Fleshbot Gay and Cybersocket’s Top 5 Albums of 2022!

December 30, 2022
CASTEL

With a new year on the horizon we have come to a close. After a year of experimental projects and many fav returns here are the projects that smashed our “repeat all” button.

“World stop, carry on.” Beyoncé might be the top, if not the only, artist that can make the entire world glitch when she hits send. Beyonce had the world on edge since June 7, when she promoted the phrase “What is a B7?” on her socials. The following day, she released the presale for Act I: Renaissance. Within three months, the album had over a billion streams on Spotify. The project opens with “I’m That Girl” as if we needed a reminder, but thank goodness she gave us one. If this album were a seamstress, mamas would win every design challenge on Drag Race. If you aren't looking at the tracklist, it is easy to forget what song you are on. With assistance from Queer trailblazers Mike Q, Kevin Avivnance, TS Madison, Grace Jones, Moi Renee, Big Freedia, and more, Beyonce curates a dance record of empowerment and love for the Black Trans and Queer community that puts itself on repeat for you. Rooted deep in the post-1970s of Black dance music and the joy in Black culture, the album still has a chokehold on fans today. Renaissance parties are still happening. Beyonce isn't letting up, either. Remember, this is Act I, folks... who else just got shivers...

Key Tracks: The end of "Cozy" to the end of "Break My Soul"; "Plastic Off the Sofa" to "Summer Renaissance"...

BUT REALLY: Bury us here!

2) NATURAL BROWN PROM QUEEN x Sudan Archives

On a personal highlight, Selfish Soul bounces through a step team-assisted beat, and Sudan plays the violin as she celebrates Black women and the different relationships and styles they have with hair. Sonically the project surprises and delights; "OMG BRITT", Sudan's voice distorts through telling fake friends and love she’s going to be good without all of you. On "Homesick (Gorgeous & Arrogant)", we slow it down with a few drums with a guitar plugging away ever so delicately underneath Sudan, admitting that getting to know a new beau is great and all, but when are you going to fuck me. There’s a trumpet in the back that begs you to follow the melody it plays, but that's the thing, the dynamic engineering, not only here, but the whole project captivates because every thud, strum, or toot is as pleasing as the next. NBPQ elevates Sudan to, rightfully, a very high spot on everyone’s best list.

Key Track: "Milk Me"

3) MR. MORALE & BIG STEPPERS x Kendrick Lamar

With a sweeping two-disc return (three if you include “The Heart Part 5”), after a five-year hiatus, Kendrick Lamar takes us on a self-reflective hip-hop journey booming with jazz, funk, and that West Coast signature where he tries to burn all of his shrines. He is just a wealthy Black man. Not your idol. Cool, if he inspires you, but he is a flawed human with opinions that he will express and not change due to public perception.

Key Track: "Savior"

4) REMEMBER YOUR NORTH STAR x Yaya Bey

Shifting quickly through R&B, jazz, and reggae, Yaya Bey glides softly with BDE about the kind of love a Black woman deserves and the effects of her generational trauma. On Keisha, she laments how she could be; hell, she is the perfect woman, good pussy galore, and her worth is still in question. The album continues a trend of swanky reggae that screams for sweaty, blue-light-lit fever nights. On "Reprise" & "I’m Certain She’s There", she contemplates how her pain and past had to happen because, look at her now? She’s on several top-ten lists, thank you.

Key Track: "Keisha"

5) MOTOMAMI x Rosalia

What I classify as an experimental Latin pop and reggaeton opera, Rosalia commands her third album by turning on her head and being her most experimental. She gives us cinematic rise and tension on "Bulerias"; a sensual ballad "Hentai" criticized for its explicit nature. Tackling an overall theme of femininity and transformation of self, Rosalia brings us back to the wackiness of “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” with the aesthetic of Beatrix Kiddo riding on the back of a motorcycle heading to her next hit and boy did Rosalia slay.

Key Track: "CUUUUuuuuuute"

If the list was longer:

Softcore x Foushee

Svengali x Cakes Da Killa

Gemini Rights x Steve Lacey

Un Verano Sin Ti x Bad Bunny

MoMints x Tobe Nwigwe

Luv 4 Rent x Smino

The Forever Story x JID

SOS x Sza (already number one in 2023 for us!)

Cybersocket: Plug In. Get Off.
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