The girls of Boys World have the power of sisterhood to get them through anything. Nearly a year after introducing themselves with their debut EP While You Were Out, the rising girl group — comprising Olivia Ruby, Queenie Mae, Makhyli, Lillian Kay, and Elana Cáceres — is entering a new …
Read More »On 'Football Heads,' Maxo Kream Flows Like a Boulder Chasing You in 'Mario Kart'
As far as trappers-turned-rappers go, Maxo Kream is doing quite well for himself; in fact, this former Crip is one of the best working rappers in the game. His admirable Weight of the World, released in October, had mournful lines about his brother Madu’s death and a sense of aching …
Read More »Nile Rodgers' Favorite Dance Songs: “It's Just That Thing That Hits You.”
When consideringRolling Stone’slist of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs All Time, one name kept popping up while examining decade-after-decade of hits: producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers. The Chic leader says he owes his entire dance-music career to three songs. One night in the mid Seventies, he went to a club …
Read More »Legendary Surprises, Rising Stars, and Powerful Voices: The Best Things We Saw at Newport Folk Festival 2022
Yes, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell were this year’s big surprises — but the 2022 Newport Folk Festival contained so much more than a pair of jaw-dropping legends. The first full-capacity iteration of the fest since 2019 featured the desert instrumentals of Hermanos Gutiérrez, the soulful country-pop of Maren Morris, …
Read More »Megan Thee Stallion Turns Up the Heat With Future on 'Pressurelicious'
If you didn’t already know what it means to be pressure, much less, “Pressurelicious,” let Megan Thee Stallion teach you through a series of opposites on her new track of the same name. “Yo bitch, she regular/I’m hot, be careful,” Meg explains with sticky raps. “She average/I’m pressure—yeah, I’m Pressurelicious.” …
Read More »Macklemore on His 'Rebirth,' Sobriety Challenges, and Life After the 'Ultra A-List'
The video for Macklemore‘s new single “Chant” begins with the rapper rising out of a misty lake and directly addressing his deepest insecurities. “They told me that I vanished,” he raps in his opening lines. “They told me that I had it/They told me that I’m gone…They can’t take my …
Read More »Blondshell's 'Kiss City' Brings the Alt-Rock Fireworks
It starts slow, then explodes — and when it’s over, you can’t wait for it to start again. “Kiss City,” the second single from Blondshell, a.k.a. New York-raised, L.A.-based singer-songwriter Sabrina Teitelbaum, is all about that all-encompassing rush of feeling. “Just look me in the eye when I’m about to …
Read More »What Makes Davido Afrobeats' Benevolent King
Outside the Conrad hotel in downtown Washington DC, a high-end stay outfitted in tasteful neutral tones, a mass of men with deep skin stood congregated around an SUV, bantering in what sounded like West African Pidgin English. Meanwhile, in the lobby, the language filled the air as another pocket of …
Read More »Lady Gaga's Longtime Choreographer Accused of Toxic Behavior by 10 Former Dancers
As Lady Gaga kicked off her twice-delayed The Chromatica Ball tour this week, trouble brewed from the stage wings. Days before the start of the 18-city world tour — Gaga’s first since 2017’s Joanne — five of her longtime backup dancers took to social media one after the other to …
Read More »How a Rising Brooklyn Rapper Created a Free Rap Festival That 'Makes Sense'
The font size on many music festival lineups has been shrinking lately, as new events, jam-packed with megastars (who sometimes don’t even show up) have cropped up in the time since pandemic restrictions have eased around the world. For fans, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Rappers starting their own festivals, …
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