Top 10 song releases - April 2022
By Philippe Martin 06/05/2022
April has been a colourful month for single releases in the rap community as mainstream and independent artists alike have been continuously creating greatness. It’s awesome to see some creators like IDK and 070 Shake evolve their sound into their growing fame without losing the sense of what makes their music so great. On the other hand, established artists like Logic and Freddie Gibbs deliver consistent material to the level they have been creating for years now.
Here are the best songs of April 2022. This list contains many independent placements from artists that either dropped great albums during the month or that are preparing to do so in a near future. Let me know in the comments what you think about these and if any other singles deserved to make this list.
- Jack Harlow - First Class
- 070 Shake - Skin & Bones
- IDK - Taco
- Freddie Gibbs - Ice Cream (feat. Rick Ross)
- Ransom, The Game & Nicholas Craven - Circumstances
- Logic - Tetris
- Wiz Khalifa - Iced Out Necklace
- ScHoolboy Q - Soccer Dad
- Russ - Back From London Freestyle
- Night Lovell - Mr. Make Her Dance
Jack Harlow - First Class
The Kentucky artist delivers the second single off his upcoming album « Come Home The Kids Miss You » expected at the beginning of May. Before the official release, there was already some online hype about the heavy sampling of Fergie’s 2007 hit « Glamorous » used for the chorus of the song. It’s undeniably catchy and it will be sure to remain present in 2022’s talked-about topics as the song easily snatched the number one position on Billboard with mixed reception from the Hip-Hop community.
Released 08/04/2022
070 Shake - Skin & Bones
Following the release of the excellent single « Lose My Cool (feat NLE Choppa) » back in December 2021, 070 Shake is back with another great piece of art: « Skin & Bones ». It’s a beautiful tribute to a love relationship, with nostalgic reminiscing about the effects it had on her. The G.O.O.D. Music artist delivers emotionally from start to finish with an impressive outro that uses distorted effects on her voice mixed with a synth straight out of space played by the legendary Mike Dean. It is a great starting point for new fans that would want to hear what 070 is all about and it’s an incredible addition to her relatively thin discography.
Released 22/04/2022
IDK - Taco
« Taco » is great on every turn with all the elements of a distinguished art piece mixed together. It starts with the beautiful cover art, but when the song begins to play, it’s the Kaytranada-produced beat that gets the traction going with a signature heavy kick before IDK arrives with a slick delivery and amazing punchlines. The Montreal producer creates a beat with a catchy rhythm to let the Maryland emcee shine flawlessly as he always does. IDK delivers intelligent bars and funny lines about his talent and the lack of it among his peers in the rap world.
Released 08/04/2022
Freddie Gibbs - Ice Cream (feat. Rick Ross)
Indiana native Freddie Gibbs is back with another single for the upcoming full-length project that he has been teasing for the past year. He enlists Rick Ross for a quick, but efficient verse that fits very well with the Kenny Beats produced instrumental. It’s not the first time that Freddie Gibbs and Kenny Beats collaborate, as the talented producer also had production credits on the 2018 high-energy album « Freddie ».
Released 01/04/2022
Ransom, The Game & Nicholas Craven - Circumstances
This song is exciting for many reasons, but it’s the lyrical expertise of Ransom that shines the brightest. The quality of his punchlines and delivery are difficult to match, but The Game is a master at his craft and is a worthy choice of emcee to be featured on this release. The lyricism is all carried by the excellent Canadian producer Nicholas Craven, that continues to prove his relevance and skills at chopping samples to make them something incredibly unique. The choice of a female voice counterbalances the masculinity of both rappers while serving as the foundation of the song. Hopefully, this leads to more collaborations between the three artists.
Released 15/04/2022
Logic - Tetris
The Maryland rapper is back with two singles before the release of his next album « Vinyl Days » scheduled for June. The song « Tetris » is a classic-sounding boom-bap track where Logic totally feels in his comfort zone. It’s far from being original for him, as he explored this kind of instrumental many times before, but he still excels by delivering clever bars about his comfortable lifestyle as a rap star.
Released 22/04/2022
Wiz Khalifa - Iced Out Necklace
This effortless banger by Wiz Khalifa hits the spot perfectly when you need that straight confidence boost to do whatever it is you do. He freestyles on a heavy trap beat produced by frequent collaborator Sledgren. Wiz already has a ton of releases this year with the collaborative album with Juicy J « Stoner’s Night » and the excellent « Full Court Press » project with Girl Talk, Smoke DZA and Big K.R.I.T.
Released 01/04/2022
ScHoolboy Q - Soccer Dad
The TDE artist ScHoolboy Q is back with his aggressive attitude on this new single « Soccer Dad ». The Los Angeles native has been fairly quiet since the release of his 2019 album « CrasH Talk » with only a couple of features with other artists. The song feels more like an announcement of his return rather than a straightforward single from an upcoming album. The menacing horns of the beat and the very direct lyrics build an ambiance like only ScHoolboy Q knows how to create.
Released 06/04/2022
Russ - Back From London Freestyle
Part of his new EP « If Not Now, When? », this song is simply Russ doing what he does best as the natural independent hip-hop leader he has become. Putting aside the pop ballads, he raps on a smooth beat for 3 minutes straight about his mindset and actions that define him as a human and worldwide star. He teases a collaboration with an English artist (probably Ed Sheeran as he talked about it on a podcast recently) to boost his status and speaks on the advice he gives his entourage to step in the right direction in life.
Released 26/04/2022
Night Lovell - Mr. Make Her Dance
Canadian artist Night Lovell is back with a quick banger perfectly timed for his ongoing tour. The G59 member uses the same formula as his previous songs as he lets the gloomy beat establish itself for a third of the song before his menacing voice comes into play. He drops a catchy chorus with a quick verse before it’s all over and the ground stops to shake. Overall, it’s not a super original song for the Horrorcore artist, but it’s efficient and well executed on all fronts.
Released 15/04/2022