Top 50 of 2022: #45 – 41 / A Clipse Reunion, An Icon and A Lost Track

The top 50 is underway and we will get to number one before you know it. This block has a long awaited hip hop reunion, a music icon and a “lost track.” This is a very eclectic block and speaks to the strength of the 50. So, let’s talk hip hop…

45. Pusha T ft. Malice: I Pray For You

Clipse fans will love to see Pusha and his brother Malice back together again on a track and I Pray For You does not disappoint. In this track, and the whole record, Push takes his “coke rap” aesthetic to a deeper place than previous records. He starts to question the costs of the coke lifestyle and the demons he lives with from his past. A great record with the Push bravado we all love, but with a dash of introspection.

44. Janis Ian: I’m Still Standing

Janis Ian is a folk icon and inspired countless women musicians. Her latest track I’m Still Standing takes a look back at her life and how it has shaped her into the person she is now. This is not a tale of regret and wishing things could have been different, but a celebration of life and the stories she has experienced. She sings about how her soul will rest when it’s time, but for now she will continue fighting as long as she is standing.

43. HAIM: Lost Track

Since their track with Taylor Swift on Evermore, No Body No Crime, we have been waiting to see if that was a sign of a new record. We didn’t get a new record, but a surprise single due to a meeting with Paul Thomas Anderson during a photo shoot with Rolling Stone. On the surface, this fun indie track full of children’s toy chimes and hand claps, but it has deeper themes of emotional numbness and trying to feel anything. A great track that they put together in a number of days, so let’s hope this leads to another full record.

42. Adele: Easy on Me

Coming out just too late for the 2021 list, this is the oldest track on the top 50. It took the world by storm when it came out and had Adele fans belting out that epic chorus. Like much of Adele’s music, Easy on Me is an introspective track about overcoming setbacks in life only to stumble again…get up…and stumble again. It is how well she can sing about the struggle, which connects her to her fans and keeps her music grounded. Just a killer chorus and a return to form for the artist.

41. SZA ft. Phoebe Bridgers: Ghost in the Machine

SZA and Phoebe Bridgers team up for a track you would think they would sing about…the darkness of relationships. They sing about the emptiness of sex with no connection and how they crave an honest connection with another person. They “crave humanity,” but have difficulty emotionally connecting with other people. A deep track that is both catchy and complex.

This block had some divas, hip hop, R&B and music icons…what will the next block bring? Look forward to a superhero, more Aussie music and hip hop…of course.