Year-end list season has officially arrived, and Complex has unveiled their top top 50, which is always worth a read. As usual, it’s heaviest on rap and R&B, including Pusha T, Vince Stapes, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Freddie Gibbs, GloRilla, Doechii, Flo Milli, Nas, Denzel Curry, JID, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Smino, Lil Baby, Earl Sweatshirt, Lupe Fiasco, Future, Joey Bada$$, Gunna, Roc Marciano & The Alchemist, Steve Lacy and Beyoncé, and also features some pop, the ubiquitous Harry Styles included. See the top 50 below, and read the full list with commentary on Complex.
Catch up on more year end lists in our Best of 2022 tag.
50. Joji, ‘Smithereens’
49. YoungBoy Never Broke Again, ‘3800 Degrees’
48. Rauw Alejandro, ‘Saturno’
47. EarthGang, ‘Ghetto Gods’
46. Brent Faiyaz, ‘Wasteland’
45. Rod Wave, ‘Beautiful Mind’
44. Saba, ‘Few Good Things’
43. Yeat, ‘Lyfë’
42. Flo Milli, ‘You Still Here, Ho?’
41. Conway the Machine, ‘God Don’t Make Mistakes’
40. Earl Sweatshirt, ‘Sick!’
39. Joey Bada$$, ’2000′
38. Roddy Ricch, ‘Feed Tha Streets III’
37. Lil Baby, ‘It’s Only Me’
36. Doechii, ‘She/Her/Black Bitch’
35. Buddy, ‘Superghetto’
34. Quavo & Takeoff, ‘Only Built for Infinity Links’
33. Smino, ‘Luv 4 Rent’
32. Future, ‘I Never Liked You’
31. Rosalía, ‘Motomami’
30. Ravyn Lenae, ‘HYPNOS’
29. Sault, ‘11’
28. GloRilla, ‘Anyways, Life’s Great’
27. Benny the Butcher, ‘Tana Talk 4’
26. Wizkid, ‘More Love, Less Ego’
25. Omar Apollo, ‘Ivory’
24. FKA Twigs, ‘Caprisongs’
23. Harry Styles, ‘Harry’s House’
22. Freddie Gibbs, ‘$oul $old $eparately’
21. Che Noir, ‘Food For Thought’
20. Gunna, ‘DS4EVER’
19. Sudan Archives, ‘Natural Brown Prom Queen’
18. Lupe Fiasco, ‘Drill Music in Zion’
17. 070 Shake, ‘You Can’t Kill Me’
16. Westside Boogie, ‘More Black Superheroes’
15. Blxst, ‘Before You Go’
14. Nas, ‘King’s Disease 3’
13. Drake, ‘Honestly, Nevermind’
12. Jay Worthy & Larry June, ‘2 P’z in a Pod’
11. Roc Marciano & The Alchemist, ‘The Elephant Man’s Bones’
10. Denzel Curry, ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’
9. JID, ‘The Forever Story’
8. Drake & 21 Savage, ‘Her Loss’
7. Steve Lacy, ‘Gemini Rights’
6. The Weeknd, ‘Dawn FM’
5. Vince Staples, ‘Ramona Park Broke My Heart’
4. Beyoncé, ‘Renaissance’
3. Pusha T, ‘It’s Almost Dry’
2. Bad Bunny, ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’
1. Kendrick Lamar, ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’