songs of the year 2023
“SAX FIFTH AVENUE”
MASEGO | MASEGO
I’ve already used this (semi-)annual exercise to wax poetic about the musical talents of fellow June Gemini Micah Davis, stage name Masego, proselytizing to the masses that his superstardom is all but imminent, because is there anything he can’t do?
Masego’s clearly found beauty in the journey. This year’s Masego is his most ambitious and complete project to date, an amalgam of sounds owing to his global travels that he somehow wrangles into cohesion, much like Beyoncé’s Renaissance in its seamless transitions between each track. I’ve landed on at least 4 different favorites since March (the brother is seriously preaching on “Who Cares Anyway” and “You Never Visit Me”). Still, I continue returning to “Sax Fifth Avenue” because of how deeply his manifesto seemingly resembles my own.
Masego makes clear this life as a creative is all he desires, that it is endemic to his very being. Frankly, plan B’s don’t exist – and probably shouldn’t, either – when you’re that convinced of your calling. And despite the struggles along the way, you’ve got to believe that your patience and persistence will soon be rewarded, as validation of your faith. Nearly a decade into his career, Masego finally seems to be on the brink of everything he’s dreamed. Radio run coming soon, soon, soon…
2. “Honeymoon”
Don Toliver | Love Sick
In forgoing this list last year (and the one before that, and the one before that, I am aware), I did not get to crown one Don Toliver with this project’s ever-coveted Most Improved Artist award, a distinction he’s likely outgrown with the release of this year’s inimitable Love Sick.
I sincerely agonized whether to choose this, the endlessly sunny “4 Me” with Kali Uchis, the crowd favorite “Luckily I’m Having,” or fudging the rules altogether and including 2022’s Metro Boomin-produced “Too Many Nights.” But “Honeymoon” – co-produced by KAYTRANADA! – became my personal favorite the past few months, assisted by a stunning vocal performance by Don and an instrumental that sounds straight out of a Pink Panther-esque detective caper.
I selected my favorite lyrics already, but really, anything he says on this beat is a candidate. It’s the small stuff, like the hilarious way he uses knockers to describe a woman's cleavage in 2023, or the percussive tone he takes on shake, shake, shake like maracas. All things considered, last year’s Most Improved just might be in strong contention for this year’s Most Valuable.
3. “Replay”
Jozzy | songs for women, free game for N*****
R&B’s pen du jour currently belongs to Jozzy, a multihyphenate whose writing credits stretch from Monica’s 2015 “Just Right for Me,” to Billy Ray Cyrus’ verse on the 2019 “Old Town Road” remix, to “Virgo’s Groove” off Beyoncé’s 2022’s spectacle RENAISSANCE. Mentored by the likes of Missy Elliott and Timbaland and namechecked by the James Fauntleroys of the music world, her first EP is the byproduct of a decade-plus worth of grunt work, and “Replay” stands out as the track that remained on, well, replay.
The pen is mighty on this one, as Jozzy laments a love lost that she fears she’ll never replace. She scales the seven stages of grief with terrifying dexterity, accentuating just how quickly one can go from denial to grief to anger to acceptance and back around when in a mental state like this – and that’s in only three minutes and 22 seconds. A child of the ‘90s, this song feels directly in the lineage of the hip-hop soul pioneered by artists like Mary J. Blige and Jodeci; as I type this, I’m visualizing a Love Jones-type music video with Jozzy as Darius. Just a thought.
4. “GLU”
Usher
Before I go any further, I must acknowledge I was privileged to attend Usher’s Las Vegas residency this past July.
How does it feel to be one of God’s favorites? Pretty awesome, thanks so much for asking. How was the concert itself? Only topped by Stevie Wonder performing Songs In the Key of Life and assorted classics past midnight in Michigan during a blizzard. Experiences you couldn’t pay to replicate. I spent money I didn’t have both times, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
This residency has been a marketing masterclass for Mr. Raymond, if only to remind us all that he is a performer without true peers. And not for nothing, he got the Super Bowl halftime show out of this! A turn of events! “GLU” is an encapsulation of this moment in Usher’s career, a vocal victory lap if you will, because what a motherfucking flex it is to maintain that falsetto for four minutes and twenty-two seconds.
His vocal performance here only becomes more impressive after watching it live. (A rehearsal video, for reference.) Neither you nor I can sing along to “GLU,” and that is precisely the point. Who has the courage? I certainly don’t. And neither does your favorite singer – not if they know any better.
5. “Johnny Dang”
The Mexican OT, DRODi & Paul Wall | Lonestar Luchador
“Is that … Paul Wall?!”
That was my initial reaction while hearing a snippet of this song on Instagram over the summer, his verse a very welcome surprise from an artist I don’t think I’ve heard from since I was a freshman in high school. The whole Houston rap takeover felt like it came and went in short order, but Paul Wall’s departure from the mainstream was probably most disappointing: “Sittin’ Sidewayz” was a legitimate hit, and his feature on “Drive Slow” remains in my rotation (and yours too, be honest). Just hearing that voice in its full Texas twang made me want to investigate even further.
Turns out Paul somehow might have the third-best performance on this thing, his appearance ultimately a gateway to hip me to the talents of both DRODi and That Mexican OT, who submit bravura efforts alongside the rap legend. I’m just rhyming words, I don’t even know how to rap is among the best line deliveries of the year, bar none. After just one listen, it wasn’t a matter of if this song would make the list, but how high would it place.
6. “Hummingbird”
Metro Boomin & James Blake | Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
Most every track on this list earned its place the first time I heard it, but “Hummingbird” stands out in my mind as its own singular experience.
I toyed with cheating and combining this with “Am I Dreaming,” another gem from the Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack, but that would be a disservice to the visceral reaction I had when I first heard that sample. Goosebumps. Where did Metro even find that?! And it only gets progressively better from there!
Heavenly. Glorious. Sublime. These are the only appropriate adjectives for this song. I sincerely cannot believe it’s only at number 6, and this is my list! I demand a recount!
7. “Sittin’ On Top Of The World”
Burna Boy | I Told Them…
Since “Ye” smacked me across the face during the summer of 2019, Burna Boy has been among my favorite artists period; I can’t call myself hive or anything, but I’m firmly seated somewhere around the midsection of the bandwagon. His international popularity has only ballooned over the past half-decade, reaching a new peak with 2022’s “Last Last,” his biggest hit to date. (Now that song is undeniable. Shayooooooooo.)
There are no anthems of that magnitude on his most recent I Told Them…, but it’s my favorite Burna project from start to finish regardless, bolstered by a lead single that left me in complete awe the first time it crossed my earwaves.
“Oh, no he didn’t,” I said to nobody in my apartment once that all-too-recognizable guitar riff played through my headphones, and I all but lost it once Brandy’s I’m just tryna be me… officially entered the chat. In so many ways, this song is nothing more than another “Last Last”: take an old Darkchild production, add new drums and lyrics, rinse, repeat. Afro(American)-Beats, if you will. I do not care. Sample every Rodney Jerkins beat available if these are the results. I vote for “You Rock My World” next. Why not?
A minor nitpick: I firmly believe this would have been the biggest song in the world – if not this very prestigious list – had 21 Savage not been randomly inserted onto what’s been recognized as the song’s official version not even a month into its distribution. He sticks out like a sore thumb and I would argue singlehandedly craters the song’s momentum. Now a proper remix would’ve included Brandy and Pastor Betha. Can we still make this happen?!
8. “Get Away”
Blxst & Bino Rideaux | Sixtape 3
If my fingers had still been working for fun the past couple of years, you probably would’ve gotten tired of seeing me write about Blxst, maybe my favorite musical discovery this side of Ty Dolla $ign nearly a decade ago.
Another pandemic-era find, Blxst has already somewhat rejected the Nate Dogg comparisons, but it remains a convenient if not correct connection to make. Blxst’s appeal has always been in his efficiency – his ethos has to be “work smarter, not harder” – but in a way that belies an easiness to this job that most certainly does not exist. I saw him perform live as the world reopened in 2021; his background singer Cheyenne Wright was a powerhouse vocalist in a way he frankly isn’t, and never once did he allow her presence to impact his performance. He knows those things at which he’s exceptional, and he sticks to them. You have to respect it.
Sixtape 3, the third project in his series with frequent collaborator Bino Rideaux, doesn’t reinvent any wheels, but it does reemphasize that Blxst is very good at his brand of rap&B, and “Get Away” is the tape’s best example. Bino’s braggadocious lead verse cedes to Blxst’s now-signature brand of cool: Let a bag blow like I’m playing the flute / I’m a asshole but I cater to you / It’s just one word I wanna hear when I tell you come here… Can’t get much more to the point than that. Maybe he should be my editor?
9. “JOY (Unspeakable)”
Voices of fire & Pharrell Williams
These Netflix shows know how to rope you in emotionally, don’t they?
Voices of Fire hit the platform during the throes of the pandemic in 2020, and as a church boi 4 lyfe, I was immediately all-in, even if the premise seemed fairly rickety. Secular superproducer Pharrell Williams commissioned his uncle, a Virginia Beach-area bishop, to construct a world-class gospel choir that he would subsequently sign and produce. Part documentary, part American Idol-style competition show, I left that series wholly invested in whether their music would ever see the light of day, not because I didn’t believe Pharrell didn’t have the best intentions, but more because it all seemed so … random? I mean, what would P’s brand of gospel even sound like?
The group’s first official effort, 2021’s “Hit the Refresh,” a sleepy worship song that sounds stereotypically Pharrell – and not in the best ways – surely didn’t inspire much confidence. After a brief hiatus, they resurfaced with this year’s “Joy,” and while Pharrell is still tinkering with the formula, its clear strength is in never settling into the stasis that plagues their initial single, the worship portion transitioning into a surprise praise break that alone is worth your tithes and offering.
I’d be interested in a Season 2 of their show, just to watch how this all coalesces. We’ve got a ways before we’re talking Mississippi Mass Choir or anything, but “Joy” is Pharrell’s proper proof of concept that Voices of Fire can be that world-class choir he was recruiting after all.
10. “Sidekick”
Jordan Ward & Joyce Wrice | Forward
Jordan Ward’s 2023 feels like another victory for the creatives. The St. Louis native was dancing background for Beyoncé for her 2018 Coachella performance, and 5 years later suddenly finds himself on the cusp of his own solo stardom. The excellent FORWARD has been rightly hailed as one of the best debuts of the year, Jordan’s joyful spirit imbuing his sober meditations on family, friendships, and maturation.
Although a bonus track, Jordan includes “SIDEKICK” for a reason, a fun and breezy collaboration with Joyce Wrice that allows them to display their vocal chemistry. The two trade verses as potential paramours negotiating the terms of engagement as they prepare to embark on a covert date night amongst their friends. Jordan’s effervescent charm blends so seamlessly with Joyce’s cool assertiveness that by the end of an all-too-short two minutes and 14 seconds, you hope these two wacky kids fall in love after all.
A few months ago, friend of the boutique Melvin Washington sent over Jordan Ward’s “WHITE CROCS,” asking if I was hip. Once Mel stamps it, it’s officially certified this way. I’m excited to see what’s next for him.
BONUS. “When You Touch Me”
Brandy | Full Moon (2002)
22 years ago, my bonus mom purchased a bootleg Full Moon from an enterprising co-worker with a new CD burner, and for the bulk of those two decades, I have all but ignored what I belatedly recognize as the crown jewel of this classic, six minutes of a kind of controlled chaos that can only exist when you’re nicknamed the Vocal Bible.
Cliché, I know, but they just don’t make them like this anymore. A six-minute ballad in 2023? First off, let’s chop that in half. Which means we’re probably cutting that bridge, which is the most gorgeous portion of an already beautiful piece of work. Plus Teddy Riley on talkbox? Chef’s kiss. 10 out of 10 execution by Darkchild here on production. No notes. A perfect song, sincerely.
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I only learned about one of my favorite singer’s greatest records within the past 12 months, but better late than never, or something like that. Also, if you see me randomly with a talkbox in 2024, you’ve been forewarned.