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.
On Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, renowned rapper Kendrick Lamar observes the strife plaguing his kingdom and consciously abdicates the throne.
April’s best hip-hop contains swathes of brilliance from modern masters, cult legends, upstarts, and veterans, including Digga D, Vince Staples, and Pusha T.
In 1997, you could call Love Jones a small, curious drama that won many critics over. Today, it stands as a cornerstone of Black narrative in cinema.
Any parent interested in American roots music will be delighted by Aaron Nigel Smith and Red Yarn’s Smith & Yarn, an album so charming that children will enjoy it too.
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.
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 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.
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.
From piloting the transcendent rhythms of house music with Quentin Harris on Heroes & Gods 2.0 to conquering music industry politics, R&B trailblazer Rahsaan Patterson thrives in his own groove.
Looking at Rina Sawayama, Azealia Banks, Charli XCX, and Kim Petras’ rise and fall in the charts one wonders – does gay fandom help pop divas’ careers?
K-pop group ONEUS talk with PopMatters about taking traditional Korean music, Gugak, and mixing it with hip-hop and electronic music to wow fans on their US tour.