Kendrick Lamar Steps Off the Pedestal on ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’
On Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, renowned rapper Kendrick Lamar observes the strife plaguing his kingdom and consciously abdicates the throne.
alternative hip-hop
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of March 2022
This month’s best hip-hop traverses the spectrum with the return of a legendary group, a dreamy jazz-rap collaboration, a UK drill upstart, and industrial rap metal.
10 Years Later, Odd Future’s ‘The OF Tape Vol.2’ Is a Cringeworthy, Captivating Curiosity
Over a decade after Odd Future permanently altered the rap landscape, the group’s gleefully offensive debut shines in certain places and falters in others.
Homeboy Sandman Stays Fly and Authentic on ‘There in Spirit’
Homeboy Sandman represents the hip-hop ethos with a sound that’s not in the contemporary mainstream but not a nostalgic throwback either. He’s pure hip-hop.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of February 2022
Another packed month in hip-hop sees Saba drop a future classic, Cities Aviv create a psychedelic fantasia, and Willow Kayne make a compelling bid for stardom.
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The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021
Hip-hop and myriad mutations of electronic music are the critical contemporary cultural lenses through which we view the creation of new ideas and aesthetics.
Aesop Rock’s Overdue Blockhead Collaboration Is More Forward-Thinking Than Expected
Aesop Rock finally reunites with his longtime producer Blockhead for a hip-hop record less focused on nostalgia and more about depicting our paranoid present.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop Albums of August 2021
The ten best hip-hop albums of August 2021 reveal truths about our strange, alarming but often exciting contemporary socio-cultural landscape.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best New Hip-Hop of July 2021
These are the best hip-hop albums released this July, including new LPs from Dave, Tkay Maidza, Declaime x Madlib, Unknown T, and John Glacier.
Mike Ladd and Remi Rough Unite on ‘The Dead Can Rap’
Mike Ladd with producer Rough pulls up a wealth of succulent groove on The Dead Can Rap, nudging the think tank of his polemic poetry onto the dancefloor.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best New Hip-Hop Albums of June 2021
Summer is the best time of year to listen to hip-hop. From the upbeat and bouncy to the weird and paranoid, hip-hop just sounds better in the sunshine. That makes now the perfect time for the first edition of “Hip-Hop Matters” – PopMatters’ new monthly hip-hop roundup.