Lamont's Lists

Another year in the books. Another 365 days of leaning on hip hop music to fuel my workouts, road trips and Saturday morning Trader Joe's runs. These are the songs that rose to the top for me. The list spans across a mix of sub-genres and styles from all manner of crews, collectives and soloists that I kept coming back to most often. Take a listen via the Apple Music playlist below or click on the song title to see a video. Enjoy and Happy New Year. Cheers Lamont Listen On Apple Music -------------------------------- Another One - Sofaygo - Sofaygo sets the perfect mood for rolling one up and vibin' out. Big Steppa - Rome Streetz - Close your eyes and and let Rome Streetz transport you back to 1993.  California Breeze - Lil Baby - When Lil Baby gets on a roll he's a force to be reckoned with. City Of Gods - Fivio Foreign Ft. Kanye West & Alicia Keys - Alicia contributes to yet another ass-kicking ode to NYC. Crack Sandwich - JID - It's best not to pick a fight ...

They say the era of peak TV has come to and end, with streaming platforms struggling to find new subscribers and viewers unable (and unwilling) to keep up with all the options. If there's been a slow down in production, you wouldn't know it based on the quality and volume of excellent series that were available in 2022. Here's my annual top 10 list, based on the many that I watched and enjoyed. I did my part to consume them all, but am fully aware that I missed a few gems (sorry, I'm still planning to watch Euphoria, I promise). Take a read, and as always...like, comment, share and let me know what else I need to add to my list. Cheers Lamont 10.  Winning Time   (HBO) - It seems like there were a thousand shows this year about Magic and/or The Lakers, but this one was my favorite. Slipping 5 spots from my mid-year list, I still had to keep it in my Top 10 despite some stiff competition. Mid-Year Commentary: A show about NBA basketball in the 1980s, with Magic, Kareem, P...

When it comes to Holiday music, things can get a little dicey. Too much, too soon and you can get sick of it, weeks before Christmas even arrives. But if you hear too little of it, it really does not feel like the season has properly kicked into gear. For whatever reason, 2022 has been one of those years where I feel like I haven't gotten my fill. As I started to curate (yet another) playlist of my favorites to listen to while wrapping gifts, I started to think how about how the ranking of my favorites might compare to others'. These things are deeply personal after all, rooted in nostalgia and fuzzy childhood memories. Anyway, below is my all time top 10 list. Take a listen and let me know which ones you might swap in or out to suit your own Christmas wish list. Cheers and Happy Holidays to all. Lamont Listen On Apple Music 10.  Christmas In Hollis - Run-DMC (1987) - Dropped at the height of their fame and filled with indelible lines, none better than this one "It's ...

(Reese fire's back with a Top 10 List of his own.) This year, the underground rap scene has been making waves once again with artists like Yeat, Sofaygo, Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang making names for themselves, and maybe suggesting that the allegations of mainstream rap falling off were somewhat true. With their unique sounds and styles, these artists have brought back the vibes of 2016 and 2018, making for an exciting year in rap music for listeners willing to dig a little deeper. -------------------------------------- 10. Highway –  Highway (EP) Highway dropped his 10 track self-titled tape in June, and it was his first project under Victor Victor Worldwide. Growing to over 200k monthly listeners on Spotify this year, Highway’s entire discography features a unique blend of Hip-Hop and RNB, with slow, melodic verses and hard-hitting 808s and kicks. Songs like  “Looking @ Me”  and  “Ain Change” showcase Highway's modernized, rapping version of artists like Brys...

Evan Chimes in with the millennial perspective... --------------------------------- 10. Joey Bada$$ - 2000 A silky-smooth sequel to his classic mixtape 1999, 2000 feels like a graduation of sorts from the backpacker era that birthed Joey. A busy and more experienced Joey effortlessly glides over boom-bap inspired, but yet jazzy and laid-back productions. As Joey flexes and self reflects throughout this project, he speaks to a generation that bridges the gap between boom-bap and auto tune. 9. Gunna - Drip Season 4 If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. On DS4 Gunna seems to have fine-tuned his sound on his best produced project to date. Gunna floats from one catchy hook to another, and just when things are becoming too formulaic tracks like “livin wild” and “25k jacket” will give the listener a rockstar feel.  8. Peezy - Only Built 4 Diamond Links Peezy is a pioneer to Detroit’s new sound so its only right that he not only dropped one of the most recognized Detroit products this year but j...

For the past several years, I've been pleased with hip hop's continued evolution, watching the younger generation take over the mantle while putting their own stamp on the genre - less concerned with "bars" and more focused on mood and melody. It was nice to see them come into their own, while still leaving room for the rap purists (AKA: old-heads) to have their own space for applying fresh ideas to traditional approaches. In 2022 however, Gen Z seems to have retreated a bit, with nobody really emerging to move the genre forward. Even highly anticipated releases from the likes of Lil Baby, Roddy Rich, Nav, Metro Boomin' and the much ballyhooed Sofaygo, failed to grab my attention - making for one of the weakest showings in recent memory. I haven't done the math, but I would place the average age of the artists on my top 10 list this year to be somewhere in the late 30's, a far cry from what I would have clocked a couple of years ago. Some might call it a r...