When Kanye West was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2010, Elon Musk, who wrote the blurb about the rapper-producer-designer, noted that he “fought for his place in the cultural pantheon with a purpose.” Of all his varied talents, arguably West’s most useful one has been …
Read More »Bad Bunny: The Four-Billion-Stream Man Leading the Latin Trap Explosion
The chants started early, ricocheting through the ornate United Palace Theater in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood: “Conejo! Malo! Conejo! Malo! Conejo! Malo!“ It means “Bad Bunny,” and it was the very first headlining tour of the United States for the Puerto Rican singer-rapper born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. Though it …
Read More »Juicy J Talks 'Slob on My Knob,' the Most Influential Rap Song of 2018
“The song never got no radio play ’til now,” says Juicy J of “Slob on My Knob”: He released it about 25 years ago, but his voice couldn’t really be heard rapping it until a recent appearance on a remix of G-Eazy‘s “No Limit.” “It was always an underground song, …
Read More »Review: Lil Yachty a Better Crooner Than Rapper on 'Lil Boat 2'
Lil Yachty‘s 2016 debut and New Atlanta classic Lil Boat gave rise to a cherubic pop gamine with Twizzler-colored hair beads and a candy-coated Auto-Tune voice. But on its lesser sequel, the kid whose otherworldly Eeyore-ish melodies sparked hit appearances with Billboard champs like Calvin Harris and D.R.A.M. is mostly …
Read More »Hear DJ Khaled's New Song 'Top Off' With Jay-Z, Beyonce, Future
DJ Khaled recruits a superstar trio – Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Future – for the producer’s latest single “Top Off,” the first single of Khaled’s upcoming album Father of Asahd. Jay-Z‘s verse features references to the imprisoned Meek Mill, the late Prince and Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman. “I do the …
Read More »See T-Pain Run Away With the Bride in New 'May I' Video
T-Pain portrays a wedding singer who leaves the nuptials with more than a paycheck in his new video for “May I” featuring Mr. Talkbox. Written and edited by T-Pain and co-directed with G Visuals, the black-and-white clip opens innocently enough with scenes at the church and at the reception, where …
Read More »Inside Latin Trap, the Viral Sound Too Hot for American Radio
In 2015, Jorge Fonseca, a veteran A&R for Sony Music Latin, made a trip to Puerto Rico in search of new sounds. “When you go to the island, the streets speak to you,” he tells Rolling Stone. “You hear the kids with the cars, and they tell you what’s happening.” …
Read More »G-Eazy Enlists Jadakiss for Lush New Song 'Get a Bag'
G-Eazyteams withJadakissfor his atmospheric new single, “Get a Bag,” one of four new songs the Oakland rapper released Thursday. The MCs alternate between career boasts, religious pleas and familial praise on the lush track.“My number one is making sure that mom’s straight/ My whole family eating off of this plate,” …
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