Every week, I offer three recommendations: something new, something classic, and something I love. This week, I've finally been able to relax a little and enjoy the music I want, with the year-end list for 2022 being complete. Recently, I've listened to lots of jazz and hip hop, with a good dose of pop to bring me into the new year feeling optimistic.
Something New
Mourning Run & Skip the Kid - Great Tribulatia (2022)
This was an album that came out very late in the year, so I wasn't able to listen to it in time for my year-end list. However, now I'm beginning to regret that decision, because this is some of the finest hip hop of 2022. Both halves of Mourning Run sound so alive, delivering these densely-rhymed verses with ever-changing flows and sharp lyrics on every track. Beyond the rapping performances, Skip's production on this album is spacey, futuristic, and so incredibly detailed. There are few 2022 hip hop albums which sound as chilling and atmospheric as this one, with classic record scratches littered throughout the album between passages of eerie synths and catchy samples. It's one of Skip's best produced works, and complements the style of Mourning Run perfectly.
Something Classic
Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion (2015)
Pop music today would not be the same without Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion. It is practically the blueprint for modern dance-pop, with Carly embracing the 80s-inspired glamour of blaring synths but putting her own modern polish on it. Her singing is as engaging as ever, and her ability to write a compelling chorus is unmatched. Whether it be the more sombre "All That" of the explosive "Run Away With Me", the lyrics are always so memorable, the production so catchy and the choruses unforgettable. The album runs so quickly, with the upbeat production and sheer catchiness of each track making every listen to Emotion a pure delight.
Something I Love
2nd Cousin - The Cookout (2022)
Another project I wish I had gotten to before posting my year-end list is The Cookout, a collaborative EP between hip hop producer Act Won and rapper Noah Genesis. For how short the project is, it delves into an impressive range of sounds, making for an eclectic listen where no two songs sound similar. The melancholic strings of "Welcome 2 (The Cookout)", the spacey ambience of "2nd Cou2in (Represent)" and the deep bass of "The Menu" all sound like they could be from completely different projects, but they're weaved together by the charismatic performance from Noah Genesis who adapts effortlessly to each beat. Not only are his verses engaging, but he also provides a few catchy hooks across the EP which bring me back even oftener. The duo have an amazing chemistry, and I'm keen to see how they evolve their sound together going forward.
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