Top 50 of 2022: #20 – 16 / A Metal Collab, K-Pop Cocaine and Hip Hop Superheroes

We are getting close and this block of music is all about having fun and some real genre music. Nothing to lyrically deep in this section, but it is full of music that hit me hard this year. A very eclectic block with some bangers.

20. Ice Spice: Munch (Feelin’ U)

I heard about Ice Spice on a podcast and this track is a tornado in 1:44. Much like Lizzo, Stallion, Doja Cat or Cardi B, Ice Spice brings her overt sexuality and agency to the forefront. She owns her sexuality and is not ashamed to celebrate it. Her rapid and dismissive delivery is pretty hot and adds to a vibe of Ice Spice being in total control.

19. Health ft. Nine Inch Nails: Isn’t Everyone

Health is known for some great metal collaborations from Lamb of God and Backxwash to now Nine Inch Nails. Health’s electro metal is a great fit for the industrial metal old heads in Nine and their ethereal vocals gives the track an other worldly quality. However, what really brings this track together is vintage Pretty Hate Machine vocals from Trent Reznor and 90s industrial vibe from Atticus Ross and the crew. I cannot get enough of this track.

18. Czarface ft. Frankie Pulitzer: The Czarlac Pit

This is the first album from hip hop collective Czarface, aka 7L & Esoteric with Wu – Tang’s Inspectah Deck, since the shocking death of MF DOOM. Much of Czarface’s biggest tracks featured MF DOOM, so it was an open question as to how their next record would sound. The same comic influences, fast rhymes, hot beats and 1970s / 80s cartoon samples harken back to classic Czarface. MF DOOM’s absence does leave a hole in the record, which is addressed with multiple dedications to the late rapper. Having said that, The Czarlac Pit shows that the band will continue putting out interesting and original hip hop.

17. BLACKPINK: Pink Venom

At any given day this track can be #17 or jump all the way up to #5. This is pure K-Pop that I shoot straight into my veins. It is all there…catchy beats, the band constantly singing its name, a Korean hip hop interlude, multiple versus I have no idea what they mean and just a ton of fun. This song is not meant to be sipped as you record all the different notes of citrus and truffle, but slammed straight out of the bottle as you hurl it at the wall and demand another. Time to blackout on some Pink Venom.

16. The Chats: 6L GTR

Time for some hard hitting Aussie punk. Queensland based The Chats bring back that raw 1980s punk vibe with tracks about class, Aussie life and the everyday. They are very reminiscent of Henry Rollins era Black Flag in how they sing about the trials of the working class in a way that doesn’t mock people, but brings their problems to the forefront. Great punk always highlighted issues of race, class and unchecked political power. The Chats follow a long line of punk including Fugazi, The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat. This band has a bright future ahead of it.