Music Features

When Detroit techno producer Omar S thinks back on the early days of his label, FXHE, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, he sounds as down-to-earth as his inviting, party-oriented music suggests. “I was just working at my job and making tracks,” he recalls over Zoom. Before then, he’d …

Though R&B singer Miguel has been widely beloved in his genre since his major label debut thirteen years ago, the 37-year-old is besting himself in huge ways right now. “Sure Thing” — a contemporary classic that Miguel first wrote around 2007 and released as his first album’s second single in …

I n the short but exhilarating story of NewJeans, there’s one date that stands out above all the rest: July 22, 2022, the day they went from being unknown teens to one of the buzziest groups in the world. “I knew that it would be a date of excitement for …

A gentle blanket of clouds covers the sky in Piñones, Puerto Rico, and after Villano Antillano excuses herself to take a phone call, I ask if everything is OK. “Ay no,” she says with a resigned half-smile. “But I can’t solve this.” The day before, in a San Juan bar …

Young Miko is relaxing on a Saturday afternoon when I reach her on Zoom. Given that she’s about to kick off her first-ever world tour in Guatemala later that night, it’s hardly a regular Saturday, though. “I’m resting as much as I can,” says the Puerto Rican artist, 24. “I’ve …

W hen GloRilla arrives at a Hollywood bowling alley, she’s clearly off the clock, cozy and happy to be among familiar faces. No cameras, no fans — just her team, the two friends she came with, and a handful of security to ensure it stays that way. She’s relieved, at …

Before she hit Coachella’s Gobi Stage this spring, Elyanna took a moment to pray with her tightknit team. Taking a cue from her brother Feras, who accompanied her on keyboard, the Palestinian Chilean singer visualized herself as the star of a music video. Then she powered up with her go-to …

Backstage at New York’s Webster Hall, about 30 minutes before he’s due to go onstage, Babyface Ray sips lean from a white Styrofoam cup while a photographer snaps pictures of his extremely bright platinum chains. Born Marcellus Rayvon Register, he’s one of the top voices in Detroit’s street-rap scene, with …

When the genre-mashing aggro-rock collective Soul Glo formed in 2014, frontman Pierce Jordan liked to joke around by visualizing wild, seemingly unachievable goals for the group. “I would be like, ‘Yo, if we play Coachella, I’m gonna play that shit fucking naked,” he says. This year, the gag lost some …

Destroy Lonely is in his signature all-black attire when I meet him this spring, except for his hot-pink Marni slippers. His close friend Ken Carson lights a blunt in the studio where they’re currently cooking up something new. “Where else would I be?” asks Lonely. “This shit always going to …