As we're winding down a stellar 2022, the ROCK THE BELLS writing staff got together to share some of our favorite bars from this past year. Here are our picks for the BEST VERSES OF 2022.

Freddie Gibbs has had a remarkable run since 2014—releasing albums like Piñata, Freddie, Alfredo, and finally, 2022's Soul Sold Separately. One could make the argument that the latter is one of his darkest records to date. He's confirmed as much, saying, "This whole process [of] recording an album. I barely got to see my kids a lot, touring, man I’m really ready to just chill, dog. I don’t know if I can go through the process of recording an album no more. I don’t know if I can.”

His first verse on "Blackest in the Room" is a direct and effective look at the efforts of Black men to improve the lives of their peers. But there are several perceived dichotomies between, say, Sam Cooke's efforts during the Civil Rights Movement, and what Jeff Fort did with the Black P. Stones and El Rukns in Chicago. It isn't easy to pull off references of them, as well as Denzel Washington, Tom Brady, and Fred Hampton. But somehow, Gibbs does it.

It seems rather apropos to examine Black Thought's "Cheat Codes" after Gibbs' "Blackest in the Room" because the former delivers perhaps one of the most poignant statements of the year: "Blackness is not a monolith." The media tends to want to showcase Blackness as a one-size-fits-all experience, when it's ironically, unique like a snowflake. Black Thought uses "Cheat Codes" to examine common tropes we see in Hip-Hop culture—the trap house, blunts, Hennessy, bad credit, etc—and whether or not these enhance the Black experience, or are actually weights that pull people down. In Hip-Hop, authenticity is paramount. But at what cost?

The final installment in his three-part “Mural” series, which started in 2015 on Tetsuo & Youth and continued on DROGAS WAVE in 2018, “Ms. Mural” stands as an impressive closer to Lupe’s innovative vision. The series is an extended metaphor for an artist’s experiences in the industry, comparing it to that of a Painter interacting with Patrons. The song has no hook, and the verses are only broken up by the music, but in the second verse, Lupe not only finishes the series but puts voice to the frustration of so many artists, regardless of medium. The verse starts with the Patron posing a sarcastic question: "I appreciate the visit, this isn't normally allowed"/"Do you consider yourself wild or conforming to a style?"/ The patron pointed at a pile, "Are those rejections or mistakes?"/The painter said, "That is not for question or debate/Most of what we know as art is the projection of a faith..” Toward the end of the verse, the Painter is weary, even angry.

In the end, The Painter burns it all to the ground, and Lupe stands triumphantly as having delivered one of the best verses of 2022. —Jacinta Howard

In October, the multi-generational trio of Busta Rhymes, Conway The Machine and Big Daddy Kane came together and released "Slap." All three MCs held their own over the instrumental of 1987's Marley Marl produced "Somethin' Funky"/"Just Rhymin' With Biz" by Kane, but the collaboration revealed that the Big Daddy Kane is still nasty with the mic device. "He doesn’t just look great, he will still fuck y’all niggas up, bar-for-bar," Busta Rhymes told Billboard concerning Kane.

His verse on the track solidifies Busta's statement. Again,All three MC's held their own over the vintage track, but they definitely saved the best for last. Long Live the Kane. —JayQuan

When Jay drops a verse, it becomes an event online; pundits create videos analyzing his wordplay, pointing out possible double entendres and hidden meanings. His verse on DJ Khaled's track is no different, in fact, it has become one of his most celebrated and dissected verses, with many fans proclaiming it his best verse ever. "God Did" comes from Khaled's 13th album of the same name and features Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. Upon the release of the song's August release, Jay-Z's nearly 7 minute verse immediately dominated social media.

Hov's long time engineer Young Guru hit social media in the wake of the song's release to applaud Jay's brilliance. Guru posted two photos from the recording session with one vocal take pictured on the monitor. He has long held the position that Jay is the GOAT and he regularly breaks down Jay's verses online highlighting the double entendres and clever wordplay. "This is the first and last time I'm gonna do this," Guru captioned the post. "I could care less if you believe me when I say that he did this Khaled verse in one take." He then goes on to explain the importance of recording a verse in one take. "Let's be clear for the youth," he wrote. "Doing a song in one take is just a bonus level of talent. The song is what's important. You have to realize how much work is done before he goes in the booth."—JayQuan