Pronounced (AY, EL, JAY pls)
Let me start this with wishing you a Happy New Year and Welcome to 2022, this post should’ve been out sooner but my last couple of days have been filled with plenty of enjoyment and well deserved rest. #softlife
As we’ve now said our final goodbyes to 2021, I figured this was the best time to post my final reflection of the year and what was released. I could’ve done the hits and misses but I decided it’s probably best to just focus on the highs of the year.
2021 was most definitely what felt like a VERY long year and putting this list together has reminded me of how long it really has been. Some of these albums do not even feel like they were released just last year.
Before we get into my list, one thing about me, I love short albums (get me in and out quickly pls), albums that tell a story or have a narrative and I love variety and range on a project, take me through different emotions and moods, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE duality(where an artist can effortlessly display completely different styles of music) within artists. I was even talking about this the other day on Twitter. I will definitely revisit this topic in a future post.
After deep deliberation, searching google and my Spotify likes to make sure I haven’t missed it forgotten anyone, I have conjured up my list of Top 5 Projects of 2021. To whittle it down to 5 was a headache for sure, this list is in no particular order;
Sometimes I might be Introvert
Little Simz
September 3rd
1hr 5mins
19 Tracks
I for one, am most definitely one of the late comers to falling in love with Little Simz and her craft, which I am ashamed to say, but better late than never. I have memories of my cousin, years ago, telling me about this UK female rapper and how amazing she is.
Early in 2021 is when I finally took in her music with “A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons” which is also a great project from her that I’d recommend.
One thing I thoroughly enjoy within albums is when an artist can effortlessly display a range of sounds, emotions and vibes throughout. Little Simz has shown time and time again that she is one of those artists.
What I love about this album is the journey she takes you on from Introvert to Miss Understood, filled with authentic emotion and the deeper look into who she is as a person and the journey and sacrifices she took to become the person in the place she is today.
Commercially it has been beautiful to see her, as an independent artist receive her flowers too.
Favourite Tracks:
Two Worlds Apart
I Love You, I Hate You
Standing Ovation
I See You
Protect My Energy
How Did You Get Here
We’re All Alone In This Together
Dave
July 22nd
1hr
12 Tracks
Dave, Dave, Dave. My earliest memory of Dave was the morning the Wanna Know remix featuring Drake was released, it was extremely surreal to see someone from ends receive such a huge co sign in the form of a feature from the biggest rapper in the world at the time.
From then I’ve seen him go from strength to strength. This album was a brilliant follow up from his debut where he gladly doesn’t become a victim to the sophomore slump as he shows growth as an artist and as a man and starts challenging and asking all the right questions around not only what does it mean to be black in the UK but also a black man in the UK. In this album he reflects on his previous life choices and how desperate times called for desperate measures.
This album carries a vast range of moods, vibes and serious messages throughout. The changes in mood will take you from deep thought and reflection with Daniel Kaluuya in Three Rivers, then straight to the dancery to shake a leg in System with Wizkid.
With just 12 tracks and an hour runtime, this album takes you on an adventure that shows you a glimpse into who Dave used to be and the choices that were made for him to be where he is today, even a look into the sacrifices his own mother had to make herself, in a heartbreaking voice note in Heart Attack. There is no doubt this album made a huge impact in the charts and in the streets, when we come to talk about solid sophomore albums there is no doubt this one will be forever bought to the table, if not by you, then most definitely by me.
Favourite Tracks:
In The Fire
Three Rivers
Lazarus
Law Of Attraction
Heart Attack
30
Adele
November 19th
58mins
12 Tracks
Adele, what can I say about her or this album that hasn’t already been said. First of all, this album has been a personal, deep, insightful look into her life, her view and experiences on love and dynamics in the relationships with the people she loves, plus a new perspective on loving herself too.
The funny thing about Adele is she makes big ballads and contemporary music, but as soon as the music is over, you’ll see she’s really down to earth and from ends (cue the North Vs South debate on which area she really belongs to). This level of personality and realness add another level likability to her and her music. Its not very often that you’ll see a huge superstar be such a familiar and down to earth person, which is refreshing.
Sonically, this album has been quite experimental for Adele whilst remaining authentic to her style. With songs like Oh My God and To Be Loved, you see Adele push the boat out with the sounds in her production and vocal performances, you’ve heard her sing before, but in To Be Loved she sang like the rent was due and the repo-man was outside her studio, ready to collect her belongings.
Favourite Tracks:
Oh My God
I Drink Wine
All Night Parking Interlude
To Be Loved
Love Is A Game
Magic
Nas
December 24th
29mins
9 Tracks
Nas had released this project in the last week of the year and it still managed to make my Top 5 list, this says a lot about this tape. It is short but sweet, this tape has once again shown why he is one of the all time greats and how he has adapted to the new era and generation of hip hop. 27 years into his career, this project displays a fresh sound as he merges into the current climate in hip hop today as for the 3rd project in a row, teams up with Hit-Boy to make Magic.
Over the years we’ve seen many artist/producer duos, whether in hip hop, r&b or pop. This is now one of the latest duos we’ve seen join forces to bring out the best in each other. This project makes me excited to see what the future brings for this duo, I definitely believe they can become a force to be reckoned with, as their chemistry is already electric.
This project has definitely peaked my interest in Nas and ill be diving more into his catalog throughout this year.
Favourite Tracks:
Meet Joe Black
40-16 Building
Hollywood Gangsta
Wu For The Children
Dedicated
Scenic Drive (The Tape)
Khalid
December 3rd
28mins
9 Tracks
Coming across this project was a funny one. Fresh from getting my Spotify Wrapped 2021 results with my 2nd consecutive year as Chris Browns top 0.001% listener and with Natural Disaster/ Aura by him as my most listened song once again(I’m not actually joking, ill even post the screen shots lol), I decided it was time to broaden my horizon and get into new artists and more music. With him now muted on my Spotify, I’m now on the hunt for new r&b artists. The following day, Khalid had released this project. This definitely wasn’t just a coincidence.
This was my first time ever listening to Khalid and from the first spin of the album, I was pleasantly surprised. This project was in constant rotation immediately for me, from the coherency throughout in the smooth, seamless production. This is definitely a project to check out if you’re on the hunt for new music especially r&b.
Personally, its refreshing to hear a mainstream male singer with a lower vocal range, finally I can sing my heart out in my key.
Favourite Tracks:
Backseat
Brand New
Open
Scenic Drive
Honourable Mentions
Choosing my top 5 was definitely a hard choice but that doesn’t mean I won’t sing the praises of the other projects that didn’t make the cut. There were a lot of great bodies of work released in 2021, so I’ve decided to let you in on my Honourable Mentions of 2021 too:
Kanye West, Donda- August 29th, 1hr 48mins, 27 tracks
If you know me, you know I love Ye, but if you know me, you also know I love a short album. Which made this hard decision for me but 27 tracks was a lot for me to digest. Overall it was an enjoyable and creative body of work, so I’ve taken my favourite tracks to enjoy on their own.
Favourite Tracks: Jail, Off The Grid, Hurricane, Believe What I Say, 24, Heaven and Hell, Keep My Spirit Alive & New Again
Summer Walker, Still Over It- November 5th, 1hr 3mins, 20 tracks
Im also fairly new to Summer Walker as well, from Girls need love ft Drake, I’ve been awake and tuned in. This project has shown she is not suffering from the sophomore slump either and has shown herself to be a frontrunner for the women of mainstream r&b of this generation, whilst still being authentic back to her old sound and merging into the mainstream sound of today.
Favourite Tracks: No Love, Circus, Insane, Constant Bullshit & Unloyal
Doja Cat, Planet Her Deluxe- June 27th, 59mins, 19 tracks
Ever since a clip of Rules went viral on twitter, Doja has been on my radar and hasn’t disappointed since. This was an anticipated album since she wrapped up hot pink and began the rollout. Although there are songs I do really enjoy from this project, there are a few songs that I struggled to get into. The versatility and range displayed in this album is admirable as she effortlessly floats between different genres throughout, which isn’t frequently seen from new age artists.
It was a shame to see them release the deluxe the same week as the original, which didn’t give the album time to marinate properly on its own.
Favourite Tracks: Woman, I Don’t Do Drugs, Been Like This, Aint Shit, Alone, Kiss Me More & Tonight
Sinéad Harnett, Ready is Always Too Late- May 21st, 33mins, 11 tracks
I stumbled across this very talented artist, coincidently the week of her album through Instagram hopping and I’m glad I did. Projects like this make me excited for the future of UK r&b. After delivering a beautiful album like this, I’m looking forward for what she has coming in the future. I’m rooting for her.
Favourite Tracks: Last Love, Anymore & Stickin’
Tyler, The Creator, Call Me if You Get Lost- June 25th, 52mins, 16 tracks
Tyler has been consistently creative, concise and cool with every project for the last decade. I never knew what to expect from this project but I knew I would enjoy it and I was right. Being fully produced and written by Tyler adds to the beauty of this project as he displays he is an all round creative and artist.
Favourite Tracks: LEMONHEAD, WUSYANAME, HOT WIND BLOWS, MANIFESTO, SWEET/ I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE
J Cole, The off Season- May 14th, 39mins, 12 tracks
I did really like this album and what it stood for at this point of his career, he just reasserted his dominance and status in the game. He’s another artist who has shown his ability to sonically readjust into the new era of hip hop and appeal to the new market (which he doesn’t need to), he sounds hungry, comes out swinging and firing shots from the first track. He’s shown he’s clearly done playing the humble mr nice guy and he’s gonna come for whats his.
Its refreshing for me to see him working with other artists from this gen of rap and embracing them (21 savage & lil baby).
Favourite Tracks: 95.south, my life, 100 mil & pride is the devil
Jasmine Sullivan, Heaux Tales- January 8th, 32mins, 14 tracks
Seeing Jasmine release a solid body of work so far into her career and finally receiving her flowers is a beautiful sight to see. She put together a concise project with a narrative/ conversation throughout which beautifully paired together each track and picked each feature very well as they fit the sound of her album effortlessly. She’s another artist who after 18 years into her career has rebranded and immersed herself into an authentic sound which suits the style of todays production, she’s set the ground work to become one of the main names of this gen in r&b.
Favourite Tracks: Bodies, Pick Up Your Feelings, Put in Down & On It
Playlist Time!
I wanna thank you guys for taking the time to read this post, hope you all enjoyed and as we do, its time for another playlist for you to get into.
This playlist I'm gonna put 3 of my favourite picks from each album chosen in this post, once again feel free to share and like this playlist, hopefully I can put you onto a new song or artist.
Thanks again for reading, make sure to share this blog and like if you enjoyed!