When the Satire Works and When it Doesn’t in Geto Boys Bio ‘Why Bushwick Bill Matters’
For a Geto Boys biography so concerned with Bushwick Bill’s status as a short person, Hughes’ book sure skirts the issue of embodiment.
gangsta rap
Vince Staples Is in Beautiful, Dark Limbo on New LP
With his latest album, Vince Staples mines an artistic, existential, and notably fertile limbo. It’s his most reflective and sober perspective to date.
Contemporary Urbanity and Blackness in ‘New Jack City’
Hood films are a jarring eviction notice for traditional Civil Rights rhetoric and, possibly, leadership -- in other words, "What has the Civil Rights movement done for me lately?"
Ice Cube’s ‘Death Certificate’ Soundtracked the Rodney King Era
It was during the period between the Rodney King beating and subsequent court verdict that Ice Cube cut Death Certificate, a chilling glimpse into the anger and frustration South Central Los Angelinos were feeling.
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib: Piñata
Madlib and Freddie Gibbs drop one of the best hip-hop albums in recent memory.