My music listening habits have eventually caught up with global listening habits. I barely listened to albums, I found myself listening to personalized playlists on Apple Music and YouTube Music.
These changes have affected my annual ‘top lists’; this time around, I’ll focus on top artists instead of top albums.
Please Note: This list was curated strictly with my personal listening habits
So let’s get into it.
1. CRIMEAPPLE
CRIMEAPPLE remains one of the most consistent hip-hop artists, releasing up to six projects in 2022, most notably Breakfast in Hradec with DJ Skizz.
2. Paranom
‘Mark 7’ has to be my most-listened song of 2022. Paranom released not much material, however, quality almost always beats quantity.
3. The BovvaKing
With over 3 EPs and multiple singles in 2022, most notably “Revolt”, The Bovvaking was one of my most listened-to artists of 2022.
4. Ransom
With at least 3 LPs in 2022 and multiple singles, Ransom captured listeners to the extent there were GOAT conversations about him.
5. Roc Marciano
It is almost impossible for hip-hop royalty like Roc Marci not to appear on my list. “The Elephant Man’s Bones” with The Alchemist was definitely one of the best albums of 2022, and one of the only LPs I listened to consistently.
5. Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon
Another notable artist of this era is Lord Jah_Monte Ogbon, I got introduced to him by Apple Music’s weekly personalized New Music Mix. A lot of his special delivery over very soulful samples kept me company in 2022.
7. Benny The Butcher
Dude can’t seem to miss, Benny and his BSF artists stayed busy in 2022.
8. Che Noir
With 2 LPs in 2022 and one as a producer for Jynx716, Che Noir has paid her dues and is mentioned alongside some of the best of the more recent era.
9. Black Thought
With an LP with producer Danger Mouse and one EP with Seun Kuti, Black thought stayed consistent in 2022.
10. Nas
At this point in his career, Nas has nothing left to prove, but he still chooses to bless us with new music.
Conclusion
There were a lot of other noteworthy releases from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Rome Streetz, Boldy James, Lloyd Banks, KA, Homeboy Sandman, Conway, and Westside Gunn, plus a tonne of others, unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to listen to every project I was interested in.
Hopefully, this list can help listeners with similar tastes find music to listen to.