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When I sit down with Danny Brown in his makeshift greenroom before his Brooklyn listening party and panel event, he often pivots into his higher-pitched “rapping” voice. If you’re unfamiliar, the rapper toggles between a high pitch and a lower-pitched tone throughout his music; the former is reserved for unserious, more playful, light topics, whereas the latter is saved for the serious stuff, a lot of which relates to drug use, abuse, and its resulting side effects.He sounds content. He seems at peace.It’s two days before the release of Stardust, his seventh studio album, long-awaited, long-form foray into hyperpop, and his first full batch of music written since going to rehab in 2023. His time in rehab was when now fully sober Brown got really into hyperpop, using his half-hour of daily ...

STRAY KIDS leader and solo artist Bang Chan has made his mark as a creative ambassador, writing and producing an original single, “Roman Empire,” exclusively for the luxury fashion house Fendi. The track is a passionate solo debut that translates the luxury brand's Roman heritage into a modern pop anthem, fusing K-pop influence with high-end Italian craftsmanship.The song’s concept compares the intensity of love to the eternity and grandeur of the Roman Empire. Bang Chan confirmed he wove symbols of the Maison—such as the iconic Peekaboo bag and the signature ‘F’ logo—directly into the lyrics, reinterpreting Rome's legacy in a contemporary way. Sonically, the track features smooth, emotional R&B vocals layered over a driving Miami Bass beat.The music video, which doubles as a cinematic...

The removal of Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "luther" from the Billboard Hot 100 chart has reignited the heated debate of rap's decline in 2025. The conversations are unsurprising when this is the first time in over 35 years that there's not a single rap song in the Top 40. Its eviction (and I use that word deliberately) from the Hot 100 is a direct result of Billboard's newest Top 40 rule changes, which states that songs need to reach a certain chart position after a number of weeks, or it'll get booted.The exit of "luther" reignites the contentious debate of rap's commercial decline in 2025. While this theory is supported by specific, quantifiable metrics that are viewed separately, are these commercial stress points accurate indicators of creative exhaustion or cultural failure?To clarify, t...

Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts have wrapped up their first solo concert in Hong Kong. Comprised of three-time rap battle champion R-Shitei and 2019 DMC World DJ Champion DJ Matsunaga, the pairing is a deadly combination of two masters in their respective fields. The stage in Hong Kong’s Kitty Woo Stadium didn't host a mere concert; it ignited an eclectic hip-hop carnival. Despite the intimate, packed venue and the inevitable language barrier, the energy within the concert hall was electric right from the start. Kicking off the show with "22nd year of junior high school," the opening track of their latest album, LEGION, the duo set an immediate standard for a high-octane night.The intensity immediately ramped up as they launched into a succession of high-energy tracks, moving seamlessly f...