BBC Radio 6 Music’s Album Of The Year 2022 is… Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Published: 10:30 am, 29 November 2022

Updated: 9:47 am, 29 November 2022

6 Music – the UK’s biggest digital radio station, with a reach of 2.47 million listeners (Rajar Q3, 2022) – announces its Top 10 Albums of the Year each November. The albums are voted for by the station’s presenters and each year the list features a broad spectrum of artists, reflecting the range of music championed by the station.

6 Music’s Top 10 albums of 2022 are:

Mary Anne Hobbs, one of the many presenters who voted for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers says: “I think it’s fair to say, it’s rare that one artist can unite the whole of the 6 Music family, with our vast diversity of tastes and preferences. But Kendrick is peerless, and with ‘Mr Morale & The Big Steppers’, he’s done it.”

Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, says: “6 Music’s Albums of the Year celebrates the work of some incredible artists who have been championed by our passionate presenters across 2022. As always, 6 Music will be taking a deeper exploration of each of these fine albums throughout December. Congratulations to all of our selected artists and especially to Kendrick Lamar for his acclaimed album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.”

The multi-award-winning American rapper and songwriter rose to fame following the release of his album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment label in 2012. He has since gone on to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation. His third studio album, To Pimp A Butterfly (2015), reached Number 1 in both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK’s Official Albums Chart. He was then nominated for 11 Grammy Awards in 2016 – the most nominations received by any rap artist in a single night – and won five awards. He won a further five Grammy Awards and The Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018, following the release of his fourth studio album, DAMN. (2017). Kendrick has been nominated for a further eight Grammy Awards ahead of the 2023 ceremony in February next year, including Album of the Year for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

In celebration of the albums which have made the Top 10 this year, five special episodes of New Album Fix – 6 Music’s weekly guide to the best new releases – called New Album Fix: Albums of the Year 2022 will be live on BBC Sounds from Tuesday 29th November and broadcast on 2nd, 9th, 16th, 22nd and 29th December (3am-4am). Each episode will see Matt Everitt explore two of the Top 10 albums in depth, and hear from some of the artists who made them.

Chris Hawkins (5am-7.30am) will broadcast an Album of the Year special of his regular feature, The Remix on Friday 2nd December, featuring remixes of tracks from the Top 10 artists. On Saturday 4th December, Tom Robinson presents a special edition of Now Playing (6pm-8pm), Listeners’ Albums of the Year 2022, in which listeners are invited to share their favourite albums of the past year.

Listeners can also search “6 Music Albums Of The Year” to find a boxset of all Albums of the Year programming on BBC Sounds.

The winner of the 6 Music Album of the Year in 2021 was Little Simz’ Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021), which then won the Mercury Prize 2022. Little Simz also won the Brit Award for Best New Artist and the NME Award for Best UK Solo Act this year. Other previous Album of the Year winners include SAULT for UNTITLED (Black Is) (2020), Fontaines D.C. for Dogrel (2019) and IDLES for Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018).

6 Music’s presenters have each selected an additional favourite album of 2022, and tracks from these will be played across the daytime schedule (5am-7pm) throughout December.

The albums chosen by each 6 Music presenter are as follows: 

From today and over the coming weeks, fans can find performances, interviews and more, featuring the artists whose albums have made the Top 10 across the BBC’s platforms:

Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers will be explored in depth by Mary Anne Hobbs today (29 November, 11.30am-12.30pm). The show, In Search Of…Kendrick Lamar, will see Mary Anne – a passionate early champion of Kendrick – take a deep-dive into the album, its themes, and the impact of Kendrick’s music. The programme features contributions from producer Duval Timothy, 6 Music’s Jamz Supernova, New York DJ quest?onmarq, Jacob Lusk of gospel-soul trio Gabriels, hip-hop writer Jeff Weiss and more. Plus, Mary Anne revisits her interview with Kendrick in 2015. His Glastonbury 2022 performance is now available on BBC iPlayer here. 6 Music’s Artist Collection, broadcast on Tuesdays (12am-5am) will focus on Kendrick on the 6 December.

Yard Act will join Steve Lamacq later today (29 November, 4pm-7pm) and will return for a live session on Friday 2 December, performing tracks from The Overload as well as from artists who have influenced the album. Their performance of 100% Endurance, from The Overload, at the Mercury Prize 2022 awards show (first broadcast on BBC Four in October) can be found here.

Kae Tempest’s performance in the BBC Radio Theatre, for Mary Anne Hobbs’ show (April 2022), which featured tracks from The Line Is A Curve will be broadcast again on Wednesday 30 November within Mary Anne’s show (10.30am-1pm) and then available on BBC Sounds. Viewers can also watch Kae perform tracks from the album at Glastonbury 2022 in June here and on Later…with Jools Holland earlier this year here.

Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul join Lauren Laverne tomorrow (30 November, 7.30am-10.30am) for Social Recall – a regular feature in which a guest remembers pivotal life moments through sharing the music they loved at the time. The duo were also featured on Later…with Jools Holland in May and their performance of Ceci N’est Pas Un Cliché, from Topical Dancer can be found here.

Wet Leg’s performance at the 6 Music Festival in Cardiff, in April, is available on BBC iPlayer here. Steve Lamacq will also revisit their session, originally broadcast in October 2021, on his show later today (29 November, 4pm-7pm). Watch the duo perform in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in September here and on The Park Stage at Glastonbury 2022 here.

Warmduscher’s Maida Vale session for Marc Riley, which took place on Monday 7 November (7pm-9pm) is available on BBC Sounds here. The band’s performance of the track Fatso, from At The Hotpot, on Later…with Jools Holland (May 2022) is available here. The London-based band will also be on Lauren Laverne (7.30am-10.30am) this Friday 2 December to take part in Desert Island Disco – sharing some of their favourite tracks with listeners.

Fontaines D.C. performed a session at Maida Vale for Steve Lamacq in April listeners have another chance to hear tracks from this special performance in his show on Wednesday 30th November. Viewers can also watch the band perform tracks from their 2020 album, A Hero’s Death, for Steve’s show in the December of that year here (A Lucid Dream) and here (Televised Mind), as well as Nabokov (from Skinty Fia) at Reading Festival 2022 here.

Danger Mouse joined Matt Everitt for an in-depth interview about the moments and songs that shaped his life and career in The First Time With.. on Sunday 20 November (1pm-2pm). Craig Charles will give listeners another chance to hear his interview with Danger Mouse, first broadcast on the 8th November, in his show today (29 November).

Arctic Monkeys were interviewed by Steve Lamacq in October, ahead of the release of The Car. Alex Turner and Mat Helders of the band talked Steve through the production process and evolution of their seventh studio album. The band’s special episode of Later…with Jools Holland, broadcast earlier this month, is available on BBC iPlayer here.

Gwenno performed live in session for Cerys Matthews (Sundays, 10am-1pm) in June 2022 and listeners can hear highlights from this broadcast in Cerys’ programme on Sunday 4 December (10am-1pm). Watch Gwenno perform An Stevel Nowydh from Tresor at the Mercury Prize 2022 awards show in October, first shown on BBC Four, here.

Over the Christmas period, 6 Music welcomes Björk, Self Esteem, John Grant and Peaches to each present a Festive Takeover show from Monday 26 – Thursday 29 December (7pm-9pm). Plus, Rob Delaney presents 6 Music’s This is Us on Christmas Day (6pm-8pm). Queermas returns on Friday 23 December (9pm-12am), with artists Derrick Carter (9pm), I. Jordan (10pm) and Maya Jane Coles (11pm) each providing an hour of their perfect party soundtrack. Over the coming weeks, New Music Fix – 6 Music’s weekly guide to the best new releases – rounds up the best tracks of 2022 with special Best of the Year’s New Music playlists (Friday 2, 9, 16 and Thursday 22 and 29 December, 4am-5am).

In addition, the first episode of The Huey Show Presents: The Hip Hop Mix Tape – in which Huey Morgan brings listeners the latest underground hip hop and rap, as well as classics from the last 40 years and unheard gems from these genres is now available on BBC Sounds. Five further episodes will be broadcast weekly on Mondays (5 December – 2 January, 12am-1am).

Loyle Carner’s Artist In Residence: AAA – a special film in which he breaks down tracks from his latest album, hugo, with producer Kwes and engineer Nick Mills at Maida Vale Studios is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. From Wednesday 14th December (12am-1am), Jamie T takes over as 6 Music’s Artist in Residence, sharing the music he loves with listeners over ten weekly episodes.

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