Sonic Chapters - My Year in Soundtracks
Thanks to Spotify Wrapped, reflecting on our listening habits has become a modern tradition. For me, it feels only right; I tend to live my year in "themes," using music to navigate the specific highs and lows of every moment.
2025 has been a total rollercoaster. To mark the end of it, I wanted to share my heavy rotations alongside a few reflections on the phases this music carried me through. Before we dive into the highlights, here is a look at the data:
The 2025 Data Points:
- Minutes Listened: 93,461. To be fair, these are rookie numbers for me! But that was intentional. This year, I actively sought out more silence and "unplugged" moments.
- Listening Age: 20. This is a new thing from Spotify that claims to identify the "vibe" of your music through age demographics. Apparently, my soul is stuck in its early twenties.
- Club Status: Leader of Cloud State Society. According to Spotify, this club finds peace in music, and new members should be gifted a house plant.
My 2025 Heavy Rotations
These were the voices in my ear more than any others.
Top Artists:
Larry June: Lifestyle organic! Larry's music offers a certain "doing things with intention" vibe that matched my goal for a quieter year. Tracks like Smoothies in 1991, Ocean Sounds and Watering My Plants were the soundtrack to my morning routines. I need a trip to San Francisco already! Yes lord 🙏🏾.
Tim Lyre: Senpai!! My most played tracks included Economy, Miles, and Rocket Ship. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend his latest album, Spiral. That's a great body of work right there. I also got to see him live in London this year. Peak experience from a peak artist.
Monaky: I discovered Monaky randomly at the gym this year, and his unique sound kept me coming back. Chandelier, The Goat, and Beholder stayed on high rotation.
Drake: We love Drake on this side, I fear. His colab project with PARTYNEXTDOOR definitely got its fair share of plays. I mostly did full-album sessions this year with Drake, so while no one song dominated, PIMMIE'S DILEMMA is an honorable mention.
Show Dem Camp: Palmwine music for every season. Though they released the masterpiece AFRIKA MAGIK much later this year, SDC has been on rotation since January. Rise Again and I'll Wait are my current faves. Whether it's the mellow vibes or the sharp lyricism, they always seem to have a track for whatever mood I'm in.
Besides the artists above, these projects and specific tracks contributed to some of my most reflective moments throughout the year.
Albums:
Our Time Together (The Live Album) - Jacob Banks: The star that is Jacob Banks. I classify this as soulful R&B; it's the kind of music that gets me reflective and in my feelings. I also got to see him perform live this year in London with a special friend. If there is one song you should hear to assess the vibe, I recommend Found.
Boy Alone - Omah Lay: Omah Lay somehow captures my attention with his voice. When I find myself craving calm, vibey Afrobeats, Boy Alone tends to be my go-to. It's beautifully arranged with spicy, relatable lyrics.
Songs:
Between the Lines - TheyCallHimAp: 116 Listens I loved the overall flow of the song. The lyrics are a cherry on top as they give an old soulful vibe that speaks to a certain philosophy of living and navigating life.
Wrong Places - Joshua Baraka & JAE5: 113 Listens I'll pass you the lighter, even if it breaks my heart 😭. I rinsed this song this year on my month-long trip to Rwanda and Nairobi. It was the theme song for that trip and it perfectly captures my head space at the time.
O TI J'OBA - Dimeji: 92 Listens I love this song. It's kind of an addulation to God becoming a King; an acknowledgment of God as the chief orchestrator of all things. Great vocals and sweet Yoruba.
Closing Thoughts
This journey back in time has been a fun experience for myself and I am happy to share some of the fun so I have compiled a 20 song playlist of all the songs I have highlighted on here and some bonus ones. I wish I could add a lot more songs but I have tried to highlight some of my faves based on my listening history this year.
🎵 Listen to the Complete Playlist
I hope I can do this again next year. Who knows what the vibe would be? 😊.