Another holiday, another chance for Jay-Z to re-up his rap nerd credibility. This time around, Jay’s new Tidal playlist is called “Montecito” and landed on the streaming app on Memorial Day with the description “(Mostly) ’22 vibes.” The one exception that prompts the qualifier is Kodak Black’s 2021 hit “Super Gremlin,” which extended its run far beyond its October 2021 release date as one of the more popular recent singles in rap.
Kodak also appears multiple times on the playlist, with Jay including “Purple Stamp” and “I Wish” from the Floridian’s 2022 project Back For Everything. Other artists Jay included multiple times are Detroit upstart Babyface Ray, whose Face track “A1 Since Day 1” leads off the playlist, and 42 Dugg & EST Gee, the dynamic duo whose joint mixtape Last Ones Left was the brainchild of their CMG team captain, Yo Gotti. Speaking of Yo Gotti, the Memphis mainstay also gets multiple selections from his own new project CM10: Free Game.
Of course, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers gets a few entries, as do Future and Lil Durk, while Boldy James, Pusha T, and Vince Staples are all represented with a track apiece. And because having one problematic entity in Kodak Black apparently wasn’t enough, Jay gave some “True Love” to his musical younger brother Kanye West’s new track with XXXTentacion. If anything is missing, it’s some female representation; you’d think Jay would love the throwback vibe of Megan Thee Stallion’s new track “Plan B.”
As always, though, the new playlist proves that Hov keeps his ears to the street, even if he’s not actively recording any new music himself. And for the newer or more underground artists receiving some spotlight, it’s a chance to tap in with new fans who recognize Jay’s nearly impeccable taste. You can listen to the playlist on Tidal below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
