Makaya McCraven Brings DJing Skills to ‘Deciphering the Message’
Makaya McCraven brings his percussion and DJing skills to the Blue Note catalog for Deciphering the Message, creating a deft mix of the old with the new.
hip-hop
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 of October 2021
October’s best new hip-hop includes JPEGMAFIA, Headie One, Wiki, and The Alchemist. This eclectic bunch comprises singular, ambitious, and thrilling works.
aespa Straddle Realities on Debut EP ‘Savage’
As a nod to their AI-inspired concept, K-pop group aespa make electronic music that challenges the limits of genres and song structures in debut EP, Savage.
On Est La!: Returning to Live Music in Northern Quebec with FME 2021
The 2021 lineup of Quebec’s Festival de Musique Emergente was simply dazzling, reflecting the breadth and quality of post-millennial Canadian music.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of September 2021
These are the best hip-hop albums released this September, including new records from Little Simz, Injury Reserve, Moor Mother, and Blu.
Moor Mother Makes Accessible and Challenging Music on ‘Black Encyclopedia of the Air’
Black Encyclopedia of the Air from Philly-based poet and musician Moor Mother fuses activist hip-hop with a warm, jazzy groove and an experimental spirit.
Janet Jackson Attempted a Restart with ’20 Y.O.’ 15 Years Ago
Janet Jackson’s 20 Y.O. became emblematic of the excesses of sexism, misogyny, and racism when looking at the reach of powerful, successful white men.
25 Years of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing…..’
The tracks of DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….. are constructed from found, and often unexpected, ingredients. Digging is the key to his creative works.
Mariah Carey’s ‘Glitter’ Is One of the Best Dance-Pop Albums of the Last 20 Years
A smart, loving paean to 1980s dance-pop, post-disco, synthpop, and pop-funk, Mariah Carey’s Glitter is a brilliant work of genius released 20 years ago.
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.