**The songs mentioned can be found at the bottom of the review!**
I thought I would do something completely different as a finale for these blog posts. In honor of Spotify Wrapped 2021 coming out yesterday (December 1st), I decided I’m going to categorize five songs from my official 2021 playlist into these five categories. Honestly, I was shocked by my top 100 most played songs. I don’t even remember playing some of them more than three times over the course of the past year. Anyway, enjoy five of my 100 songs in my 2021 playlist :).
Best Overall: striptease (carwash) – I did not expect this to be my most played song in 2021, but it was, so it has to go under Best Overall by default. I remember driving way too late with my friends down random highways hours away from our town, and this was the song I would play with my windows down. It’s so chill, but it puts you in the right mood for a jam sesh with your friends in the car, even if they have never heard the song before.
Most Underrated: Leray (Trippie Redd) – Nothing, and I mean nothing, tops being sad and listening to this song. I couldn’t tell you a majority of the lyrics to this song despite how often I’ve listened to it (I swear I’m not a sad person), but there’s something about Trippie Redd talking over the guitar and then singing at the end that hits different, especially because it’s about someone he loved and a relationship that did not end well, which can be applied to almost all of our lives in some way shape or form. Trust me, though, give this song a try.
Most Popular: All My Friends (Snakehips) – Okay finding the most popular song here was a pain in the a$$, especially because I thought it would be 20 Min by Lil Uzi Vert, but here we are with a song that came out in 2016 (please take me back I miss 2016). To this day, though, this song is extremely unique to almost all of the other songs I’ve listened to, especially in this playlist. Tinashe, someone who is featured alongside Chance the Rapper in this song, somewhat reminds me of SZA in the way that they can control their voice with such precision, and they have such a wide range. Snakehips, who I thought was the original artist singing, but is actually the one who made the electronic music heard in the background, really killed it with this one hit wonder, but I think I’ll forever love this song.
Honorable Mention: Zodiac Killer (Khalil?) – Yes, his name has a question mark at the end. Khalil?’s voice is extremely distinct, but absolutely perfect for this song. It is clear in this song that he has found his “sound.” The closer you look into the song, the more references he includes, and his wordplay with said references is unmatched, which makes him stand out even more on top of his voice.
Least Best: HONEST (Baby Keem) – I fell in love with Baby Keem’s music after I heard this song. Sometimes I have a problem where I love a song so much that I play it every time I listen to music, but then I get tired of it so quickly; that’s what happened with this song, which is the only reason why it’s under this category. It’s simple, but catchy, so it works. I also never noticed until I played this song more recently that almost all of his opening lines rhyme, making them that much better when you’re bopping your head to it.