Understanding what the rapper means to her audience, beyond the flash of celebrity.
music
Bootlegging Jane’s Addiction
Aaron Gilbreath considers the impact a live Jane’s Addiction recording has had on him, and the effect heroin had on the band’s — and his own — creativity.
Bootlegging Jane’s Addiction
Aaron Gilbreath considers the impact a live Jane’s Addiction recording has had on him, and the effect heroin had on the band’s — and his own — creativity.
In the Wake of Weinstein and #MeToo, Why Does R. Kelly Still Have an Audience?
Women of color who have been singled out by sexual predators deserve our collective fury too.
When Life Imitates Country Music
“The trills in his notes sputter and lift. He sounds like an animal in trouble. Like a lounge singer who’s lost his mind.”
The Athletes Who Felt Seen by Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d city”
The modern hip-hop classic reflects growing up in Compton “one thousand percent.”
Sade’s Eternal Cool
How the soul singer Sade Adu has maintained her pop cultural relevance for more than 30 years.
The Opera Lover Who Composed “Bat Out of Hell”
On the origins of the quintessential rock aria, and the powerhouse singer that served as its muse.
The Man Behind Meat Loaf
Retracing the career of Jim Steinman, the songwriter responsible for some of the most operatic hits of the past 40 years.
Can Detroit’s Legendary Techno Scene Survive Gentrification?
On the growing tension between techno’s gritty origins and its current velvet-rope tendencies.
