Earworm & Song Loops' 100 Best Songs of 2022 -- Part 1 (1-25)

Dance, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Hip-Hop

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

For the past decade or so, I’ve put together extensive playlists, mix-tapes, mix-CDs, blog posts and, now, a Substack newsletter, sharing my favorite songs of the year.

Despite this, I struggle to play favorites. I love all my new children equally!

This is why I don’t list favorite albums. It is too limiting.

Best songs allows me to express my fandom further and wider. I think I can cover a good percentage of the music from 2022 that moved me in 100 tunes.

I’m going to share my favorites in 4 weekly chunks of 25, more-or-less gathered together as a loose theme. I spent a lot of time trying to get the flow of these playlists just right. But there is no such thing as just right. Just right for now. I’m sure I’ll listen to the playlist right after sharing it and want to readjust, but that’s the nature of music.

This mix, like the subtitle above says, covers my favorite dance, funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop songs of 2022.

Those genre labels are limiting, as many, if not most, of the songs cross genres, subvert genres and obliterate genres. What they all have in common is a commitment to the groove and an innate power to move the body.

I mostly shied away from big, recognizable names (mostly — Lizzo is on the list, but no Beyonce), as those folks get enough publicity.

There are mindless, silly, fun songs here, but most of the tunes in the playlist will free and open your mind and your ass simultaneously. (Don’t think about that sentence too closely.)

I know a lot of you don’t have Spotify, so you’ll have to make due with the YouTube links below.

If you want a unique YouTube playlist link that has all the videos below, why not become a paid subscriber? Paid subscribers get fun extras, like a YouTube playlist of all my favorite songs from 2022! And a playlist of all my earworm songs of 2022! And loads of other stuff in 2023 that haven’t been invented yet! And since it’s holiday season, what better time to buy that special someone who happens to be a music lover and personal essay/memoir fan an Earworm and Song Loops subscription as your expression of generosity for your holiday of choice!

It’s only 5 dollars a month, or 40 for the year. That’s 3 dollars and change per month at the annual rate. Okay, enough with the sales pitch.

As always, I’d love to hear from you and learn which of these songs moved you the most, and also, which Dance/Soul/R&B/Funk/Jazz/Disco/Hip-Hop songs I need to check out from 2022!

Confidence Man - What I Like

I’ve been a huge Confidence Man fan since their 2018 debut album, Confident Music for Confident People. They really should be called Confidence People, especially since vocalist Janet Planet sings lead on more than half of the songs. Their campy, hilarious songs are what you get if you mix Dee-Lite, Tom-Tom-Club and LCD Soundsystem. Sort of.

Ibibio Sound Machine - All That You Want

Ibibio Sound Machine, a London-based collective, released maybe their best album in 2022. Electricity captures a band at a creative peak, blending African-funk, electronic-dance and soul into a unique Sound Machine.

Santigold — High Priestess

Santigold has never released a less-than-stellar album. “High Priestess,” from her 2022 album Spirituals, is confident and badass and has an insistent beat that cuts right to the heart of the heart and then explodes.

Seratones — Two of a Kind

I just discovered Seratones this year, and I’m so glad I did. This Shreveport, Louisiana rock/soul band stands above much of the rest due to the massive pipes of vocalist A.J. Haynes. “Two of a Kind” has that retro-futuristic funk vibe that ticks so many of my joy boxes.

Charlotte Adigéry, Bolis Pupul — Blenda

I can’t remember how I discovered Charlotte Adigéry, but the Belgian-Caribbean singer tackles heavy topics like racism, gender and cultural identity, all while keeping her audience rooted on the dance floor. “Blenda” deftly explores issues around being mixed race and being told to “go back where you came from” by the ignorant masses.

Athletes of God (featuring Lady Blackbird) — Don’t Wanna Be Normal

“Dancers are the athletes of God,” said both Albert Einstein and Martha Graham (if I am to trust the internet). I can’t find anything about Athletes of God, as they have no albums, and only this one song as far as I can tell. But what a song! Love the groove and Lady Blackbird’s voice is silky and smooth. Maybe someone out there knows more about them.

Lizzo — About Damn Time

I wasn’t going to include Lizzo on this mix, for a stupid reason. The reason being that I felt her latest album, Special, wasn’t all that special. I felt it didn’t cover as much ground as her ground-breaking 2019 smash Cause I Love You. But this is a playlist of songs, not albums, and “About Damn Time” is a banger of a tune if ever there was one and the list felt an essential piece missing without her.

Daron. — Tasty

According to his online self-description: “Daron is a producer/singer/songwriter blending soul, funk, jazz, R&B and hip hop elements into a new and authentic form of sound called TrunkFunk.” Well that sounds like exactly what this playlist is about.

!!! (featuring Maria Uzor) — Storm Around the World

!!! (chk, chk, chk) has been putting out amazing dance music of a wide variety of styles, blending punk, industrial, soul, funk and everything in between since the early 2000s. They are apparently featured in the book and new documentary, Meet Me in the Bathroom. I still need to watch/read that. “Storm Around the World” features Maria Uzor on guest vocals.

Brandon Coleman — On the One

I hadn’t heard of Brandon Coleman before 2022, but he’s been around for a long while, playing keyboards for such artists as Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus, Al Jarreau and Babyface. I love the retro Parliament-Funkdelic energy of “On the One.” It also reminds me of Prince, who I continue to miss every day.

Cimafunk (featuring George Clinton) — Funk Aspirin

Speaking P-Funk, George Clinton guests on this booty-shaker by Cimafunk. I love the title — “Funk Aspirin” — as is there really a better treatment for what ails you? Cimafunk, according to his wiki - is an Afro-Cuban rockstar. It says more, but that pretty much sums him up.

Trombone Shorty — Come Back

Trombone Shorty has been putting out excellent albums for a while now, but none have felt “best of the year” worthy for me. Until now. I like that his latest LP, Lifted, focus more on showing off the songwriting over his trombone mastery. Some reviewers have criticized him for this, but I think it’s a sign of maturity. Not much trombone on this track, but it’s groove is deep and full.

Eric Krasno — Lost Myself

Wow. I had not heard of Eric Krasno before but when I heard this song, “Lost Myself,” I was stopped in my tracks. But only for a second as my body had to “lose itself” in the music I was hearing. The syncopation in this tune is off the charts. Krasno is one of those guys whose written and played for a dozen big artists (Norah Jones, Aaron Neville, Ledisi, 50 Cent). Hopefully now his name will be added to that esteemed list.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio — Pull Your Pants Up

I love funky instrumental bands. The standard up until now has been Booker T. and the MGs. The new standard is Delon Lamarr Organ Trio.

Fantastic Negrito — Highest Bidder

Fantastic Negrito can do no wrong in my book. These Oaklanders (well, I can only speak for founder Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) have released 4 albums and every one of them has been in my top ten albums of that year. White Jesus, Black Problems, their latest, is no exception. “Highest Bidder,” like their best songs, blends soul, blues, funk and roots music, with a message that is always speaking to the climate of the day and throughout history.

The Headhunters (Scott Roberts) — Rocking at the Mole House

Keeping the Oakland, CA connection, The Headhunters have been around since the early 70s, when they met Herbie Hancock and became his backing band. Since then they’ve released a ton of music on their own and “Rocking at the Mole House” was the track that stood out for me from their Speakers in the House album.

DOMi & JD BECK (with Thundercat) — Not Tight

Wow. I am often late to the party, which makes sense when you’re my age. But I do put a lot of effort into being somewhat on time to the truly great new artists out there. Last week I discovered Domi & JD Beck on another excellent Substack newsletter by

Leo Mascaro

(which I highly recommend) and have been playing them non-stop ever since. Here’s a link to their NPR Tiny Desk Show if you want to see how supremely this young duo of drums and keyboards is.

Fake Reality

Village of the Sun (Simon Ratcliffe, Moses Boyd, Binker Golding) — Cesca

This song transports me to another world. Perhaps a world similar to what is displayed in this video.

Raw Poetic/Damu the Fudgemunk — Guide

I’m no hip-hop expert by even the lowest measuring stick. I grew up on late ‘80s-early ‘90s hip-hop, so anything that incorporates funk, jazz, live-instrumentation and conscious thought usually hits me hardest. “Guide” guides and glides and allows room for Raw Poetic’s flow to merge with the music.

Danger Mouse/Black Thought — Sometimes

This collaboration between Danger Mouse and Black Thought is an album of the year contender. Black Thought is seen as one of the great rappers, speaking truth with direct, poetic and insistent flow. The mix of samples from songs throughout the past 50 years gives the album (and “Sometimes” in particular) a timeless urgency.

Kendrick Lamar — United in Grief

Speaking of flow, Kendrick Lamar is one of the best. I still need to absorb his grammy nominated album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, as it is dense as hell, but this song is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The way it shifts on a dime from speedy drum loop flow to minor key piano chords, with Lamar proclaiming “I grieve different” is masterful.

Nas — Ghetto Reporter

Nas is one of the legends of the rap/hip-hop world. “Ghetto Reporter,” off his King’s Disease III album shows that Nas has not lost a step in his more than 30 year career.

Kojey Radical (featuring Lex Amor) —Way Outside

I have a soft spot for British hip-hop. And French hip-hop. Essentially all hip-hop, but there’s something more experimental and adventurous in the British hip-hop scene. Kojey Radical is one of the scene’s many important voices. Little Simz, who I had in my best of list last year, just put out a new album and if I had more time I would guess it would make this list too.

Nilufer Yanya — the dealer

Wow. Again, not sure how I found out about Nilüfer Yanya, but this song “the dealer” — the syncopated percussion, the Siouxsie and the Banshees’-esque guitar, the poppin’ bass — man it grooves so hard. I love Nilüfer’s lush with a little grit vocals. It brings you right into the song, your face smashed into its gooey center.

Charlotte Dos Santos — Patience

I thought I’d end the mix with a slow-jam to send the sweaty bodies pressed up together, feeling each other’s heat by taking it down a notch. Like Brazilian-Norwegian (!!) chanteuse Charlotte Dos Santos sings, it always helps us ride the waves of life when we can have a little “Patience.”

If you made it all the way to the bottom of this list, thank you! I know these playlists are long, but 2022 was a banner year for great music.

Please share the list and this post to your friends and music lovers if you can.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week! Let me know what you think!