hip-hop
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Chance the Rapper Reveals Title, Release Date of Debut ‘Owbum’ on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
Despite mounds of evidence to the contrary, Chi-Town superhero Chance the Rapper refuses to call any of his previous releases “albums.” They’re mixtapes, dammit. He said what he said. I mean, sure. They’re all monetized, courtesy of their availability on streaming services, all have infiltrated the Billboard charts, and all feature original compositions, but were…
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‘I Am a Champion for My Brown, Dark Women’: Living Legend Missy Elliott Covers Marie Claire
Fun, fly fact: Monday marked the 22nd anniversary of Missy Elliott’s debut drop, Supa Dupa Fly. If that anniversary astounds you, it’s likely because aside from the fact that we don’t feel 22 years older (that was legit half my lifetime ago, at this point), the song, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” still slaps, proving…
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Press, Press, Press, Press, Press: Cardi’s New Music Video Is a Perfectly Timed Court Drama
The visual for “Press” is here! While I didn’t exactly bop with this song as I have her other hits, I do have to acknowledge the strategic timing of Cardi B’s video release for “Press,” which dropped one day after her arraignment hearing in connection with a 2018 strip club altercation. The 26-year-old rapper is…
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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 6: Oddisee, 'That's Love'
Oddisee is one of the hardest working artists in music. And I say music, and not just hip-hop, because his catalog is so expansive that it’s unfair to limit him to the genre he’s most well known for. And that’s if you’re familiar at all. Oddisee seems to live in that interesting space of being…
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'Exhibit C' Is Almost 10 Years Old. Jay Electronica Has Completely Squandered His Career
Illmatic, my all-time favorite debut album and one of my top-five favorite hip-hop albums of all time, celebrated its 25th anniversary April 19. Whether or not Nas ever released another classic album has been the subject of an interminable debate among hip-hop nerds; what isn’t up for debate is that Nas had a largely respectable…
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I Don't Ever Want to Try Whatever Kool-Aid Kanye West Keeps Drinking
Radical acceptance. The Serenity Prayer. “It is what it is.” That’s just a few of the myriad methods many of us employ when trying to come to grips with shit we don’t like. You didn’t get that Chrimmuh bonus you just knew you deserved? It sucks, but being unwilling to accept it isn’t going to…
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The 10 Best Hip-Hop Tracks of 2018
Just about every hip-hop critic and cognoscenti has had the same response about the amount of new music released in 2018: Too damn much. As the genre continues its dominance on streaming services, it seems like artists are in overdrive to capitalize on the moment. If you’ve been a rap fan at any point between…
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Ebro Vs. Kodak Black: Talking About Sexual Assault Is Worse Than Actually Being Charged With It, Apparently
It’s been a hell of a week to talk about male artists, sexual assault and the courtesies and praise they do or do not deserve from the media—and the public at large. It began with a debate over the “King of R&B”—a conversation which successfully highlighted how far out of their depth male R&B artists…
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Cam'ron Disses Kanye West on New Diplomats Single
Cam’ron is a lot of things. He’s a polarizing rapper, a top-flight interior decorator, and the proud owner of real estate in Bill O’Reilly’s head. Though he’s taken some Ls in his day, one thing Cam’ron rarely is? Entirely off-base. Case in point: the first verse from Dipset’s new single, “Stay Down.” Coming from Cam’ron,…