Rap
Lil Nas X and Dominic Fike Make Out in BROCKHAMPTON’s “Count On Me” Video: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T02:28:33+00:00“>April 13, 2021 | 10:28pm ET BROCKHAMPTON have released a new music video for “Count On Me”, one of the early singles from ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE. The clip stars Lil Nas X and Dominic Fike as “lovers on vacation” gone wrong. Watch it below. In the music video, directed by Dan Streit and the band’s own Kevin Abstract, Lil Nas X and Dominic Fike can be seen driving down a road in a Jeep while making jokes, talking about Radiohead, and dancing to music. When they arrive at their destination by nightfall, the two climb down to a secluded river while lightning flashes overhead and kiss on a bank. The song switches into an ambient interlude at that point a...
Kid Cudi Wears Dress on SNL in Tribute to Kurt Cobain: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-11T14:23:47+00:00“>April 11, 2021 | 10:23am ET Kid Cudi appeared as the musical on Saturday Night Live last night, where he performed a pair of songs from his 2020 album Man on the Moon III: The Chosen. Cudi’s late-night spins on “Tequila Shots” and “Sad People” will be remembered as much for the rapper’s wardrobe than the performances themselves — through both were impressive in their own right. For “Tequila Shots”, Cudi wore a T-shirt donning the image of former SNL cast member Chris Farley, while “Sad People” saw him wear a floral dress akin to the cardigan Kurt Cobain famously wore. Replay both performances below. Cudi has long expressed his admiration of Cobai...
Busta Rhymes to Release 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Coming
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-11T14:56:35+00:00“>April 11, 2021 | 10:56am ET Oh, it’s a party. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Busta Rhymes is releasing a special deluxe edition of his 1996 album The Coming, featuring remastered audio, instrumental tracks, and loads of hard-to-find remixes. The digital-only release is out April 16th via Rhino, and it’s pretty much the most elaborate version of the rapper’s debut that one could possibly imagine. The 36-song tracklist includes newly remastered versions of the original 12 tracks, previously-unreleased instrumental versions of each song, and nearly a dozen remixes of its singles “Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check” and “It’s a Party”. In fact, there are actua...
Too Soon Gone: How the Life and Music of DMX Tell a Tragically Familiar Story for Black Men
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-11T15:15:47+00:00“>April 11, 2021 | 11:15am ET “I want Black men to grow old.” While scaling out to the larger population, away from the complexities of rapper Earl “DMX” Simmons’ untimely death, television writer Camilla Blackett simultaneously managed to home in on a core understanding. For Blackett and many others, the premature loss of Simmons labors as a frightening reminder that we, Black men, do not grow old, at least not nearly enough of us. Chadwick Boseman, Charlie Murphy, Bernie Mac, Nipsey Hussle, Prince, Heavy D, George Floyd, Gerald LeVert, Tupac Shakur, Notorious BIG, Prodigy (of Mobb Deep), J Dilla, Bernard Tyson, Fred the Godson. MF DOOM. These are an exceedingly...
Song of the Week: Tkay Maidza’s “Syrup” Longs for Hot and Sticky Summer Nights to Come
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-10T20:55:49+00:00“>April 10, 2021 | 4:55pm ET 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, rapper Tkay Maidza reminds us of the fun times just around the corner. The rise of streaming has meant many things for the world of music over the past decade: the slow pull away from the power of radio and CD sales, increased accessibility to new artists, and constant questions around payment structures in this model, for starters. It also means that music is an abundance of...
R.I.P. DMX, Legendary Rapper Dead at 50
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T16:14:18+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 12:14pm ET Legendary New York rapper DMX has died following a drug overdose that led to a fatal heart attack. He was 50 years old. According to a statement released by the rapper’s family, DMX passed away Friday, April 9th. “We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50-years-old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days,” the rapper’s family said. “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless ...
BROCKHAMPTON Get Introspective on the Soul-Searching ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T16:21:05+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 12:21pm ET The Lowdown: We’re now deep into the heart of hip-hop’s psychedelic era. As modern-day rappers and producers have begun to embrace the use of psilocybin and LSD, the mind-altering effects are starting to bleed into the music. But for the same reason that shrooms are being legalized for therapeutic purposes, these drugs, if taken in the right doses and circumstances, can inspire deep reflection and serious psychological growth. Not that BROCKHAMPTON needed any help to gaze inwardly. This Texas crew opt for introspection over braggadocio and thoughtfulness over arrogance. But the tone of their sixth full-length and the subject matter wi...
DMX’s Woodstock ’99 Performance Was Nothing Short of Legendary: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T20:24:06+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 4:24pm ET You’d be hard-pressed to find a more momentous concert video than DMX’s performance at Woodstock ’99. The 50-year-old rap veteran was sadly pronounced dead earlier today after spending a week in the hospital from a drug-induced heart attack, but thousands of his fans have memorialized his name by sharing clips from the 1999 set on social media. It’s how he deserves to be remembered. Woodstock ’99 was by nearly every metric a disaster (the heat was brutal, the food and water were dangerously overpriced, the crowds were unmanageably large, and there were numerous reported sexual assaults), but DMX’s 45-minute set felt like a beam of heav...
New DMX Track “X Moves” Features Bootsy Collins, Steve Howe, and Ian Paice: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T13:54:28+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 9:54am ET As of Thursday evening, DMX is still on life support and in a vegetative state after suffering a heart attack last Friday. In a curious move, Cleopatra Records thought now was the optimal time to release a new track from the rapper called “X Moves”. The track is a rap-rock banger that happens to feature three legendary performers: Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, and Yes/Asia guitarist Steve Howe. All three of those rock icons contribute to the track’s psychedelic bounce and Collins even hops on the beat for a few bars. It’s messy in a fun way, and it’s yet another reminder of the b...
BROCKHAMPTON Return with New Album ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T03:28:06+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 11:28pm ET BROCKHAMPTON are back with their new album, ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE. The 13-track effort features a score of feature appearances, and you can stream the entire thing below via Apple Music and Spotify. ROADRUNNER comes almost two years after 2019’s GINGER — a significant gap for the Los Angeles crew that released three volumes of SATURATION in 2017 and dropped the incredible iridescence a year later. Collective leader Kevin Abstract tweeted that this would be the first of two BROCKHAMPTON LPs for 2021, and that they would be the group’s last. However, similar statements were made around SATURATION III, so perhaps we shouldn’...
Late ASAP Mob Affiliate Chynna’s New Song “burnout” Posthumously Released: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-08T21:58:17+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 5:58pm ET Late ASAP Mob affiliate Chynna is being honored in New York City today on the one-year anniversary of her tragic death at 25 from a drug overdose. A new posthumous song titled “burnout” has been released to mark the occasion. “burnout” is produced by Brooklyn producer and Pro Era member Kirk Knight. Featuring a dark, murky beat, Chynna shows off her swagger with lyrics like, “700 n-ggas getting in, it’s a turnout/ Every other n-gga couldn’t win, better learn how/ Only giving passage to my friends and my birds now.” Chynna Rogers was discovered as a teenager by late ASAP Mob co-founder ASAP Yams. Some of her early breakout songs include...
clipping. Perform Tiny Desk (Home) Concert: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-08T19:59:05+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 3:59pm ET The experimental rap trio clipping. have shared their “(Home)” version of NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, and they really took the “tiny” aspect to its most extreme point. In a typical, non-pandemic-times Tiny Desk concert, the guest artist performs an intimate set while stuffed behind desks in NPR’s actual office workspace. Throughout the coronavirus, NPR has kept the Tiny Desk institution alive by having musicians send in pre-recorded sets from their homes or studios, but clipping. decided to switch up that now-predictable format. For their contribution to the Tiny Desk Meets SXSW series, the group — rapper Daveed Diggs and...
