Pop singers are moving to dance music and escape tunes, according to recent reports. Although some of these lines and songs have that enthusiasm, if you want to stay home, put on headphones, and examine bars, this year also had amazing rap verses. From serious songs like Kendrick Lamar’s “Mother I Sober” and Che Noir’s “Communion” to lighthearted ones like Tyler, the Creator’s verse on Pharell’s “Cash In, Cash Out,” this year has something for everyone.

We chose the top 30 rap verses of the year after counting the 50 best albums and singles. Since hearing them, we’ve repeated these verses. We allowed only one verse per artist to accommodate various voices and styles. Here are 2022’s top 30 rap verses.

8.21 “Jimmy Cooks” Savage

Only pure rap track on Drake’s dance album Nevermind, “Jimmy Cooks” was already great. However, 21 Savage’s rap makes this song amazing and Complex’s No.1 song of the year. A beat transition and a hypnotizing, long-lasting shout of “pussy” start the Atlanta rapper’s stanza. 21 sprinkles dark bars regarding gun activity and pop culture references throughout the song (“This Glock 45 came with a switch/If I was Will Smith, I would’ve slapped him with a stick”). He plays the song with cadence and tempo, adding to its charm. “I got mad love for the boy, yeah, that’s my twizzin/If them niggas keep on dissin’, slide agizain,” he shouts, making “twin” and “again” longer. The song’s tone and replayability come from 21 Savage’s angry verse. Definitely one of his best. Jessica McKinney

7. Jay-Z, “God Did”

Though Twitter may say otherwise, this was not Jay-Z’s strongest verse in recent memory, but he still delivers bars that prove he’s the greatest rapper alive. “Jesus turned water to wine/For Hov, it just took a stove” is one. Several poignant one-liners are scattered throughout his long stanza on “God Did,” but they all feel fresh. The rap mogul delivers many bars, but this verse shows he still listens to the streets. —Jordan Rose

6. Lil Wayne, “God Did”

Yes, we planned this. Hov’s “God Did” verse was louder, but Wayne’s was more meaningful. The Young Money Head Huncho is a model for many “lil” rappers, and Wayne uses his 18 bars to demonstrate his influence. “Dreadlocks, facial tats, I’m number one/I started the culture, twin? “They respond,” he spats. Wayne is a humble GOAT, thus his pride in his legacy is significant. —Jordan Rose

5. Kendrick Lamar, “Mother I Sober”

The entirety of Kendrick Lamar’s latest studio album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is therapy for the rapper, but his breakthrough comes on the penultimate track “Mother I Sober”. The entire song is revelatory, and in the final lyric, Dot realizes how family tragedy persisted as an adult. “Pure soul, even in her pain, know she cared for me/ Gave me a number, said she recommended some therapy,” he raps, recalling his wife Whitney’s suggestion that he seek to therapy to address his unhealthy relationship with sex and unearth childhood trauma. Kendrick learns in therapy that his mom’s pain was passed down to him since it was never addressed and that the only way to break this toxic cycle is to have difficult conversations and heal from past events. He passionately spits, “I pray our children don’t inherit me and feelings I attract/ A conversation not bein’ addressed in Black families/ The devastation, hauntin’ generations and humanity,” as a healed guy. The third verse of “Mother I Sober” captures Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ fundamental theme: you can only be “set free” and remove generational curses by looking inward and accepting your deepest past. —Jordan Rose

4. J Cole, “Johnny P’s Caddy”

J. Cole begins his “Johnny P’s Caddy” verse by describing his birth like Hercules or another demigod: “On the night I was born, the rain was pourin’,God was crying/ Lightnin’ struck, power outage, sparks were flyin’/ A real one here.” For his recent album, The Off-Season, Cole revealed he had rekindled his passion for rapping and fine-tuned his skills like a rookie again. These verses represent those writing workouts. After criticizing culture vultures in the rap community, Cole spits, “Nigga want me on a song, he gon’ see the wrath of the reaper/ I’m prolly gon’ to hell if Jesus ask for a feature,” before concluding his verse by declaring himself the “best rapper alive” and challenging anyone who disagrees to “go and ask the best rappers that died.” They’ll say he never lied.” —Jordan Rose

3. Evil “I Pray For You”

Malice’s powerful verse on Pusha T’s “Pray for You,” a Clipse reunion on Pusha’s It’s Almost Dry album, conveys his hardships. The rapper releases decades of trauma while celebrating his career. He rhymes, “Vietnam flashbacks, I get triggered by a sniff/Today’s top fives only strengthening my myth,” contrasting trench trevails and rap popularity. Part proverb, part recap. His exquisite rhyme schemes and clarity of ideas depict a mythological rhymer at peace and reenergized: Lighting another tiki torch and carrying it again/Back up on my high horse, it’s chariots again/Put the ring back on her finger, marry it again.” Stop teasing us. Peter A. Berry

2. Drake, “Churchill Downs”

“Churchill Downs” is Drake’s greatest verse in years. It only required meeting Jack Harlow in Turks & Caicos for this event. Drake wrote it in 11 minutes, according to Lil Yachty. Drake seems contemplative and paranoid on the tune, but he goes deeper with more clarity and energy than usual. He continues, “My urges for revenge are uncontrollable/ I know we’re gettin’ older, though, yeah/ But I gotta get a nigga back for that, it’s non-negotiable/ It’s not even debatable.” He also sends Pusha-T some subliminal messages (“If I see ya, I spit in ya faces, ha-tu/ Daytonas with the green faces”). The verse works best when he admits his shortcomings, abandonment, PTSD, and need for therapy. “Cold hearts and heated floors/ No parental guidance, I just see divorce/ Therapy sessions, I’m in the waiting room, readin’ Forbes/ Abandonment issues I’m treated for,” he raps. You could believe you know everything about The Boy at this point in his career, but “Churchill Downs” hints there’s more to learn. Jessica McKinney

1. Cardi B, “Tomorrow 2”

Cardi B’s verse on this awning hits all the notes: she supports and co-signs her counterpart and Bronx’s prospective up-next (“That n**ga a munch and he gon’ eat me like a mango”) and utters her greatest batty trash talk yet (“I stay on her mind, I got condos in that bitch head”). Overall, Cardi B reminded audiences that she is the modern lady rapper who opened the way for “hood as fuck” spitters. After a year of massive pairings (like Wayne and Hov on “God Did”) and long-awaited meditations from seasoned greats (like Kendrick and Ab-Soul), we, as listeners and critics, gravitated toward songs and verses that lightened the load and reflected the direction of rap. Along with heavyweights who openly knock down ladies, the gradual and steady horrifying eradication of an entire section of rising rappers by gun violence, and more, verses and tracks like these make me look forward to rap’s future. Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo