Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of August 2022
August’s selection of the best hip-hop is an especially strong bunch, featuring long-awaited team-ups, debut masterclasses, and a previously-lost gem.
hip-hop
With ‘2000’ Joey Bada$$ Reminds Us He Can Still Rap
With 2000 Joey Bada$$ proves he’s just as sharp as he was when he first stepped into the rap game. He offers smart social commentary on American gun violence.
Glitch-Hop Pioneer Thavius Beck on the Beats and the Love That Inspired ‘LEO’
Glitch-hop pioneer Thavius Beck talks about Public Enemy, the Bomb Squad, and LEO, an album heavy with his baritone boom and pumping, catawampus beats.
Beyoncé’s Dance Pop ‘Renaissance’ Marks a New Era of Empowerment and Accessibility
Beyoncé’s Renaissance repackages traditional marketing and 1990s-inspired dance music, creating the ultimate combination of streaming sensibilities and feel-good anthems.
Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Is a Post-Covid Soiree and Massive PR Campaign
While Renaissance occasionally sports more style than substance, Beyoncé emerges as the re-coronated Queen of Pop and the reigning regent of eclecticism.
‘Aaliyah’: The Legacy of the Perfect R&B/Pop Record
Aaliyah’s patented brand of Black pop, a mélange of hip-hop, electropop, and soul, set the standard by which other urban-pop singers were judged and set the stage for Beyonce and Rihanna.
Lizzo Emanates Confidence and Charisma on ‘Special’
Lizzo’s Special is as much a celebration of the Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook cosmos as it is an in-person, post-Covid bacchanal.
Lizzo’s New Album Isn’t Quite As ‘Special’ As She Thinks
Special is such a disappointment because you can hear the better album Lizzo is capable of making, but she insists on cranking out one-size-fits-all empowerment jams.
Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of June 2022
Following underwhelming releases by the genre’s big hitters, this month’s column dives underground in search of the best hip-hop gems.
At Gorillaz Live 2022 (Berlin) We Dance at the End of the World Party
Modern life is rubbish and the world might really be ending but as Gorillaz’ “Dirty Harry” says, all we want to do is dance at the End of the World Party.
Big Dada Kane: An Interview with Poet-Rapper Malik Ameer Crumpler
Bestriding boundaries between hip-hop, poetry, and surrealism, poet-musician Malik Ameer Crumpler forges a strange and compelling work that is utterly and uniquely his own.
Bartees Strange Offers Sophomore Tour de Force on ‘Farm to Table’
Continuing to blend hip-hop and indie rock, Bartees Strange charts a musically agile, emotionally-charged journey through his psyche on Farm to Table.
