Experimental hip-hop Artist To Watch Rhys Langston has teamed with the duo Pioneer 11 on a new album called To Operate This System. We heard its lead single “Amber Deception” last month, and today they’re back with a languid slow-creep called “On My Own.” Langston is in sing-song mode for most of this one. Choice […]
Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” Cover Might As Well Be AI
Last summer, I dedicated this column to talking about how a now-historic TV-to-music sync — Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” via Stranger Things season four — vaulted the famously camera-shy singer back onto the Billboard charts. That column mainly focused on “bringback culture,” or the instance of an older piece […]
Fat Tony & Taydex – “Spectacular” & “Don’t Tap In / Contusion”
Last we heard from Houston underground rapper Fat Tony, he teamed up with New York producer Blockhead on the track “I’m Thinking ‘Bout Moving,” which dropped in May. Today, Fat Tony is announcing a new album, and it has a great title: I Will Make A Baby In This Damn Economy. Produced by Taydex, it […]
Sunshine Convention – “Dawned On Me”
Sunshine Convention is the project of Brooklyn’s Jake Whitener. Like Dazy’s James Goodson, he has worked as a music publicist among other behind-the-scenes roles, and like Goodson, he’s so good at churning out ultra-catchy guitar-pop tunes that he was bound to step into the spotlight himself at some point. Over the past three years, starting […]
The Magnetic Fields Announce 69 Love Songs 25th Anniversary Tour With Full 1999 Band
In 1999, Stephin Merritt released his magnum opus. Merritt and his Magnetic Fields might’ve considered the triple-disc masterpiece 69 Love Songs to be an experiment in sentimentality and factory-style songwriting, but the songs themselves are so good that they’ve continued to resonate for the past quarter-century. In 2000, Merritt and the Magnetic Fields performed 69 […]
Video: GloRilla “Put It On Da Floor (GloMix)”
Just put it on Glo. Hot off the announcement of XXL’s Freshman Class of 2023, Memphis classmate GloRilla celebrates the occasion with her take on Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor”. Directed by Samuel Finley, the Memphis rapper puts her money on the floor and stunts effortlessly at the crib with her girls. “Put me […]
Video: Lil Tjay “June 22”
Never forget. Just one year after his shooting, Lil Tjay saves the date and relieves it on his brand new single, “June 22”. In the accompanying video, which reenacts the the near-death experience, the Bronx rapper reflects on the incident, overcoming all the mishaps that came with it, and everything else in between. “Tryna sign […]
Rap Radar Podcast: Joe Budden
Salutation, Joe Budden here! Photos: Nickie Rose Joe Budden is a podcasting pioneer. Back in 2015, he became one of the first rappers to launch a podcast. Now, nearly a decade later, the Joe Budden Podcast has expanded with a new cast, including video vixen, Melyssa Ford. With his rapping days behind him and burgeoning […]
Stream Blu Anxxiety’s Freaky New Synth-Punk Album Morbid Now, Morbid Later
There’s no easy way to categorize the New York band Blu Anxxiety. They come from the DIY punk underground, and they play shows with punk bands, but they aren’t exactly a punk band. Instead, Blu Anxxiety’s sound is a janky, disorienting, aggressive form of synthpop. At various points, Blu Anxxiety’s sound recalls early-’90s rave, lo-fi […]
Liz Phair Shares Previously Unreleased “Miss Lucy” Studio Recording For Exile In Guyville 30th Anniversary Today
It’s anniversary season for Liz Phair. This weekend, her self-titled pop crossover move turns 20, a milestone we already acknowledged with a retrospective. Today, her iconic debut album Exile In Guyville turns 30, and she’s sharing a previously unreleased outtake to celebrate. “Miss Lucy” previously appeared in demo form on the Girly-Sound Tapes, the series […]