As 2022 winds down to its closing weeks, Ambrosia For Heads begins a celebration of the year with an in-depth conversation about its best Hip-Hop verses. In considering 2022, AFH‘s What’s The Headline podcast spent nearly 90 minutes breaking down some of our favorites. While there is unanimous agreement surrounding six songs, the two hosts debate eight verses to make up the remaining four spots for a definitive 10.

The discussion and subsequent list draw from multiple regions, styles, and messages. Notably, it includes some artists that AFH has been reporting on for more than a decade and some faces that are new to the site’s universe for 2022.

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The time codes for episode #96 of the What’s The Headline podcast (with hyperlinks to skip around):

0:00 Intro
5:40 The criteria for what makes a great verse
9:30 14 verses are contending for the 10 best verses of 2022
10:30 Discussing JAY-Z – “GOD DID”
19:00 Discussing J.I.D. – “Crack Sandwich”
24:10 Discussing Kendrick Lamar – “Mother I Sober”
28:08 Discussing J. Cole – “Johnny P’s Caddy”
34:11 Discussing Lupe Fiasco “On Faux Nem”
38:30 Discussing Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart, Pt. 5”
43:52 Discussing Drake – “Middle Of The Ocean”
50:33 Discussing Black Thought – “No Gold Teeth”
53:48 Discussing Conway The Machine – “Stressed”
57:26 Discussing Remy Ma – “Remy Rap”
1:01:47 Discussing Symba – “GOAT”
1:05:05 Discussing Coast Contra – “Never Freestyle”
1:08:51 Discussing Joey Bada$$ – “Head High”
1:12:59 Discussing Elzhi – “King Sh!t (Say Word)”
1:17:00 An honorable mention goes to Coast Contra – “Scenario Freestyle”
1:20:14 AFH‘s 10 Best Rap Verses of 2022

The resulting 10 have been conveniently put in a 10-song playlist (embedded below)

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However, for those keeping score, we have also listed them here (in order of discussion) with hyperlinks:

1. “God Did” (JAY-Z’s verse)
2. “Crack Sandwich” (JID’s 1st verse)
3. “Mother I Sober” (Kendrick Lamar’s 3rd verse)
4. “Johnny P’s Caddy” (J. Cole’s verse)
5. “On Faux Nem” (Lupe Fiasco’s 1st verse)
6. “The Heart Part 5” (Kendrick Lamar’s 3rd verse)
7. “Stressed” (Conway The Machine’s 2nd verse)
8. “Remy Rap” (Remy Ma’s verse)
9. “Head High” (Joey Bada$$’s BET Hip Hop Awards verse)
10. “Never Freestyle” (Ras Austin’s verse)

AFH readers can catch regular discussions about the culture on our What’s The Headline. The podcast also features interviews with Rapper Big Pooh, Cormega, Meyhem Lauren & Daringer, Diamond D, Joell Ortiz, AZ, Blu & Mickey Factz, Kurupt, Evidence, Skyzoo, Pharoahe Monch, Prince Paul & Don Newkirk, Statik Selektah, Lyric Jones, The LOX, MC Eiht, Havoc, Duckwrth, photographer T. Eric Monroe, and Lord Finesse.

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#BonusBeat: There are plenty of amazing 2022 verses on the official Ambrosia For Heads playlist: