Freddie Gibbs has been on a famous rapper roller coaster since he put out his first mixtape in 2010—a journey marked with decadent twists, dizzying heights, and equally terrifying descents. Public beefs with big-name artists, moments as a media darling, well-received acting roles (including the lead in last year’s Down With the King), and acquittal […]
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Summer Walker’s songs invite you to learn from their missteps in love
After the breakout success of Summer Walker’s 2019 debut album, Over It, the Atlanta singer-songwriter continued its saga of betrayals and learned lessons with their 2021 follow-up, Still Over It (LVRN/Interscope). The cleaning technician turned songbird fearlessly plumbs the truth in every heartbreak through somber, grappling melodies. On their second album, they continue this approach […]
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Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco combine their distinctive styles for the whimsically joyful Muddbruddas
I’m thankful for the first full-length collaboration between Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco, the new Muddbruddas (Empire). Its mere existence takes a wrecking ball to the tired cliche that the local scene is split into two camps, “drill” and “alternative hip-hop,” that are isolated from each other’s sound and influence. When Chief Keef kicked […]
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Northwest Indiana rapper Vince Ash samples hip-hop history for a distinctly heavy style
Vince Ash hails from Hammond, Indiana, but at age 23 he already raps like he’s lived lifetimes in some of the country’s most storied hip-hop scenes. On his new EP, Vito (POW Recordings), he braids west-coast G-funk storytelling with humid Memphis instrumentals—the title track coalesces around a stuttering sample of iconic southern crew Three 6 […]
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Englewood’s F.A.B.L.E. brings his charming warmth and vigor to Chicago’s bustling hip-hop ecosystem
Englewood multi-instrumentalist, engineer, and rapper Christopher Horace started releasing solo recordings a little more than two years ago. He released his first mixtape, February 2018’s Exodus, under the name Nephset, but since then he’s been performing and recording as F.A.B.L.E., which stands for Finally a Black Life Explained. For a year or so now, Horace […]
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Blu & Exile explore history, time, and influence on Miles: From an Interlude Called Life
Since 2007, Los Angeles rapper Blu has dispensed more than a dozen albums indebted to hip-hop’s golden age, and on his releases with producer Exile, his garrulous style finds a firm footing. The duo’s third effort, the double disc Miles: From an Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science), spans the globe and the history of the […]
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Chicago rap star Polo G stands firm on his peak with The Goat
Chicago rapper Taurus Bartlett, better known as Polo G, rose to national prominence so quickly that new listeners could be forgiven for assuming he’s been a star for at least a few years. He broke out in January 2019 with “Pop Out,” a collaboration with New York MC Lil Tjay, where Bartlett mixes irrepressible joy […]
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Harvey rapper Ty Money bids adieu to the career-defining mixtape series Cinco de Money
On May 5, Harvey rapper Ty Money released the fifth and final entry in his career-defining mixtape series, Cinco de Money, which he launched in 2015. Each volume has showcased what makes Money stand out: his vivid narratives of street life, freighted with pathos, delivered in a rush of syllables that cuts through the instrumentals […]
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Saint Louis rapper-singer Smino re-creates the fun of classic hip-hop mixtapes on She Already Decided “Mixtape”
When rapper-singer Smino self-released She Already Decided on April 20, he added “Mixtape” in scare quotes to the title on Soundcloud. In doing so, the Saint Louis native provided a sly history lesson for young listeners who’ve only ever referred to full-lengths as “projects.” A decade ago, hip-hop mixtapes provided a way for rappers to […]
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Chicago drill icon Lil Durk leans into his melancholy on Just Cause Y’all Waited 2
Chicago rapper Lil Durk dropped his debut mixtape nearly nine years ago, and he’s since matured into one of drill’s most consistent, influential, and successful artists. His four previous major-label full-lengths have all peaked in the top 50 of the Billboard 200, including August’s Love Songs 4 the Streets 2, which debuted at number four. […]
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Rapsody shows why she belongs in hip-hop’s pantheon with Eve
Hip-hop has welcomed a platoon of talented emerging artists over the past five years or so, but few exhibit their love for the art of rapping quite like North Carolina’s Marlanna Evans, better known as Rapsody. In the late 2000s, she formed a crucial bond with star producer 9th Wonder, who signed her to his […]
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Versatile London rapper Kojey Radical veers into funk on Cashmere Tears
London rapper Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, aka Kojey Radical, worked in a variety of artistic mediums before trying his hand at music. Beginning at age ten, he spent nine years training as a dancer; he wrote poetry; and he graduated from the London College of Fashion with a BA in fashion illustration. He didn’t begin […]
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Rapbrarian Roy Kinsey finds his voice in queer hip-hop
With his next album, Roy Kinsey wants to make the music he wishes he’d heard as a young queer man of color.
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Danny Brown is back with a record that combines all of his past personas into one
Danny Brown’s sophomore album, 2011’s XXX, put him on the map—its Adderall- and molly-fueled hyperdrive take on hip-hop merged head-rattling Detroit-techno-flavored production with Brown’s larger-than-life, vulgar-as-hell, over-the-top persona. His relentless, almost cartoonlike rapping helped him make his name, but he’s calmed down a bit over his subsequent albums: 2013’s Old showcases introspective lyrics on its […]
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Houston rapper Maxo Kream excavates his past for one of 2019’s best hip-hop releases
Few rappers sound as comfortable with introspection as Houston’s Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Jr., aka Maxo Kream. Even the title of his recent second album, Brandon Banks (RCA/Big Persona/88 Classic), references his troubled past: his father, Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Sr., ran scams under that name and spent much of Maxo’s childhood serving time on fraud charges. […]