“Looking for Subculture?” asks a bouncer at the L.A. club Catch One. “In more ways than one,” I reply as I pull out my ticket to the hyperpop rave happening inside. As a turquoise band is wrapped around my wrist, an artist named Babylungs, who’s dressed like a cybergoth hosting …
Read More »Drag Star Shea Couleé Wants to Take You Into Her Queer, Creative Underground World
In 2017, ahead of a star-making appearance on Season Nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the Chicago artist Shea Couleé wrote, directed, and starred in a lushly shot, intensely fashionable 10-minute short film called Lipstick City. Couleé takes on two roles: Mrs. Couleé and Shea, unlikely allies who journey through a …
Read More »These Musicians are Supplying Ukraine With Drones
Speaking by Zoom from an undisclosed location in the north of Ukraine, Andrii Dmytrenko points to the knee pads hidden beneath his fatigues. The uniform is a far cry from what he would have worn onstage with his alt-pop band Adm:t, for which he’s lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist, but …
Read More »Women In Puerto Rico Are Ending Urbano's Boys' Club For Good
L ast July, when Bad Bunny played three sold-out shows in Puerto Rico, the superstar — who was the most streamed artist in 2022 — took a moment to pass the mic. Sure, he’s done this before: His performances have become global spectacles that have included appearances from artists like …
Read More »Is the Future Here for Brooklyn's Live Rap Scene?
On Oct. 8, 2022, veteran MC Roc Marciano was onstage in New York, playing to a capacity crowd. It was a typical rap show in the city: overwhelmingly male, leathers and skullys and Timbs despite the late-summer weather, air laced with newly decriminalized smoke. Roc was there to celebrate his …
Read More »Was Rihanna's Halftime Performance Classic or Low-Energy?
With no superstar guests or costume changes, Rihanna‘s long-awaited, hit-packed comeback at last week’s Super Bowl Halftime Show relied entirely on her own music —and her singular stage presence and swagger. And as always, the performance, complete with an understated pregnancy reveal, prompted endless online discourse. In the new episode …
Read More »Defending the Grammys: Harvey Mason Jr. Makes His Case
From yet another Beyoncé snub for Album of the Year to fan-roundtable segments that some viewers found cringe-inducing, this year’s Grammys sparked even more controversy than usual. In the new episode of our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, responds to criticism (including …
Read More »How an Alleged Con Man Tore Apart One of the Nineties' Biggest Bands
O N MARCH 4, 2020, guitarist Chad Taylor stood on a beach outside of the Hard Rock Hotel in the Dominican Republic. He fired up a Cuban cigar and stared out at the vast ocean. After years of bitter infighting and nasty legal battles, his band Live — best remembered …
Read More »Why Milwaukee Rap Is Taking Over TikTok
The Milwaukee rap scene doesn’t boast the decades-long lore of their close neighbors in Detroit and Chicago, but that may be changing thanks to a slew of viral rappers making waves in the city and on social media. Rappers Steve Da Stoner and AyooLii have been dominating TikTok over the …
Read More »How Taylor Goldsmith and Dawes Learned to Quit Worrying and Embrace Epic Jams
There’s a reason why Taylor Goldsmith felt a deep, restless urge to release a brand new live recording of his band Dawes’ 2022 album, Misadventures of Doomscroller. And it all had to do with identity. “I just felt like so much of what our band is —so much of our …
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