“Hip-hop is 50 years old, but the genius idea at its core remains unprotected. Here’s how we can change that.”
hip-hop
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s edition highlights stories by Bench Ansfield, Justin A. Davis, Wright Thompson, Lucy Jones, and April Nowell.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How “The Shadow of State Abandonment” Fostered Then Foiled Young Thug’s YSL
“Atlanta’s YSL (Young Stoner Life) project has been about place-making as much as it’s been about making music. But what happens when the state interferes?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Kendrick Lamar’s New Chapter
“In partnership with his longtime collaborator, Dave Free, the greatest rapper of his generation is pushing himself — commercially and creatively — onto unexpected terrain.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Eminem Found Himself in “Lose Yourself.” Will We Ever Let It Go?
“It also spawned his biggest hit—an underdog anthem that lives on through commercials and sports arena sound systems to this day.
Posted inCuration, Nonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, our editors recommend notable features and essays by Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Justin Heckert, Gloria Liu, Sharon Levy, and Mychal Denzel Smith.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Confessions of a Conscious Rap Fan
Mychal Denzel Smith’s musical upbringing sounds a lot like mine: copious amounts of hip-hop that was deemed “underground,” “backpack,” or (perhaps most conspicuously brandished) “conscious.” Elitism disguised as authenticity. Yet, with the recent returns of Black Star and Kendrick Lamar, Smith found himself unmoved — and in this crystalline essay, he unpacks exactly why. The […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
In Search of Chad Hugo
For music fans of a certain age (that certain age hopefully being 14 to 94), Chad Hugo is a legendary producer: half of The Neptunes, along with Pharrell Williams. Yet he always played the back — and has receded even more so in recent years. Hugo’s reticence may never fully give way in this profile […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Lies Beneath Hip-Hop’s Swagger
Over the weekend, The New York Times Magazine published a twist on its annual “Songs That Matter” package: “Songs That Got Us Through It.” The newest is overall a remarkable project, stuffed with keen criticism. But Smith’s piece, which feels for the pulse of aggression in today’s and yesterday’s hip-hop, stands out — as bracing […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
An Interview With Black Thought
“I think attention, or the lack thereof, during one’s career has the potential to make or break one’s journey. And during the times when there was less attention on me, it was just what I wanted and needed. But what happens when you have something that propels you from one level of celebrity to another […]