KCRW’s Top 30: Revel in the rise of HAAi, M.I.A., and Laura Veirs

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HAAi ascends (to number one), baby. Photo by Imogene Barron

We have been waiting for so long to have full, unfettered access to HAAi’s debut full length, “Baby, We’re Ascending,” that you may have noticed it in extra-heavy rotation on our airwaves over the past week. Then again, when an album is delivering this fully on its promise of an emotionally immersive yet intellectually grounded dance party… it’s really within everyone’s best interest to experience multiple cuts within the span of a single show. Thankfully, several of our DJs were feeling up to exactly that task.

 It’s also a thrill to see an entry from the great Habibi Funk record label debut squarely in the center of the list. And keep reading/listening for the welcome return of M.I.A., the first appearance of Laura Veirs in the lead up to her forthcoming album “Found Light,” and so much more.

Top 30 Albums (6.1.2022)

1 HAAi Baby, We’re Ascending
2 Braxe + Falcon Step By Step
3 Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
4 Sudan Archives Selfish Soul [Single]
5 Uffie Sunshine Factory
6 Kikagaku Moyo Kumoyo Island
7 Benny Sings Santa Barbara
8 Toro y Moi MAHAL
9 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs When the Lights Go
10 The Smile A Light For Attracting Attention
11 M.I.A. The One [Single]
12 Obongjayar Some Nights I Dream of Doors
13 Captain Planet Moqueca (Feat. Zuzuka Poderosa & Raphael Futura [Single]
14 J.Rocc A Wonderful Letter
15 Ferkat Al Ard Oghneya
16 KH Looking At Your Pager [Single]
17 Automatic Excess
18 Monophonics Sage Motel
19 Marco Benevento Benevento
20 Superorganism World Wide Pop
21 Jorge Drexler Tinta y Tiempo
22 Helado Negro Yo No Estoy Aquí [Single]
23 Andrew Bird Inside Problems
24 Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento
25 Santigold High Priestess [Single]
26 Laura Veirs Found Light
27 The Bongo Hop La Ñapa
28 El Michels Affair Kahbi (Feat. Piya Malik) [Single]
29 Danielle Ponder Some of Us Are Brave
30 Cola Deep in View