rap

Lil Yachty: Teenage Emotions
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/Reviews

Lil Yachty: Teenage Emotions

By
 / 1 August 2017
Yachty’s loose rudder on Teenage Emotions causes him to lose his bearings as he only half commits to “capturing all aspects of teenagers” while the other half boasts of a life unrelatable to most.
Meek Mill: Wins & Losses
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/Reviews

Meek Mill: Wins & Losses

By
 / 31 July 2017
Meek Mill returns to music after a difficult year. WIns & Losses promises much in offering a mature reflection on these experiences and his evolution as a man and artist.
Deep Soul Diving: Jahshua Smith Deconstructs ‘The 4th Wall’
Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Interviews/Music

Deep Soul Diving: Jahshua Smith Deconstructs ‘The 4th Wall’

By
 / 24 July 2017
Smith's music is balanced on a sagacious tip, where he examines the rigmaroles of daily life through the Afrocentric prism of dialogue and debate.
Dope Opera: Azeem Talks with PopMatters About His West Coast Hip-Hop Classic, ‘Garage Opera’
Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Interviews/Music

Dope Opera: Azeem Talks with PopMatters About His West Coast Hip-Hop Classic, ‘Garage Opera’

By
 / 12 July 2017
In 1999, Azeem recorded his underground classic Garage Opera, hip-hop's equivalent of garage rock.
2 Chainz: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/PopMatters Picks/Reviews

2 Chainz: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music

By
 / 28 June 2017
2 Chainz cashes in on his elder statesman status on one of the best rap albums of 2017. He proves that there is a path to aging gracefully as an MC by embracing trends but preserving his own unique, off-kilter sensibility.
Black Milk Gives ‘Em ‘Hell’
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/Sound Affects

Black Milk Gives ‘Em ‘Hell’

By
 / 8 June 2017
Much of If There's a Hell Below's themes relay anxieties buried deep, manifested as sound when they are unearthed.
Callback to the Future: Maestro Gamin on the Miracles and Medicines of His Latest EP
Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Interviews/Music

Callback to the Future: Maestro Gamin on the Miracles and Medicines of His Latest EP

By
 / 18 May 2017
Maestro Gamin’s latest venture with producer Books One, Miracle Work Medicine, sees a return to Daisy Age hip-hop.
A7PHA: A7PHA
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/Reviews

A7PHA: A7PHA

By
 / 20 March 2017
Alt-rap veterans Doseone and Mestizo combine for A7PHA's debut record, an experimental album that will challenge and bemuse many listeners but remains deeply original and technically fantastic.
New Gen: New Gen
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/PopMatters Picks/Reviews

New Gen: New Gen

By
 / 10 March 2017
As the mainstream gradually catches up and embraces grime, New Gen delivers an exciting insight into the next wave of artists breaking through.
Run the Jewels: Run the Jewels 3
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/PopMatters Picks/Reviews

Run the Jewels: Run the Jewels 3

By
 / 2 February 2017
Run the Jewels 3 is the sound of one hip-hop's most significant groups channeling their feelings of frustration, alienation, and rage into a radical call to arms.
Emanon: Dystopia
Featured: Top of Home Page/Music/PopMatters Picks/Reviews

Emanon: Dystopia

By
 / 12 December 2016
DJ Exile and Aloe Blacc cook up a politically infused storm on their first hip-hop release in 10 years.
Maestro Gamin and Books One – “Future Calling” (audio)
Featured: Top of Home Page/Mixed Media/Music

Maestro Gamin and Books One – “Future Calling” (audio)

By
 / 29 November 2016
Alongside producer Books One, rapper Maestro Gamin offers yet another dose of speaker medicine with "Future Calling".