : Henrik Lindstrand - Klangland

43 : Memory Scale - And All Things Begin to Drift

42 : Elskavon - Origins

41 : Bruno Sanfilippo - Ver Sacrum

40 : André 3000 - New Blue Sun

39 : Eluvium - (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality

38 : Martin Kohlstedt - Feld

37 : Loris S. Sarid - A Tiny Reminder

36 : Subheim - Raeon

35 : Claire M Singer - Saor

34 : Faten Kanaan - Afterpoem

33 : Matt Elliott - The End of Days

32 : Gunn Truscinski Nace - Glass Band

31 : Bill Seaman, Tim Diagram & Stephen Spera - The World Was Turning Before

30 : Yosuke Tokunaga - 8 Quadrants

29 : Deepriver - Volume One

28 : Ali Sethi & Nicolas Jaar - Intiha

27 : Maps And Diagrams - A Study of Ends or Purpose

26 : Tim Hecker - No Highs

25 : Tobias Preisig - Closer

24 : Maxime Dangles - Les Délivrés

23 : Graham Lambkin - Aphorisms

22 : Loscil & Lawrence English - Colours Of Air

21 : Hania Rani - Ghosts

20 : Chaz Knapp & Mariel Roberts - Setting Fire to These Dark Times

19 : Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani - Les Égarés

18 : Grotta Veterano & Music For Sleep - Endless Vacation

17 : Cicada - 棲居在溪源之上 (Seeking the Sources of Streams)

16 : Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Music For A Cosmic Garden

15 : Oneohtrix Point Never - Again

14: Raphael Rogiński - Talàn

13 : Lucy Liyou - Dog Dreams (개꿈)

12 : Greg Foat & Gigi Masin - Dolphin

11 : Mette Henriette - Drifting

10 : Marine Eyes & IKSRE - Nurture

9 : Awakened Souls - Unlikely Places

8 : Lemon Quartet - ArtsFest

7 : Zander Raymond - Secrets From A Squirrel

6 : Purelink - Signs

5 : Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada

4 : Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View

3 : Lia Kohl - The Ceiling Reposes

2 : Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective - *1

1 : Canaan Balsam - Eternity Lies Within Or Nowhere

BEST AMBIENT EP's OF 2023

10 : KMRU & Abul Mogard - Drawing Water

9 : Hannes Kretzer - Species

8 : Billow Observatory - Calque

7 : Alex Smalley & Lucia Adam - Shapes

6 : Max Ananyev - Scenery

5 : Ben Zucker - After Along the Way

4 : Ideophone - April

3 : James Osland - Sharing Time With You Has Been My Biggest Joy

2 : Jeremixyz - xyz

1 : Lake Haze - Pure Movements

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a-wonderful-use-of-server-space · 1 year

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HYPERFIXATION STRIKES AGAIN 1982 EDITION

#best albums #top 5 list #1982 #40th anniversary #kate bush #art pop #elvis costello #singer songwriter #laurie anderson #experimental pop #xtc band #new wave #philip glass #minimalist music

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shortmeteor · 5 months

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BEST OF 2023

They start selling Christmas shit in September now. Who cares? Let's go!

Best of 2023 (1): Best albums!

Bettye Crutcher / Long As You Love Me

Mandré / Mandré

George Duke / Rendezvous

The Chi-Lites / A Letter To Myself

Eddie Rabbitt / Loveline

Cymande / Cymande

Al Green / The Belle Album

Eric Dolphy / Far Cry

David Bowie / Young Americans

Rick James / Bustin’ Out of L Seven

Shuggie Otis / Inspiration Information

#Bettye Crutcher #Mandré #George Duke #Best of 2023 #Best albums #Eddie Rabbitt #Cymande #Eric Dolphy #Al Green #Rick James #Shuggie Otis #the chi lites #I don't care about current music it's all shit except for you reading if you do music I do like that

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theories-of · 1 year

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CLOSING_THE_NIGHT WITH THEORIES FAVORITE 2022 ALBUMS | 6

youtube

Bill Callahan - YTI⅃AƎЯ

youtube

Kamikaze Palm Tree - Mint Chip

youtube

Carla Dal Forno - Come Around

youtube

Alabaster dePlume - GOLD

youtube

Marina Allen - Centrifics

#Bill Callahan #Kamikaze Palm Tree #Carla Dal Forno #Alabaster dePlume #Marina Allen #best music #best albums #closing the night #Favorite Music #favorite albums

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roomtemperatehumor · 8 months

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New fan and wanna see where to start :)

Hopefully i got them all, thanks for the help :)

#taylor swift #speak now taylor’s version #taylornation #tumblr polls #taylor poll #help #albums #best albums #fan #new fan #taylor songs #songs #music #this would be very helpful

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music-moon · 1 month

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My most played albums released in the year 2017:

SZA - Ctrl

Taylor Swift - reputation

Lorde - Melodrama

Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life

John Mayer - The Search for Everything

Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy

Mother Mother - No Culture

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

Ed Sheeran - ÷

Angus & Julia Stone - Snow

Data from last.fm + pythfm.

2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023 / 2024

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lifextime · 1 year

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浜崎あゆみ | Best Albums | 2001-2021

albums studio | best of | mini albums | remix

[2001.03.21] A BEST | [2016.03.28] A BEST 15th Anniversary Edition

[2003.03.12] A BALLADS

[2007.02.28] A BEST 2 -BLACK- & -WHITE-

[2008.09.10] A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~

[2012.08.08] A SUMMER BEST

[2014.11.26] WINTER BALLAD SELECTION (Digital)

[2015.03.18] A THEME SONGS -Drama edition- (Digital)

[2019.06.19] RAINY SEASON SELECTION (Digital)

[2019.08.21] ANIME & GAME SELECTION (Digital)

[2021.04.08] A BALLADS 2

ALL in ONE DL

#浜崎あゆみ #ayu #ayumi hamasaki #discography #best albums #download #special #music #jpop #japan #model #singer #solo

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therappundit · 1 year

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*The Best of the Bestest!: The Rap Pundit’s Picks For The Finest Rap Projects of 2022

*Just a list of MY favorite favorites from a year filled with a lot of damn good music.

What else needs to be said at this point? You have probably seen at least a dozen “Best of” lists by now, with many of the same albums cluttered near the top....but this is THE Rap Pundit’s list, so you know you’re bound to find more gems than chalk.

In a historically deep year for rap music (a topic worth profiling in the future), the headline story was probably the numerous side stories. Be it the explosion of great music coming from areas that had a previously under-reported wealth of talent (especially Wisconsin and Florida), the underground scene getting more high profile exposure than it has in years (artists like billy woods, Fatboi Sharif and Lungs/Lonesword being shouted-out by numerous mainstream outlets!?), sample-driven drill officially becoming the preferred drill-flavor (at least on the east coast, shout-out Shawny Binladen, Four50, Big YaYa and the YTB), and of course the simply inescapable rise of club music’s influence on rap right now (Bandmanrill is clearly the master of this lane, but this style isn’t going away anytime soon)….if you couldn’t find something you loved in 2022, you might not actually like rap music.

But the proof is in the pudding, let’s get into it. Here are my personal picks for the most impressive albums/mixtapes/EPs/projects/whatever of 2022…

***High Honors***: Beware of the Monkey by MIKE, Motion Not Emotion by DB.Boutabag, Playing With Fire by ShooterGang Kony, Crack Music 2 by Skilla Baby, Beyond Belief by 38 Spesh & Harry Fraud, Gold Bricks by ElCamino, and Formal Intro by dp0mmy [+about 100 more that I plan to shout-out on future posts!]

100. VACABULAREE by Valee

99. The DogFather by Paco Panama

98. u be ight by QThree

97. Traumazine by Megan Thee Stallion

96. Metatron’s Cube by Aj Suede & Televangel

95. Spaceships on the Blade by Larry June

94. Scorpion Eyes by BandGang Lonnie Band$

93. Raw Extractions by Lukah

92. Marlowe 3 by Marlowe (L’Orange & Solemn Brigham)

91. SNOFALL by Jeezy & DJ Drama

90. Tales Of A Yung Son by Four50

89. Ima Island Boy by Pros AP

88. WHERE ARE THE BUGS!? by Cise Greeny, Phiik & Lungs/LoneSword

87. Let’s Do A Drill by Asian Doll

86. GRIPTAPE by the grittiest, Raz Fresco, Eric Right

85. Triple Black Diamonds 2 by al.divino & Estee Nack

84. Where The Shooters Be by SleazyWorld Go

83. As Above So Below by VIP Skylark

82. ONLY BUILT 4 DIAMOND LINKS by Peezy

81. Deutsche Marks 3 by Willie The Kid & V Don

80. THE LIZ 2 by Armani Caesar

79. Wordly Ways by Archibald Slim

78. I NEVER LIKED YOU (Deluxe) by Future

77. MARTINELLI MAC-ELEV by Willyynova

76. Jungle Life by DCG BROTHERS (DCG Shun, DCG Bsavv)

75. FACE (Deluxe Edition) by Babyface Ray

74. What They Hittin 4 by Jay Worthy & DJ Muggs

73. Sedale Threat by Wrecking Crew (Zilla Rocca, Curly Castro & PremRock)

72. Dollar Menu 4 by Mach-Hommy & Tha God Fahim

71. On High Alert, Vol. 4 by Real Bad Man

70. EA Monster by Young Nudy

69. Back For Everything by Kodak Black

68. raja’s sun by iblss

67. BussaBrick Vol. 2: BussOne 101 by Chicken P

66. 2 Headed Goat by 1100 Himself & Mitchell

65. The I&I by Teller Bank$ & Ed Glorious

64. COTI 2: The Course of the Inevitable 2 by Lloyd Banks

63. The Broadcast by Fil Jackson

62. The 13 Tape 2 by Jugg Harden

61. HTR Vol. 1: The Legend of Tawny Tone by Koncept Jack$on

60. MEMPHIS MASSACRE III *or* CRUNKSTAR [I still can’t make up my mind!?] by Duke Deuce

59. BEFORE SHIT GOT WEIRD by The Cool Kids

58. ENDLESS by evrymN

57. 25 Features, Vol. 2 by Los & Nutty

56. SLANG CASINO by YUNGMORPHEUS & Obijuan

55. Before The Winner Comes The Fall by Grunge Gallardo

54. Valley of Dry Bones by Stik Figa & Conductor Williams

53. Paint the City (Gangsta Grillz) by Icewear Vezzo & DJ Drama

52. Lost In Austin by kingdoughmane.

51. Gold by DJ Muggs & Rigz

50. Black Vladimir by Meyhem Lauren & Daringer

49. Dog$hit & Ammunition by WTM Milt

48. Laughing so Hard, it Hurts by Mavi

47. Metal Lung by Shrapknel (Curly Castro & Premrock)

46. Da Under Dog by MarijuanaXO

45. The Forever Story by JID

44. SHADOWSELF by Sleep Sinatra & Ohbliv

43. CHAINLINK by Phiik & Duro

42. $oul $old $eparately by Freddie Gibbs

41. Church by billy woods & Messiah Musik

40. RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART by Vince Staples

39. SOGW2: Estee Nack & The Order of the Golden Fleece by Estee Nack & Sadhugold

38. Blame Kansas by T.F, Roc Marciano & Mephux

37. Joe Fog by Errol Holden

36. ill be right back! by amani & robalu

35. LIVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE by Mikem Nahmir & The Fades Formation

34. The Elephant Man’s Bones by Roc Marciano & The Alchemist

33. Her Loss by Drake & 21 Savage

32. Frank by Fly Anakin

31. SOUTH CENTRAL by G Perico

30. Sewaside II by Mike Shabb

29. King’s Disease III by Nas & Hit-Boy

28. Cold Cuts by Wiki & Subjxct 5

27. Melt My Eyez See Your Future (The Extended Edition) by Denzel Curry

26. Intros, Outros & Interludes by Domo Genesis & Evidence

25. Few Good Things by Saba

24. BABYST5XNE GORILLAS by Baby Stone Gorillas

23. Fair Exchange No Robbery by Boldy James & Nicholas Craven

22. Continuous Improvement by Papo2oo4, DJ Lucas & Subjxct 5

21. Kiss The Ring by Rome Streetz

20. MOB by Babyface Ray

19. I Love Y.O.U. cuz Y.O.U. Ugle Vol.1 by Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire

18. It’s Almost Dry by Pusha T

17. Smoke Detector by Rich Jones

16. The Soufside Villain by Marco Plus

15. Tana Talk 4 by Benny The Butcher

14. Continuance by Curren$y & Alchemist

13. Cheat Codes by Black Thought & Danger Mouse

12. Languish Arts and Woeful Studies by Ka

11. Spirit Roaming by AKAI SOLO

Aaaaaaaaand now, my top ten...

10. I Told Bessie by ELUCID

[A well-oiled machine of an album, I Told Bessie lurches along from one ear-grabbing soundscape to another, each gifted contributor putting their stamp on some precious reflection from ELUCID (all producers were in top form here, but Child Actor, Messiah Musik and Sebb were especially potent). As one half of Armand Hammer, ELUCID has no trouble being a tour guide through his own stroll down memory lane. He is a superior narrator that knows his way around a vast array of different styles of instrumentals, which means that Bessie never gets too dark or too bright, adding easy replay value to even the heavier moments of the album.]

9. Component System with the Auto Reverse by Open Mike Eagle

[Open Mike Eagle has circled around the epicenter of the underground rap scene for some time now, always a worthy contributor, albeit not one to necessarily be recognized during award season. That should change with his latest effort, a brilliant piece of nostalgia, personal reflection, and an earnest love for hip-hop. Also, great writing aside, the beats on here are simply phenomenal.]

8. SICK! by Earl Sweatshirt

[Forgot that this dropped in 2022? The first AOTY contender to drop is all too often the album ending up with the short end of the stick come December, and that seems to be the case with SICK!. Less sonically aggressive than much of his previous work, Earl still manages to cram so much thoughtful writing into quick, fun-size doses. The most effective music isn’t always the music that begs for our attention, and this feels like an album where the listener is fortunate just to catch Earl’s thoughts before they float away, to make room for more poignant passing thoughts. Perhaps Earl’s best gift as an artist is his ability to leave fans wanting more.]

7. Bokleen World by Mike Shabb

[By now the buzz is just starting to nip at Mike Shabb's heels. The Montreal MC/producer was not on my radar before this year, but hot damn has he made an impact in 2022. If it wasn’t his TWO great solo albums that he dropped, it was the acclaim from tastemakers like Westside Gunn, who got his production skills the attention they deserve. More importantly, Shabb is coming out of Montreal, Canada, making him a representative of a scene that is starting to make waves well outside of the Canadian border. I loved his release from earlier this year, but for me it was Bokleen World that showcased all of the many dimensions of an exciting young artist.]

6. MOOR CHORES by Lord Kayso

[Another artist that I was completely unfamiliar with at this time last year, Brooklyn’s Lord Kayso is closing out this year as one of my favorite artists. There’s something about his delivery and the way that he colors in his world that feels simultaneously intimate but distant, much like how a young Nas was portrayed as a writer’s-writer, watching events in his community unfold from a project window. Kayso reflects on his world with a casual delivery that doesn’t seem to be emotionally affected in the moment, but the fact that he’s sharing these personal stories at all confirms that he’s a man with a great deal on his mind.]

5. For All Debts Public and Private by Defcee & Boathouse

[Last year Defcee & Messiah Musik really surprised some folks (myself included) by dropping Trapdoor, one of the best albums of 2021, in December...so let that be a lesson to anyone that thinks they can finalize their annual Best Of lists by the time Thanksgiving wraps up. That's a tough act to follow, but Defcee & Boathouse managed to strike in 2022 with another fantastic project in For All Debts Public and Private. An impressive list of some of the underground's finest join forces with Boathouses impactful backdrops and Defcee's revealing bars, all to create an album that is as thoughtful as it is prone to high levels of replay value. When it comes to dissecting one's life and perspectives, I don't know if any MC's pen is touching Defcee at the moment.]

4. Deathfame by Quelle Chris

[Detroit's uber-talented virtuoso Quelle Chris has been accumulating one of the deepest catalogues in music for some time now, but Deathfame is truly one of his finest works top to bottom. An under-reported trend for Quelle is that he somehow finds a way to become more and more versatile as a producer with every album. Never allowing his sense of humor to drown out his messages, and never being so devoid of humor that his messages come off as bitter, a great Quelle Chris album has become a most welcome tradition over these past few years....and I hope it continues!]

3. Aethiopes by billy woods & Preservation

[Gonna keep it moving here…billy woods is just flat out the most prolific writer in rap music right now, Preservation is a genius and their chemistry is off the charts. Add a handful of standout guest verses - EL-P, Boldy, Breeze and hot damn, Despot!? - and you have an AOTY worthy album. Too many memorable quotes and verse of the year contenders to list, but for some reason there’s a special place in my heart for “trying to pay rent - but that’s not black empowerment, that’s you trying to pay rent”.]

2. 10 (a.k.a. HWH10) by Westside Gunn

[Maybe my favorite Westside Gunn project since FLYGOD, which for me (as a bit of a Griselda stan since 2015), is saying a lot. Reminiscent of Kanye’s “anyone around, come to the studio right now!” energy during better times - his MBDTF G.O.O.D. Friday roll out - for the latest (last??) installment of his controversially titled music series, Gunn managed to pull together a somewhat surprising list of features for a mixtape of loose and FUN bar-fests over the most varied, ear-grabbing production that we have heard from the Griselda collective in a minute. I’m not actually sure who was in the studio and who wasn’t, but when the outcome puts Run The Jewels, A$AP Rocky, Doe Boy, Black Star, Busta and Rae & Ghost together on the same project, you get a straight-up dope tape that reminds me of why I fell in love with underground rap music in the first place. Classic Soundbombing vibes, for me.]

1. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

[When it comes down to releasing new albums, no other rap artist needs to check as many boxes as Kendrick Lamar. JAY-Z, J.Coke, Drake, you name it - none of them have to incorporate mainstream bangers, nuanced “conscious rap”, alternative choices, catchy lyrics, superior production, clear expression of ideas, and manage to touch the bar set by fans with incredibly high expectations for an artist that doesn’t release new music as often as his peers…but such is the life of anyone who is considered to have the highest ceiling in their field. Yet with Mr. Morale, Kendrick unleashed the album that *he* wanted to release: a sprawling conversation piece that stumbles through dozens of sticky topics without digging his heels into any one stance for too long.

It’s the perfect expression of ideas from anyone that came out of the last few years of isolation with a creeping sense of doubt, mistrust for the information circling around him, and a general awkwardness for how to interact with the world once again. I’m not sorry that many of the thoughts he shared on this album weren’t met as “correct” based on our expectations of what many of us want him to represent, but more importantly, Kendrick shouldn’t be sorry either. Much like other prominent people of influence in the world today, we should be discussing the nuance of everything we’re told, and the great points often come from those exchanges - way moreso than the regurgitation of curated policy that is deemed acceptable by the loudest of audiences. So yes, I believe Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers to be hands-down the best rap album of 2022. All messages aside, how anyone could miss the well-crafted delivery and high quality production that is easily the most engaging of any mainstream rap album in 2022, is still pretty surprising to me….but I suppose conflicted opinions are exactly what should come from a talented artist stewing in his own conflicted opinions in recent years. Oh well, I guess even the best in their field can’t please everybody.]

Next stop....best songs. 👀

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