My Top 10 Songs of 2024

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.

*To be considered for the top 10 a song had to be on a Current Phazr playlist in 2024. 

Here is the Spotify Playlist with a few more songs added that we’re also in consideration - https://tinyurl.com/My-Top-Songs-of-2024

Honorable Mention 12 - Logical - Olivia Rodrigo.

I first listened to her first studio Album Sour because a girl said that she listens to Olvia Rodrigo. I know typical simp behavior. So I gave her a listen and at first I will admit I forced myself to like her music for the sake of inclusivity and saying I liked Olvia Rodrigo too. But as that relationship faded out of my life I found myself enjoying her work. Fast forward to 2023, when she released her highly anticipated second album, GUTS. I didn’t get to it right away, but when I did, this song stuck out to me. I am a sucker for piano ballads, as it puts me into my sad boy feels; and few songs in 2024 put me in my feels as much as this one. Her vocals were on par with any of her other ballads from SOUR proving that she still had it and that she wasn’t a one-and-done artist. Loving someone who doesn’t love you back and you keep on loving them is illogical. That's the name of the game I guess, Love is never Logical. Now it didn’t quite make the cut for my top ten and I was shocked at myself that I would have an Olivia Rodrigo song this far up my list, but here we are, it makes its way to number 12 as an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention 11-  Grace - Lil Baby.

This song didn’t stand out to me at first listen. I thought it was an average Lil Baby song.  Good not great for me.  But with time and listening to it during my workouts and other strenuous activities I started gravitating to it more and more. This is the first Entry by Lil Baby on this playlist and it sure is not the last. Grace by Lil Baby featuring 42 Digg was off of his 2020 album My Turn. 2024 was the year of Lil Baby for me. He was my most streamed rapper of 2024 and for good reason. He had a few bangers like “Yes Indeed” and “Commerical” that I had in my rotation before 2024, but this was the year he broke out for me. 42 Digg at first kind of felt like more of an annoyance for me at first listen. But 42 grew on me and is the main reason Grace is where it is on this list I loved Lil Baby's 1st and second verses, his whole flow and energy of the song are amazing. The ambiance and the deep 808s we come to expect from Lil Baby songs made it a mainstay in 2024. Coming in at number 11, just barely missing out on the top 10.

10 - En Tu Prenscia - Artyon Day

“En Tu Prenscia” is a cover of “Touch Of Heaven” by Elevation Worship which is one of my favorite worship songs of all time. So I thought to myself one day I wonder if there is a Spanish version of this song? Lo and behold there was and a beautiful one at that.  I instantly fell in love with it. 2024 was a huge year in Spanish music for me, building off of 2023. En Tu prensica is everything I love about “Touch Of Heaven” but in Spanish; I couldn’t ask for better in a song. The way it moves me and the way I can reflect and praise God. It truly touches my heart and brings me to a posture of surrender every time I hear it. It lands at number 10 to start off the Top 10.

9 - Trae The Truth In Ibiza - J.Cole

The first entry in the list with a 2024 release. “Trae the Truth in Ibiza” was the last song off the album Might Delete Later which was a response album to the culturally dividing rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. J. Cole shortly after releasing this surprise album quickly bowed out in the beef and received a lot of backlash, which was very honorable in my opinion. But we are not here to talk about the beef. Thanks to the beef we got this song. At first listen of this album I thought there were at least 4 to 5 songs ahead of this one off the album. But as you will notice is a theme so far in this list, with time I was able to weed out the real from the fake. It is now the best song off that album and honestly, it's not even close. It is a workout vibe as well as a song I play when I am trying to get things done. It pushes me to work harder. A picture of success and how he got there, riding a beautiful instrumentation. I believe this song will stand the test of time and will be remembered as one of J. Cole’s best works when it's all said and done. Alright unto number 8 continuing the trend of rap songs.

8- Woah - Lil Baby

I admit that 2024 wasn’t the first time I heard of this song. But it was I can say the first time I listened to it all the way through. When I was making my way through Lil Baby’s catalog, I thought maybe I should give that one song about Brand new cars and not caring about girls' boyfriends another listen. Before Lil Baby became my 4th streamed artist of the year, I didn’t care all that much for this song, but I never gave it the time it deserved,d and man did it deserve that and much more. From the catchy hook to the seamless braggadocious flow in both verses, it quickly became a go-to for me when I wanted to listen to my Rap stuff. This is the highest Lil Baby song this year for me, hoping for more to come like maybe an album fingers crossed.

7- Ferxxo 100 - Feid

I wanted to put this higher in all honesty. This song has the potential to be in my top ten of all time and could have been number 1 this year. But then why is it all the way down at 7 you may ask? Longevity is its only negative. I didn’t come across this song till the middle of October. I heard it in a DJ set on YouTube for Feid, it was the first song he played. I couldn’t bring myself to put it at 1 with not much time under its belt. But I did think about it hard. The emotional ballad of a breakup. Of loving someone even though you are no longer with them and you are reminded of them in music and in everyday life. You hope nothing but the best for them. “Ferxxoo 100” hook took hold of my soul and wouldn’t let go, therefore placing it number 7 on my list. P.S. This list could have had a lot more Feid songs on it if I wanted to as he came crashing the party for me and my ears at about the halfway point of 2024. I look forward to new and great things with Feid in 2025.

6 - Si Si Si Si - The Academy:Segunda Mission

This ultimate collab album from some of the best Reggaeton artists, upcoming and seasoned veterans, blessed my ears in a Caribou coffee shop in March. I checked out the album from a recommendation from Spotify. “Si Si Si Si Si” was the first song off the project, and it set the pace and vibe for the short but sweet album. This lead song is more of a pop-infused R&B song which I will admit I am a complete and utter sucker for. If I get Reggaeton artists on non-Reggeaton songs it's a wrap. I fell in love within the first 10 seconds. Sech absolutely destroyed his part in the chorus and everyone ate on their respective verses. I believe other genres more specifically American artists need to take notes on how to make bangers with a trove of artists. It seems time and time again the Reggaton space makes it look easy with remixes and features galore with different artists and this song which comes in at 6 is no exception.

5 - Outskirts - Sam Hunt

My first and only country entry in my top 10. There was one other song in contention with being on this list but I couldn’t fit it. Alas, we are with only one. If Reggaton was my number one riser in terms of genres, then number two would undoubtedly be Country. Man if my 20-year-old self and my high school self could look at me now, they wouldn’t know what to make of it all. During my high school years and most of college, my Country listening experience was very limited. Mostly because I wouldn’t admit to myself that I enjoyed country music. Even though songs like “Body Like a Back Road” and “Tequilla,” were some of my guilty pleasures. Fast forward to today and I have a country song in my top 5. I first heard this song in passing and quickly filed it away in my liked songs and moved on. Then on a random day in February, it came on while I was shuffling my liked songs which I do from time to time. Then on my second listen it moved me. It's amazing how music can do that to you. I listen to a lot of music and I try to balance new music with favorites and second chances. That's the main reason I have so many liked songs. Even though I am not in love with a song on the first listen it doesn’t mean I won’t like it more in the future. I figured my mind out. “Outskirts” gave me that “Body Like a Backroad” feel from Sam Hunt again, but with a more melancholy feel. If you haven’t found this out by now, I am a sad boy who likes sad music. I always told myself if I could buy a house out in the country with a wife and maybe a kid or two with a dog or two I would be content. That's what this song brings out of me. A longing for simple yet satisfying living. Sam talks about beautifully a missed opportunity to settle down. The hustling and bustling of his life isn’t doing it for him anymore. It is a delightful experience about remembering what could have been, if he had taken a different path, one towards the outskirts.

4 - Offline - Young Miko

Before the advent of Feid came the highly talented mild-mannered Young Miko. The first listen came from a feature on “Fina” by Bad Bunny from his 2023 album “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” I thought young Miko was a 12-year-old boy admittly not knowing who she was. I had that thought until  I gave her highly anticipated 2nd album “Att.” a listen. I was blown away immediately, her album was one of the best I have heard in 2024 and will probably find its way on my top 10 album list. The best song off that album is “Offline” featuring the one and only Feid. The way they complement each other on a simple yet effective reggaeton beat is what makes it number 4 for me. Their collab was built off of another smash hit from 2023 “Classy 101” which was Fied's song featuring Young Miko. I am hoping for more collaborations from my two favorite reggaeton artists in the near future.

3 - We Belong Together - Mariah Carey

Other than Summer Walker, Mariah Carey would have been my pick for Female Artist of the Year. Too long was I caught up with the assumption that all she was was the inevitable Christmas song that gets way overplayed every year. It soured me on her that was until this past year. I’ve heard a few songs from her on my time on earth but never really listened to them if you know what I mean. But I heard “We Belong Together” sometime in late July and needless to say it got me feeling things about relationships I’m not even in. Her voice and bravado in her songs make it sound so effortless. It's a sad concept sure, but the delivery and upbeat nature makes it an all-around banger. When I added this song to my Current Phazr playlist for August, number 58 I believe if memory serves me correctly, it stayed in the rotation and is still in the rotation. It hits that sort of melancholy longing spot right in my gut. In the words of Billie Elish’s latest album title, Hit Me Hard and Hit Me Soft, that would be an accurate representation of what this song does to me.

2 - Communion - Maverick City Musica

It had been a very long time since a worship song or even a song, in general, had touched me in the way Communion by Maverick City Musica did. Much like a previous entry on this list, this is the Spanish version of an English worship song with the same name. This was the lead song from Maverick City Musica on their 2021 album titled “Como En El Cielo”. While I may be Hispanic I regret to inform you that I myself don’t actually speak nor understand Spanish. I have had that shame of looking like a Hispanic but feeling far from it. For a long time, it bothered me and was the reason I pushed away any and all Spanish influences. But as you have seen in this top 10 I have numerous Spanish songs on here. Why you may ask? Well something clicked in me about 2 years ago, something I can’t really explain. I found myself desiring and seeking out more and more Latin music. Regardless if I understood it or not, the sound of it musically started to appeal to me. While I knew of the English version and thought it to be a fine worship song, the Spanish version took me to a place I thought I would never be at. Peace. That is the best way I can describe it when I listen to this song. All the shame I have is washed away. I understand the lyrics and by this time I can sing this song unabated for the most part. As the song content suggests I feel ever closer to God. It has been a part of my faith journey for this past year and when my heart is yearning for a connection with my savior and when I go into a posture of submittance I am drawn to “Communion” by Maverick City Musica.

1 - Sorry 4 That Much - Feid

It was a hard decision, to say the least between the one and two spots. In terms of longevity, it would go to Communion as I found it in January and therefore I spent a whole year with it. Also, it would follow my reasoning for putting Ferxxo 100 where I did. But while I was making this list I found myself counting down and saying to myself that I liked this song more than the others down to the number 2 spot. Then it was a brief discussion with myself and I ultimately landed where I did.  I discovered “Sorry 4 That Much” by Feid around September. Every once in a while a song captures me wholeheartedly and can help me process and express my feelings like no other song. There usually is that one song every year I have come to find and this was the one for 2024. If I am being honest with myself no other song honestly comes close besides the number 2 song. Now would I have loved to have a worship song as my top song of the year? Of course. Do I want my top song and a few others on this list to be sad songs of course not, but I would be dishonest if that wasn’t the case. As I explained earlier in the list, the continual rise of Latin music this year is something I could have never predicted. Looking at this list and the expanded one I made while working on this list I am still overtaken by it. From reggaeton to worship Latin music has truly shaped my music experience this year and most likely for years to come. “Sorry 4 That Much” was a single released on June 7th, 2024. It is a reggaeton song about a past relationship what a shocker. Only this one isn’t an unrequited love type of thing. She cheated and he still reminisces but is somberly glad he moved on. It scratches the itch of not overtly sad and depressing music but still a melancholy chill type of sadness. I find myself gravitating to those types of songs more than the straight-up-in-your-face, you-shall-be-sad types of songs. I am thinking of White Ferrari by Frank Ocean being the quintessential song in that category. But with these types of songs, while I can be sad when listening to them, I am not always that way. It has range for a variety of different times of day and moments in my day-to-day grind. I noticed that throughout my day-to-day I tend to say sorry a lot. It is a knee-jerk reaction in my daily speech. If this song doesn’t encapsulate that internal battle in my heart then I don’t know what will. Again Sorry but not sorry 4 revealing how much of a sad boy I truly am.