The top 21 Atlanta-centric soul songs of 2021

The Black Bettys (photo courtesy of the band)

This year, COVID-19 once again managed to throw a monkey wrench in life on planet Earth — but lucky for us, creative people around the world have continued to make art in spite of the fuckery. Atlanta’s community and extended family of soul artists, in particular, cranked out a ton of dope songs over the past 365 days. So we thought it’d be fitting to offer up our favorite cuts from the bevy of tunes released in 2021 that were crafted by locally based singers/musicians, as well as esteemed alumni from the city. Check out our list, organized in no particular order, below.

Jada Nycole Ellise: “Old Redford”

Flwr Chyld x Sebastian Mikael: “Lucky Me”

The Black Bettys: “U Belong 2 Me”

Van Hunt: “Peachfuzz”

Cortney LaFloy: “My Sister”

Jermaine Hardsoul: “Every Other Day”

India Shawn: “Don’t Play With My Heart”

Tasha LaRae: “Right Now”

Zepherin Saint x Miranda Nicole: “Shine”

Mereba: “Rider”

Mausiki Scales: “Kaleidoscopic Universe (Daz-I-Kue Remix)”

Carmen Rodgers: “No Good”

Tori Alamaze: “So Dope”

Water Seed: “Rest of My Life (featuring Saint Mercedes)”

Daz-I-Kue + Jill Rock Jones: “Tell The Story (Vocal Mix)

The APX: “Lucid Dream 2.0”

Nai Br.XX: “SOS”

Yael Santé: “Don’t Take Me Home”

Kareen Lomax: “Get Right”

Shaleyah: “Natural”

Arrested Development: “Vibe ( featuring Big Daddy Kane, Cleveland P Jones + Tasha LaRae, produced by Configa)”