Music
Not since fellow Chicago icon Kanye West’s The College Dropout in 2004 has a rapper invented a totally new aesthetic so happy, so inspirational, so kind and funny and friendly and committed to making everybody feel welcome.
Music
Sometimes genres die quickly (electroclash), sometimes they remain with us forever (teenpop). Sometimes they stop developing and get kept alive indefinitely by loyal keepers of their flame and proud denizens of their subculture.
Music
During the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2011, jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding was awarded Best New Artist, a trophy assumed earmarked for Justin Bieber (who else?), and the scandal that ensued changed the recording industry forever.
Music
What did Prince mean?
Music
The big question in hip-hop this season: which megaartiste made the superior album, Kanye West or Kendrick Lamar?
Music
First things first: Kanye West’s release strategy for his new album was a catastrophe.
Music
El Guincho's "Hiperasia," DJ Slugo's "Cocaine Music," "Star Wars Headspace," and Moodymann's "DJ Kicks."
Music
There’s never been an album quite like David Bowie’s "Blackstar" in rock & roll history.
Music
The consensus was that this former child star’s career was over; no longer in his target demographic’s age range, he found himself unable to push the same buttons as before, and was prepared to fade, slowly but honorably, from the public spotlight.
Music
Plenty of rappers are prolific in the mixtape world; in terms of sheer output, this Atlanta trap king puts even the absurdly productive Young Thug to shame.
Music
Vince Staples’s Summertime ‘06 is the hardest album to hit the rap game in a decade, maybe more.
Music
David Bowie was a legendary art hero, a hot tramp and an honorary young American and a true somebody person. He was a gifted actor who injected every role he played with flamboyant electricity, and he was always playing a role.