As 2020 comes to a close, year-end lists are in full effect. On Thursday, Jay-Z joined the fray, sharing his 2020 playlist via TIDAL, featuring songs from artists like Drake, Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica, Pop Smoke, Burna Boy, and several others.
The TIDAL-exclusive collection of songs—appropriately dubbed "2020 Vision COVID 19"—looks to try and encapsulate the tumultuous year we've all had. With the cover art featuring Naomi Osaka in a mask she wore during the Women's U.S. Open featuring George Floyd's name, all 40-tracks feel very pointed and purposeful.
And to set the record straight, Hov is the only person allowed to get the "2020 vision" phrase off without it sounding completely corny. The playlist captures the ebbs and flows of 2020 through the technical eye of Jay-Z's music curation. Similar to how the year began, the playlist starts on a high note with Jay Electronica's "Universal Soldier," and continues on that trend for songs like Freddi Gibbs' "Scottie Beam" and Nas' "Car #85." He also shows love to the ever-growing Griselda movement by including Conway's "Spurs 3." Then, we hit the lull of the first quarantine when we get to Drake's more languid "Chicago Freestyle" and The Weeknd's "Snow Child," with the rest of the playlist following suit.
This isn't the first time Jay has dropped a playlist on TIDAL. Being the man of the people that he is, Hov also released a sequel to one of his early curated playlists "Songs for Survival," titled "Songs for Survival 2" this past summer, as protests were gripping the country. Delivering what felt like an oral history of the Black plight in the U.S, the 17-track playlist featured songs from Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Public Enemy, Syl Johnson, Tracy Chapman, Tupac, and himself.
Listen to Jay-Z's Tidal-exclusive "2020 Vision COVID 19" playlist down below.
