Magazines like The Source and XXL were more than outlets for brilliant journalism; they were a corrective to the dismissive, even racist way mainstream music outlets approached hip-hop. In too many cases, though, these magazines’ print archives were never digitized—and now, with so many defunct or simply beset by link rot, a crisis of impermanence is threatening the culture’s written history.
For readers like me, these magazines transformed us from mere consumers of rap into obsessives. They represented the pinnacle of culture journalism for approximately 15 years, but you can’t find much of it online. The archives of The New Yorker and Rolling Stone have made the digital transition, and their old articles, interviews and reviews are available in an easily searchable format. The institutional rap titles have not. Their websites are largely an unnavigable mess in which one is more likely to encounter 404 errors than articles. This is annoying, but it’s also a dangerous blind spot in history that could have a profound impact on the way we think, talk, and move forward as a culture. How did this happen? More importantly, is there anything we can do about it?
Da Art of Storytellin’ (A Prequel)
“I’d heard that moan in the presence of older Southern black folk my entire life, but I’d never heard it connecting two rhymed verses. Art couldn’t get any fresher than that.”
The Rhythms of “Rock Creek Park”
“The Blackbyrds’ ode to DC inspired a new generation of artists.”
Tyler, the Creator Always Does Things His Way
“Known for both his openness and his mysteriousness, the rapper, producer — and now actor — keeps people guessing.”
How the ‘Slamming Door’ Sound Became Embedded in Hip-Hop History
“If you’ve listened to any rap or pop music made in the 21st century, you’ve heard John Lehmkuhl’s most famous creation, a thwacking metallic percussion sample named ‘Tribe.’”
What Happened to Ice Cube?
“He once meant everything to Black kids like me. His descent in the Trump years is a grim reminder of what we’ve lost.”
I Knew Diddy for Years. What I Now Remember Haunts Me.
“Looking back on my life as a woman in the music industry, I’m unsettled by the inescapable sexism perpetrated by Sean Combs and others.”
