My Top 10 Songs of January 2025
Better late than never I guess. I meant to put it out a few weeks ago, but here we are halfway through February and it's going up. This is the top 10 songs of January 2025. My first Top 10 of 2025. Let's hope this is the best year of music discovery and growth for me yet.
Disclaimer! - I am a playlist junkie and Spotify makes it easy for me to make hundreds of playlists with just a few taps. Ever since February 2019, I started a monthly playlist called “Current Phazr.” The original title was supposed to be Current Phases but evidently, I couldn’t type it correctly and I just went with it. Every month I would make a new one and fill it with music I have been listening to hence the word current. From new releases from favorite or new artists, old songs I forgot existed, old songs I didn’t know existed, and everything in between. My only requirement for each playlist is that there is no overlap. Any song that is on a previous playlist can’t be added to a different one. All new and fresh songs for me. Although there have been a few exceptions very rarely do I even think of doing it. I will give an example if it's not clear enough yet, “Dead Bent - 12” Version” by MF Doom is a song off an album released in 1999 which was before I was even born! I came across this song in 2024 and therefore it is on a playlist. Like everything related to music taste, it's all objective. It's a feeling thing if I choose to add a song to the playlist. If it’s not on any other Current Phazr playlist before it then it is eligible to be on a future playlist.
Listen to my Current Phazr playlist here - https://tinyurl.com/yc62anez
10 - Your Makin Me High - DJ Katch
An Instagram ad for house music kept popping up on my feed. It was the same song and at first, I kept scrolling but then after a few more times I stopped and was slightly intrigued by the song that was playing; as I was hearing the song play along with the visuals it added to the allure of the song. It was of two people driving around making donuts and vibing to the song. When the ad ended I went to Spotify to save it to my liked songs. Then when the time came to make my Current Phazr 63.0 playlist for January this song was brought from the back of my mind to the front and onto the playlist. I am always on the lookout for music, I try and broaden my horizons and be as objective as possible. I believe the majority of music has some sort of redeeming quality, be it the lyrics, beat, or instrumentation. Maybe you like the way they started the song but maybe you hated the way the featured artist came in and ruined it. Either way there is so much music out there to be appreciated and that has become my approach whenever I listen. House music isn’t something that was on my radar nor was it part of my rotation. But as soon as I saved it I envisioned it being on the playlist and could see myself coming back to it more and more. It is an untouched genre for me and has potential for the future. But I like to take new genres slow and steady. While this is only at 10 I wouldn’t be surprised looking ahead into the future more House music will be in consideration for these top 10’s.
9 - 30 for 30 - SZA
I remember patiently and anxiously awaiting for the deluxe version of SOS by SZA to be released. Watching the teaser with Ben Stiller and marking down December 20th on my calendar I was ready. But the morning and afternoon of the 20th came and went with no deluxe album in sight. I was confused and hurriedly checked Google and comments on Instagram for what was going on. Then later on in the day as I made my way to the gym it was there in all its glory on Spotify just waiting for me to listen to it. I saw Kendrick on this song and immediately I was giddy and had thoughts of Luther featuring Sza. Luther was the only song I could compare it to and while I believe after fully digesting both songs that Luther is a better song that should not take away from 30 for 30. Again we see the seamless flow between them both as they ride the beat working off of each other like seasoned rappers. The song doesn’t feel like SZA featuring Kendrick just like Luther didn’t feel like Kendrick featuring SZA. I treat them both as a collab more so than one featured on the other's song. While I am singing its praises you may begin to wonder why it’s only at 9. Some of that had to do with the songs ahead of it, but also the hype and the anxiousness of the album kind of faded out for me and I was left with a good not great song. Now like a lot of songs I have come to enjoy my view can change with time. I can’t count how many times my appreciation for a song skyrockets later on in life. Maybe in 6 months or a year from now I will like it more but for now, it comes in at 9.
8 - Epica - Caleb Calloway
Sometimes I am shocked at the sheer amount of music I remember coming across or listening to for the first time. Some I can name the day and time, others more loosely like a moment in time. I remember listening to this song at the gym, or this one in line at Chipolte. It's a weird way my brain likes to remember things. But thanks to my Current Phazr playlist I can always remember roughly when I found a certain song if it’s on a playlist. For this song, I was scrolling through a podcast that I follow on Instagram called La Familia. They discuss and rate Latin music in a fun and friendly manner. In this clip, they were making a list of their top songs of the second half of the year. Number 10 was Epica by Caleb Calloway. Naturally, I had to check it out as I have liked their taste in reggaeton music so far. The mix of Reggaeton and rap on the track made it an easy addition to multiple playlists. The sound of a revving engine whenever the beat switches also is a plus. Overall a safe and solid listing and a free addition into the top 10 for me.
7 - Peso Pluma: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55 - Bizarrap
I hope my brother Zach doesn’t read this as I will be jumping for joy that he showed me this song. Regrettably, I will concede that he did. Over the years I have been the one in showing him good music and putting him on to different artists and songs. I have known both Peso Pluma and Bizarrap from other songs and have enjoyed them, tracks like “Bellako” by Peso Pluma which was on a past Current Phazr playlist and Bizarrap does a bunch of music volumes he calls them with a variety of Latin artists. My favorites are the ones with Quevado and Young Miko. the main point of the tracks is to showcase the artist in pockets where they can flex their stuff. It's a Pleso Pluma song with the help of Bizarrap and it showed me more of Peso Pluma that I didn’t know before. Since then I have taken notice more and have checked out more of them both. While not a reggaeton artist perse Peso Pluma infuses reggaeton and rap into his Mexican style bravado. Being half Mexican myself I feel a little more appreciative and curious to check out more Mexican artists in the future. Peso and Bizarrap come in at 7.
6 - Pray For Me - DJ Mustard
More of a spoken word with a few rhymes mixed in there, “Pray For Me” is the outro/last song off of the recent album released by DJ Mustart titled, “Faith of a Mustard Seed.” When doing my first listen I filed away this song having a sneaking suspicion that I would come back to it. Again not a traditional song but its impact and message come across beautifully and is a fitting end to the project. Taking in the entire album and its content I have come to appreciate this song more. Mustard lays down his upbringing and his leaning on God to get him to where he is today, with the backing of a choir which fits so well with the structure of the song. It is about a 10-minute run time and with it not being a traditional song I thought I would get bored of it being so long, but I get to the end and find my time was well spent. It exudes understanding and having faith to get through anything with it only being as small as a mustard seed. It barely misses out on the top 5 but landed a lot higher than I originally anticipated.
5 - Broken Windows Serenade - Whiskey Meyers
This is where I flex some of my diversity in my portfolio. Again I let it come naturally and this song came to me naturally. I don’t enjoy forcing myself onto certain genres or songs, I let it come to me. This song is a heartfelt southern Country ballad talking to a lover who has been lost to addiction. Talking to her grave is what I would ascertain and what I picture when I listen to it. It is beautiful in its structure showing the beauty and heartbreak of the girl through her addiction. It reminds me a little in terms of its subject matter the A-team by Ed Sheeran with the subtle yet evocative performance that makes you feel something even though you may not relate or it makes your heart ache with the person you are thinking of. An act of remembrance is how I can best describe it, to the one you love, gone too soon. I could have put it higher with its emotional impact but it stays where it's at coming in at number 5.
4 - Due 4 a Win - Lil Baby
A complete change in environment. Let's leave down and depressing loss of love and pivot to a braggadocios trap banger by my favorite rap artist at the moment. The seventh song off his newly released album WHAM, “Due 4 a Win” is all that I have come to admire and enjoy from the talented Atlanta native Lil Baby. It was a must-add to my gym playlist and pushed me to go for that extra rep or for that extra mile. While I was a bit disappointed in the overall album this song was the highlight for me after first listen. I do believe maybe the album will grow on me like his last one did, as I have come to appreciate far more songs on that project after some time. I am a simple fellow when it comes to rap and more specifically trap music. I want a slapper of a beat and the rapper not to ruin the beat. Make my head bop and a mean muggin' face and we're good to go. “Due 4” a win checks both boxes. While not his best work it is a solid but not great Lil Baby song and still makes it to number 4 for me.
3 - Otra Trago Remix - Sech
I am a firm believer that the remix is almost always better when it comes to Reggaeton. For “Otra Trago” I compared both as I had found the original first and saw right after that there was a remix. I just couldn’t help myself. Maybe I came into both songs with a bias but hey music is subjective right? But after listening to both, they both easily could go on the playlist but I said to myself that only one can be. The energy and the overall vibes of the remixed features are more pronounced compared to the original which is kind of unfair because that is the purpose of a remix; is to fit seamlessly into the song while also bringing their own vibes and charisma. Anuel brought that and much more. It was instantly an add to my Current Phazr as well as my Latin music playlist. The more I listened to it the more I loved it. This was one of those songs that I had on repeat. It usually happens once a month for me when I find I song I latch onto and won’t let go having it on repeat for days and sometimes weeks. The song still kept the original sound and Sech still ate like he did on the original but with the features it just took it to a whole nother level.
2 - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe - Kendrick Lamar
This song made me think about the parameters for my Current Phazr playlists. Of course, I have heard of this classic Kendrick song before and enjoyed it. But I never really dove into it, it wasn’t on any previous playlists and I don’t recall ever putting this song on specifically. It was a shuffle listen for me. It was sitting there in my liked songs gathering dust and then boom, graced my ears and I was hooked in a way I never was all those years ago when I came across it. At that point, it was a foregone conclusion that it was going on the playlist. My favorite line of the song is the start of the song and the chorus, “I am a sinner who’s probably going to sin again. Lord forgive me.” Man that hit me and put me in my feels. Where it felt like sin was inevitable and there was nothing I could do but ask for forgiveness. While I understand that that is not the mindset to have when going through life and can be damaging. It was how I was feeling at the time I found this song again. It’s a process, I am not going to keep sinning and ask for forgiveness, but feeling that way sometimes is natural and a process of the journey. Do I want to keep sinning? No? Do I though? Yes? Is the Lord gracious? Yes? Do I stay there? No? Was I there in sin at that moment? Yes, yes I was.
1 - La Bachata - Manuel Turizo
On a more light-hearted tone, we switch to my number one song of January 2025 and my runaway choice. “La Bachata” is more of a feel-good song for me and allows me to loosen up after thinking and wrestling with my sin in the previous song. A groovy bop that fits more of a summer vibe than the cold and night-filled days of January, but I found the song when I did and here we are. While it feels good grooving to the beat I will say that the lyrics are anything but happy. While the beat and instrumentation give off a vibrant fun vibe, Manuel Turizo talks of a past relationship where he still misses and reminisces over the time they spent together. As you know I don’t speak nor understand the Spanish language so it took me a minute until I started really liking this one that I searched up what he was saying. I was kind of shocked but not surprised. Latin music tends to have sad lyrics wrapped up in vibey and danceable beats. In a way it made me love the song even more as you know I am a sucker for melancholy songs, that aren’t overtly sad but are sad in their lyrics. It gives off I would rather Laugh than Cry. Sign me up for more songs like “La Bachata.” I can almost assuredly say that this song will undoubtedly be in the mix for my end-of-the-year top 10 list of 2025.
