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Best New Tracks: Killer Mike, Gunna, Earl Sweatshirt and 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 lineup is led by Killer Mike, Gunna and Earl Sweatshirt, who dropped MICHAEL, A Gift & A Curse and a visual for "Making The Band (Danity Kane)," respectively. Also joining this selection are fresh offerings from Mount Kimbie, Queens of the Stone Age, Saucy Santana with Flo Milli, KennyHoopla, Kiana Ledé, Black Sherif and ((( O ))).Killer Mike - MICHAELKiller Mike delivers his first solo full-length effort in 11 years, MICHAEL. The 14-track record features CeeLo Green, Mozzy, Young Thug, 6LACK, Eryn Allen Kane, Jagged Edge, André 3000, Future, Ty Dolla $ign, Curren$y, 2 Chainz, Kaash Paige, Blxst, Fabo, fellow Run The Jewels partner El-P and thankug...
A New Book Invites Fans to Remember the Mixtapes Shaping Hip-Hop’s Golden Era
The past two decades of hip-hop music have been well-documented, thanks to social media and streaming platforms. Today, anyone with internet access can essentially tap into a database of their favorite rapper’s discography, from leaked Young Thug demos passed around on the infamous KayneToThe forum to grainy videos of Odd Future’s first-ever performances as a newly-formed ragtag rap collective. In short, contemporary artists’ catalogs — even the most obscure corners — are subject to a ubiquitous immortalization that can only exist somewhere as boundless as the Internet.Look back a decade or two further though, and hip-hop’s history begins to get a little murkier. As we continuously upload and archive contemporary music in real-time, the early days of the genre are gradually fading from mem...
Catching Up With Stormzy, Grime’s Golden Child
“I have no idea how I’ve gotten here.”This is the typically grounded response that Stormzy, real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, gave Hypebeast when questioned on how he’s achieved his stratospheric level of success.The rapper – who is currently settling down after releasing his third studio album, This Is What I Mean – has become a mainstay in British music, using his grime roots and passion for writing to articulate the environment he grew up in, his relationship with God, and his tricky (and sometimes public) experiences with love.When Stormzy came into the rap game, he offered something new. 2013 was a year packed with competitiveness in the grime scene following its fresh rebirth and Big Mike’s Wicked Skengman series made the rapper become the new kid on the block.He used ...
Through the Lens: WHTMAKESYOU?
Gugzay is the UK director and photographer behind ‘What Makes You’, a project distilling the duality of human emotion through intimate polaroids. If there was one word that underpins Gugzay, full name Gurinder Singh Kumar, and his work it’s “vulnerability”.This approach to his craft began when Gugzay was given a prognosis that lead him to believe his life was going to be brought to a sudden halt. Met with a situation where doctors thought he didn’t have long left, Gugzay was propelled to seize the day and make a difference with his craft since starting in 2019.“It’s something that still lives with me right now. It just taught me that even when you’re young, life can come at you at any moment, and time isn’t promised,” he tells Hypebeast, “Every day we wake up is truly another chance.”Since...
Alex John Gets Real About PR in the Music Industry
Before Alex John even thought about starting a career in the music industry (and well before she rose to her current role as a Director of Publicity at RCA Records) she had a deep passion for the art form. Suburban Detroit wasn’t exactly an environment that made music feel like a realistic career choice, but she dove into the business out of love, creating and selling mix CDs in high school and eventually starting her own music blog a few years later. Eventually, her passion for music won out: she went to college for a “more typical career path,” but spent a large chunk of her two years there wishing she was doing something in music — and wound up striking a deal with her family, where they’d support her pursuit if she could make it work on her own. “That ended up being the best decision I...
Doug DeMuro Embraces the V12 Engine, and Is Hopeful of a Future With Them
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life;" there's evidence of this throughout a lot of industries, within a lot of circles. For us, we think Doug DeMuro is the perfect embodiment of this proverb.Chances are if you're into cars and have ever typed in any car make and model into Youtube, you'll come across a car review by the famous Doug DeMuro. But in case you haven't, here are some stats: 4.6 million subscribers, over 1,000 videos, with each measuring in the millions of views. Millions, each. The key to his success is a strict formula of rich story-telling, an educational approach to enthusiast cars and details, details, details – or, as he puts it, 'quirks and features.' Doug has no signs of slowing down his content and his Internet stardom has thus spaw...
Twitter Was Evicted From Its Colorado Office and Reddit’s CEO Addressed the Blackout in This Week’s Tech Roundup
This week, the tech industry watched on as Reddit experienced one of its biggest protests to date. Following the company’s announcement that it would begin charging third-party developers for API access, thousands of popular subreddits went private in protest. Elsewhere in the industry, Twitter was evicted from its office in Boulder, Colorado, after failing to pay rent for three months.On the product side, Google delivered some new features in this month’s system update for its Pixel smartphone. C SEED, meanwhile, showed off its $233,000 USD, futuristic 165-inch screen outdoor TV.Below, Hypebeast has rounded up the top tech stories of the week so you can stay up to date on trends in the industry.Google’s Pixel Smartphone Rolled Out Hands-Free Photos, 3D Wallpapers and MoreGoogle is continu...
Essentials: Max Verstappen
For the latest installment of Essentials, Hypebeast sits down with Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen to chat through his race day essentials.At just 25 years old, the Red Bull driver, known for his drive and passion on the track, is already a two-time world champion and is on track to win his third consecutive title. Verstappen was just 17 years old when he entered the world of Formula 1, making him the youngest driver to ever compete in a Grand Prix. Today, he’s considered one of the drivers to beat as he leads the Driver's Championships and shows no signs of slowing down.From his passport to his portable WiFi router, the Dutch driver gives us a closer look at everything he needs with him when he’s on the road. Follow along as we take a deeper dive into his picks.What's something th...
5 Things You Might Not Know About Wes Anderson
As we patiently await the release of Asteroid City, Wes Anderson's his 11th feature film which premieres later this month, we take some time to dive into the colorful life and legacy of the film director who has helped shape our world for the better through his unique lens.Before the recent wave of edits and AI renderings seen on TikTok and Instagram that attempt to romanticize ordinary activities in his signature style, the director had already established himself as a household name and captured a passionate following through his inventive and instantly recognizable films including The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs. Influencing spheres far beyond what he could have imagined, from Tyler The Creator's Call Me If You Get Lost album to an active "Accidentally Wes Anderson" community ...
Inside ‘Secret Invasion’: Everything to Know Before Its Debut
The fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is in full swing with the films Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 having already been released. Adding to the madness, Secret Invasion is set to arrive as the phase’s first show. Broken up into six lengthy episodes, the thriller centers around Nick Fury’s return to Earth and the chaos that is brewing there.Previously, Nick Fury welcomed the Skrull -- a reptilian-humanoid race of shapeshifters -- as refugees fleeing genocidal war. Now, Fury and his team have realized that a rebel group of Skrull are plotting to exterminate the human race by infiltrating positions of power with their shapeshifting. In the process of investigating this impending doom for humanity, Fury becomes a wanted man and has to rel...
Mario Klingemann Creates A.I.C.C.A Robotic Pooch That Poops Out Receipts of Art Critiques
In the midst of all the doomsday prophecies about robots and AI taking over the world, let's take a moment to appreciate the lighter side of artificial intelligence. Who wouldn't be thrilled by a cute, artificially intelligent puppy that not only wags its tail but also poops out art critiques in the form of receipts?Meet A.I.C.C.A. (Artificially Intelligent Critical Canine), the latest creation unveiled by Mario Klingemann, a renowned German artist and pioneer in AI art. Debuting at Madrid's Colección SOLO, this robotic terrier is not your ordinary pet; it's a performative sculpture that dives into the worlds of art, technology, and artificial intelligence through uncanny live performances. The pup isn't just a spectator; it's here to initiate discussions about the criteria, criticism, and...
Rochelle Balogun Went From Building a Covetable Napster Account To Amazon Music’s Senior Music Curator
Growing up in an immigrant, multicultural home meant that Rochelle Balogun and her sister were introduced to a diverse array of music. Balogun grew to love music so much, in fact, that she spent her free time digging for underground tracks and building one of the most enviable Napster accounts of the noughties — foreshadowing her future career as one of Amazon Music’s Senior Music Curators.Now, almost five years into her role, Balogun curates R&B, Afrobeat as well as hip-hop. She works with several teams, both internal and external, to provide Amazon Music subscribers with intricately-constructed playlists that aim to provide an educational listening experience. With so many moving parts involved, she’s been intentional about fine-tuning her organization, communication and time managem...
