Hip-hop

There are few people on planet Earth who can rap as fast as J Noa — and even fewer who actually have something to say. On her 2023 debut EP, Autodidactica, the 18-year-old MC from the 5 de Abril barrio in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, showcased one of the most nimble flows in rap of any language, along with a penchant for strings-laden throwback beats and a modern perspective. Beyond merely precocious, her voice carries the weight of one who’s seen some things and lived to tell about them.  The frenetic,…

Young Nudy has been a rotation mainstay for diehard fans of Atlanta rap for years. But he’s on the verge of crossover stardom after the ascent of “Peaches & Eggplants,” a delectably titled single with his cousin 21 Savage that peaked at Number Seven on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart last fall. The single from Nudy’s Gumbo album is buoyed by a pulsing, synth-driven beat and an irresistible “boaw, boaw, boaw” ad-lib that blew up on TikTok. Over the phone, Nudy says that the song’s success just might be…

Roller skating dancers at street festival, Third Ave Hub, the Bronx, 1981As a teenager, Conzo found himself at the very centre of cultural and activist movements changing the Bronx. His father was the personal confidant of Tito Puente, promoting some of the biggest salsa shows of that time; his grandmother, Evelina López Antonetty, was a community activist known as the Hell Lady of the Bronx; and Joe’s classmates at South Bronx high school were birthing the culture of hip-hop…

 Almost immediately after its founding in 1955, the Village Voice became the most raucous, irreverent and important alternative newspaper in America. At one point the Voice was the most read weekly in the country, serving as Andy Warhol put it “the entire liberal thinking world.” In her excellent new book The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture, Voice veteran Tricia Romano has compiled an oral history of the seminal alt-weekly. Romano’s…

Gunna is heading out on a North American tour dubbed The Bittersweet Tour. The trek features special guest Flo Milli opening each night, with the exception of Gunna’s festival appearance at Roots Picnic in Philadelphia on June 2. The 16-date run kicks off at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, before it winds its way through the Midwest, including stops in Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis. It then heads west to Denver, Seattle, and San Francisco before hitting southern cities and up the East Coast before…

In the past few years, gaming and creator culture have become an increasingly prominent part of the rap world. Think of the growing presence of Twitch streamers, or Ericdoa’s viral “Ninja Taper Fade” moment as an illustration of the overlapping Venn diagram between gamers and young rap fans. “Speedrunning,” a term that refers to gamers seeing how fast they can beat a particular game, has even made its way to the rap world, as young producers post videos of themselves recreating popular rap beats in record time.…

In his first single since his chart-topping fourth studio album A Gift & a Curse, Gunna lays his latest hopes and fears bare. “Bittersweet” is pensive and stripped back, with the Atlanta rapper laying stream-of-consciousness raps down over sentimental guitar and subtle percussion from producers Dystinkt Beats and 1SRAEL, the later of the the popular Philadelphia beat-smiths Working on Dying.  Gunna runs through concerns about women, former friends, and drug use throughout the song, but also notes some recent…

The Ghanaian rapper/singer calls the song — which features British singer Mabel — “art we made at our most vulnerable state” Ghanaian rapper/singer Black Sherif’s latest single “Zero” is tranquil bliss – with an edge. Mabel, who calls Swedish (with Sierra Leonean heritage) singer Neneh Cherry and British producer Cameron McVey mom and dad – joins him on the new song. Over a dreamy track punctuated by hard hip-hop drums, Blacko and Mabel meditate on healing and living drama free. While Sherif…

The Carter family made a surprise appearance at the 2024 Grammy Awards as the Recording Academy presented Jay-Z with the Global Impact Award — and Shawn Carter didn’t hold back as he tore into the ceremony’s complicated history with hip-hop and Beyoncé consistently being snubbed in the major categories. The rapper took the stage hand in hand with his daughter Blue Ivy as Beyoncé cheered them both on from the audience. At the start of his speech, he joked that his Grammy Awards used to be used as sippy cups for…

At 48, Killer Mike won three rap Grammys on Sunday and told the audience: “You cannot tell me you get too old. You cannot tell me it’s too late.” Mike won best rap album for Michael, while his song “Scientists and Engineers” won best rap performance and best rap song. On Twitter, the Recording Academy accidentally announced that Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” won best rap song, though it went to Michael‘s track, which features Andre 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane. “For all the…