The Bat Cave

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry

Top 25 Most Played Albums of April 2022 (* indicates new album in April)

1. *Vince Staples – Ramona Park Broke My Heart
2. Mariah Carey – Daydream (1995)
3. Mariah Carey – Music Box (1993)
4. Big K.R.I.T. – Digital Roses Don’t Die
5. Don Michael Jr. – This Is Not Music.
6. *Marian Hill – why can’t we just pretend?
7. Mariah Carey – Charmbracelet (2002)
8. Mariah Carey – Butterfly (1997)
9. *Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
10. Saba – Few Good Things
11. Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey (1990)
12. Mariah Carey – Rainbow (1999)
13. EARTHGANG – Ghetto Gods
14. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights (2010)
15. Mariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi (2004)
16. The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2016)
17. Placebo – Never Let Me Go
18. The Weeknd – Dawn FM
19. Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future
20. Mariah Carey – Glitter (2001)
21. Benny the Butcher – Tana Talk 4
22. Emeli Sande – Real Life (2019)
23. Conway the Machine – God Don’t Make Mistakes
24. Cordae – From a Birds Eye View
25. *Fivio Foreign – B.I.B.L.E.

Comments: Uhm. Confession: I met someone and she loves Mariah Carey so here I am listening to her whole discography and guess what? I really like it. It’s not like I was unaware of Mariah or unfamiliar with her biggest hits, but I’ve never dug through any of her albums before. She was (maybe still is?) legit. Her first five albums are all really good with basically zero misses. I’ve been less enamored with her post-Butterfly projects as her sound feels more and more top 100 poppy to me. I prefer Mariah when she’s singing singing. But still, some of the later projects are still growing on me. I’m a hip-hop guy but I appreciate good music from any genre and I been sleeping on Mariah. She’s fire. Plus, connecting with someone musically is a vibe. I like tapping into what she listens to and seeing if I like it also, even though it may not be something I’d listen to on my own (see also: The 1975). As far as new hip-hop releases, the two big ones were new albums from Vince Staples and Pusha T – and I really liked both of them. Fivio Foreign had some sick guest verses over the last year and I was intrigued by what his album would be like, but I listened to it once through and don’t plan to give it another full listen. I also feel like it’s worth noting that the Conway, Cordae, and Big K.R.I.T. albums have grown on me. Lastly, I’m on my 4th listen to the new Marian Hill album and it’s gotten better every time. 🔥

One last and very important note: THE KING IS BACK. Kendrick Lamar drops high long awaited and mega anticipated album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppas (wut) on May 13th at 9 PM PST. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND SET YOUR ALARMS AND SIT DOWN. BE HUMBLE.

The 25 Most Played Artists of 2022

1. Mariah Carey
2. Kanye West
3. Saba
4. The Weeknd
5. Che Noir
6. The Roots
7. Lil Wayne
8. Sir
9. Denzel Curry
10. James Blake
11. Frank Ocean
12. Adele
13. Ludacris
14. Nas
15. FKA twigs
16. Musiq Soulchild
17. Big K.R.I.T.
18. Conway the Machine
19. Cordae
20. EARTHGANG
21. Benny the Butcher
22. Vince Staples
23. Frankie Cosmos
24. Don Michael Jr.
25. J Dilla

Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020s Bangers Playlist
April 2022 Additions:

Big K.R.I.T., “Show U Right”
Don Michael Jr., “Championship Rings.”
Don Michael Jr., “New Energy.”
EARTHGANG, “ALL EYES ON ME”
Little Simz, “Protect My Energy”
Russ, “Get It” (feat. Cyhi the Prynce & Lloyd Banks)
Vince Staples, “WHEN SPARKS FLY”

Comments: Mariah dominated my listening in April and I’m still getting used to the newer hip-hop releases.

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future

Top 25 Most Played Albums of March 2022 (* indicates new album in March)

1. Sir – Chasing Summer (2019)
2. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
3. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE (2012)
4. *Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future
5. Musiq Soulchild – Juslisen (2002)
6. James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart
7. Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing (2016)
8. Adele – 30
9. FKA twigs – CAPRISONGS
10. *KXNG Crooked & Joell Ortiz – Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse
11. Jacob Latimore – C3 (2020)
12. *Benny the Butcher – Tana Talk 4
13. EARTHGANG – Ghetto Gods
14. Conway the Machine – God Don’t Make Mistakes
15. dvsn – Morning After (2017)
16. Spillage Village – Spilligion (2020)
17. *RZA – Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater
18. Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? (2020)
19. *Onyx – 1993
20. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. (2017)
21. Brother Ali – The Undisputed Truth (2007)
22. Don Michael Jr. – This Is Not Music.
23. 6LACK – East Atlanta Love Letter (2018)
24. Baby B – Text at 2 AM
25. The Weeknd – Dawn FM

Comments: I haven’t been public about this at all, but I feel like the cat is out of the bag now: I am no longer married. I feel like the huge life change is reflected in the kind of music I wanted to listen to last month because I was definitely in my feelings – mourning the end of an important long term relationship but also excited about what the future holds. Needless to say, new music was put on the back burner in March. I was way too distracted for all that. Denzel Curry’s new album was the only new project I gave a good listen to and it was pretty good. I was super excited for Benny the Butcher’s Tana Talk 4 but if I’m being honest, it hasn’t really grabbed me. Maybe I finally have Benny fatigue? The track with J. Cole is possibly the best song of 2022 though. I’ve been using Last.FM to track my music stats for almost two years now and the most I’d ever listened to a single song was about 30 times. Last month alone, there were nine songs I listened to over 30 times! Like I said, in my feelings.

The 25 Most Played Artists of 2022

1. Kanye West
2. Saba
3. The Roots
4. Che Noir
5. Lil Wayne
6. Sir
7. James Blake
8. Frank Ocean
9. Ludacris
10. The Weeknd
11. Adele
12. Denzel Curry
13. Musiq Soulchild
14. FKA twigs
15. Nas
16. Frankie Cosmos
17. Conway the Machine
18. Cordae
19. J Dilla
20. Benny the Butcher
21. EARTHGANG
22. KXNG Crooked & Joell Ortiz
23. Snoop Dogg
24. Big K.R.I.T.
25. Roddy Ricch

Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020s Bangers Playlist
March 2022 Additions:

Benny the Butcher, “Johnny P’s Caddy” (feat. J. Cole)
Denzel Curry, “The Last”
KXNG Crooked & Joell Ortiz, “Look Mama”
Nas, “40-16 Building”

Comments: Super distracted last month so didn’t add much here.