FEATURES
We Need to Talk About Spotify
In late January, Neil Young issued an ultimatum to Spotify in response to The Joe Rogan Experience’s willful platforming of vaccine misinformation—resulting in Young’s catalog’s swift takedown from the streaming service. His critique quickly snowballed, with other notable artists removing their own music in protest of Spotify’s profit off Rogan’s message via an exclusive, $100 million-dollar deal—including Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and india.arie (who significantly noted Rogan’s “language around race”). Music fans en masse showed their support, opting to #DeleteSpotify and contributing to a company market loss reported between $2.1 billion to $4 billion—meaning an estimated $1 billion plummet in net worth for founder and CEO Daniel Ek due to his stake in the ...
Andy Biersack Can’t Believe the Bengals Are in the Super Bowl
Editor’s note: For the past three years, I’ve asked artists to predict the NFL season for their favorite team. Every year, Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides has been a participant. If we want to roll back the clock even more, the whole “predict the season for your team” idea came from a conversation I had with Andy in 2017. At the time, both of our respective teams were teetering. We were both cautiously optimistic things would turn around. Only one of our teams (his) has gone to the Super Bowl since. Thus, since Andy has been there since day one, I figured we’d open the floor to him about one of the best stories in recent NFL memory: the Cincinnati Bengals. (Courtesy of Andy Biersack) I still feel like it’s a dream. Like I was two weeks old, a little less than two weeks old, the last tim...
Why We’ll Never Stop Talking About NBC’s Smash
An important thing to remember about Smash is that when it premiered, 10 years ago today, the NBC musical drama was supposed to be capital-G Good. We’re talking “awards contender” Good. “All star cast” Good. “Executive produced by Steven Spielberg” Good. Sadly, that didn’t ultimately align with what we got, which was two seasons of the messiest yet ultimately most fascinating broadcast drama of the 2010s — maybe even the 21st century so far. The thing about Smash is, if it had been a total failure, it wouldn’t still occupy space in our mental real estate. But there were just enough glimmers of good TV, aligned with some moments of pure brilliant camp and what is legitimately a top-tier original soundtrack, to ensure its place in television history. Perhaps you missed Smash when it original...
EDM.com Reveals Class of 2022
EDM.com has revealed its official Class of 2022 list. The Class isn’t an index of promising SoundCloud beatmakers or a mundane “artists to watch” list. It’s a list of 10 musicians with transformative skill sets who are on the precipice of changing the fabric of electronic music as we know it. Through their workhorse-like mentalities and defiance of industry standards, these groundbreaking artists have already proven their volcanic potential in the electronic dance music scene—and now they’re ready to erupt. Over the course of 2022, we’ll be publishing a wide range of special content in partnership with the Class. This includes guest mixes, interviews, and Instagram takeovers with behind-the-scenes footage and sneak peeks at new music, among other exclusi...
Guns N’ Roses’ 10 Best Songs
Despite being overtly influenced — both musically and visually — by heavyweights like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Hanoi Rocks, and Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses have always had a sound all their own. As with many seminal genre acts, the key to their success is the distinctive dynamic between their vocalist (Axl Rose) and guitarist (Slash); that said, many other members — namely, drummers Steven Adler and Matt Sorum; bassist Duff McKagan, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed — played important parts, too. Together, they became arguably the biggest hard rock band of their generation. Guns N’ Roses debut album, Appetite for Destruction, launched their career in a colossal way in 1987. Thirty-five years later, it remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. The band would foll...
Rap Song of the Week: Actually, Megan Thee Stallion’s Branded Cheetos Song “Flamin’ Hottie” Is Kind of Good
Our recurring feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the hip-hop songs you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Megan Thee Stallion secures the bag with “Flamin’ Hottie.” Considering Megan Thee Stallion’s complicated record label situation, the H-Town Hottie is hardly bringing in the money that she should be for an artist of her stature. So no one begrudged her for teaming up with Popeyes last year, and now she’s partnered with Frito-Lay to promote Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (leaving Lil Xan in shambles) and Doritos. Later this month, Meg will be starring in a Super Bowl commercial alongside Charlie Puth, but today she’s given fans an idea of what to expect with “Flamin’ Hottie.” Meg at least put in more than a minimal effort into making the branded track...
Song of the Week: Red Hot Chili Peppers Welcome Us To a “Black Summer”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, the Red Hot Chili Peppers signal the arrival of their new era with the triumphant “Black Summer.” From the first warm tones of the guitar, two things are clear: Red Hot Chili Peppers are back, and John Frusciante has rejoined the legendary rockers. “Black Summer” marks the Chili Peppers’ first single since 2016’s lackluster The Gateway, and with Frusciante back, they sound renewed and refreshed. His signature guitar sound is heavily highlighted on “Black Summer,” linking perfectly with Flea’s energetic bass work and stepping out f...
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours: Still Flawless at 45
As Fleetwood Mac prepared to make its 11th album — and second with its latest lineup — in 1976, it was on top of a world that was falling apart. The group’s self-titled 1975 release, its first with new American members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, had revived the veteran British band’s flagging fortunes. It was certified seven times platinum and gave Fleetwood Mac its first No. 1 album in the U.S., spawning three Top 20 hits. The group was top of the pops, quite literally. But the quintet wasn’t quite able to bask in its success. All hell broke loose, also quite literally, between albums. Buckingham and Nicks, a couple when they joined Fleetwood Mac, broke up. Singer-keyboardist Christine McVie and bassist John McVie ended their eight-year marriage. Drummer Mick Fleetwood and his w...
Best New Tracks: Saba, Nicki Minaj x Lil Baby More
As the week in music comes to a close, HYPEBEAST has rounded up the best projects for the latest installment of Best New Tracks. This week’s list is led by releases from Saba and Nicki Minaj x Lil Baby who dropped the new album Few Good Things and the single “Do We Have A Problem?” respectively. Also joining this selection are offerings from Nardo Wick, BEAM, Obongjayar, Mitski and 2 Chainz, along with collaborations from Griselda titans Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher and Westside Gunn, Queen Naija and Big Sean and $NOT and A$AP Rocky. Nicki Minaj x Lil Baby – “Do We Have A Problem?” [embedded content] Nicki Minaj enlisted Lil Baby for her first release of the year, “Do We Have A Problem?” The single marks the pair’s second collaboration following “Bussin,” which the Young Mone...
Panda Bear on Animal Collective’s Unceasing “River of Creation,” Eleven Albums In
It’s been nearly six years since Animal Collective released Painting With, their tenth studio album — but according to Noah Lennox (AKA Panda Bear), the time flew by. Each member of AnCo is immensely collaborative, constantly working on projects either in a solo capacity or with other members of the band. And now, on Friday (February 4th), Animal Collective are gearing up to release the gorgeous, captivating Time Skiffs. It’s their eleventh (!) studio album, and one of their finest to date. Time Skiffs was initially hyped to be something akin to 2007’s Strawberry Jam (which turns 15 years old this year), but upon listening, there’s an ease with which Animal Collective can pull off the most complicated and intricate patterns. On the album are meditations on growing older and parenthood...
Murderville: How They Made Will Arnett’s Wild Improvised Cop Comedy for Netflix
The premise for Netflix’s new semi-unscripted comedy Murderville isn’t actually that hard to explain, on the surface: Each episode, shot in the style of a classic police procedural, features a new mystery being investigated by a tough mustachioed cop (Will Arnett) and his trainee partner. The catch is that said trainee is a celebrity, and they don’t have any idea what’s going on, because only Arnett and the other actors have the script. This leaves famous folks like Season 1 guest stars Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch, Kumail Nanjiani, Annie Murphy, Sharon Stone, and Ken Jeong to improv their way towards solving the case — which they may or may not do correctly. If that sounds complicated to you, showrunner Krister Johnson (Medical Police) would agree. “I certainly had never figured this out...
Erin Rae Breaks Down Her New Album Lighten Up Track by Track: Exclusive Stream
For our Track by Track feature, artists open up about the stories behind each song on their latest album. Today, Erin Rae takes us track by track through her new album, Lighten Up. After releasing her debut effort, Putting on Airs, in 2018, Erin Rae was living as the troubadours do. She spent the years between that release and the start of the pandemic on the road and, like any other artist, found that life come to a screeching halt. On Friday, February 4th, she’ll return with her new album, Lighten Up, an appropriate title both for our times and for the album. This latest collection is an amalgam of dreamy, psychedelic country, indie-rock, and believably vintage folk. Thematically, too, the album is a bit like an old kaleidoscope — social commentary and musings on gender equality mor...
