Summer isn’t over yet and some of the most hotly anticipated albums of 2016 are still to come. This week’s shortlist of the best new releases is chock-full of preview tracks and feel-good summer jams so grab a beer, hit the patio, and press play. Bon Iver – 22 (OVER S∞∞N) After 5 years of other projects, […]
Some only remember George Watsky as the pale kid who raps fast. But to others, Watsky is much more than that. The poet, rapper, producer, social leader and now published author built his career on telling it like it is. He finds emotional common ground and plants himself there to bring things together rather than tearing […]
DJ Shadow made history 20 years ago with Endtroducing… a one of a kind instrumental hip-hop album composed entirely of samples. And while his later works never quite hit the same heights as that debut, the west coast producer has continued to deliver some of the most unique instrumental albums in the genre. Shadow doesn’t […]
Is Chance the only one who still cares about mixtapes? With three under his belt since 2012 and no sign of caving in to a label deal anytime soon, the 23 year old Chicago rapper is standing for a golden era in rap when mixtapes were a big deal and allowed artists the freedom to […]
However, the years have mostly been kind to the band. They’ve evolved and experimented with each new release and for the most part their efforts have been successful. Thom Yorke and company have also experimented with the way music is marketed and released. They did this with their name-your-price 2007 album In Rainbows, and the surprise release and atypical packaging […]
Aesop Rock has built his career on his massive vocabulary, abstract wordplay, and a talent for taking the mundane and making it sound deep and complex. Over the years, he’s experimented with his style and became more hands-on with his production. He jumped into projects with unlikely collaborators like Kimya Dawson and John Darnielle (of The Mountain Goats). He gets […]
Chance The Rapper has been in a state of constant beast mode since the release of 2013’s Acid Rap mixtape. He has been chalking up feature after feature with: Childish Gambino, Madonna, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and the list goes on. His collaborators, the Social Experiment, released one of last year’s most enjoyable summer mixtapes, Surf. Basically, Chance […]
When asked what music they like to listen to, a staggering percentage of people answer: “I listen to everything…except for rap and country.” Or, at least they did back when I used to ask that question, thinking everyone felt as strongly about music as I did. I wondered why so many people are turned off by […]
On the morning of April 20th I woke up to an exciting e-mail! Once a year, at least one e-mail like it arrives. The e-mail announced a new project by one of the longest standing and most prolific underground hip-hop artists, Blueprint. This time, the project had a surprise. There’s a special guest…Aesop Rock! Also, in what might be […]
