After years of depressing news, political anxiety, and global burnout, Mt. Joy’s “Ruins” relays messages of hope and conveys a lesson for all to remember: “In love, we got to try.” “Ruins” is off the L.A.-based band’s new album Orange Blood, which they cut in the Southern California desert (shrooms …
Read More »The Long Beach singer sat down with Rolling Stone to break down and talk about the process of making his debut album.
After seven Grammy nominations without a full-length album, Giveon has finally released his debut, Give or Take. Over 16 tracks, the singer delivers some of his most personal ballads to date, with help from top-flight producers like Bo-1da, Jahaan Sweet, Sevyn Thomas and Leon Thomas. It was just the album …
Read More »Nayeon Is a 'Pop!' Star — and the First Twice Member to Go Solo
K-pop girl group Twice has had a prolific run since their 2015 debut, and this year hasn’t been any different. Already one of the most popular girl groups in Asia, they have been welcomed with open arms here in the U.S. Twice concluded a sold-out North American tour just a …
Read More »'I Think We Opened Doors': Las Ketchup Look Back on 'The Ketchup Song' at 20
Lola Muñoz has explained the meaning of the “The Ketchup Song” more times than she can count, but she’ll try once more: “The song,” says the singer — one of three sisters, alongside Lucía and Pilar, who make up the Spanish pop trio Las Ketchup — “is about Diego, not …
Read More »Pierre Kwenders' Multitudinous Self: 'Where There Is Life, There Is Hope'
“There’s a saying in the Ivory Coast,” says Pierre Kwenders as he slides from English to French. “Tant qu’il y a de la vie, il y a de l’espoir. ‘Where there is life there is hope.’ Hope keeps us alive. We need to dream, dream for a better world. We …
Read More »Drugs, Bluegrass, and Bass Fishing: How Billy Strings Outran His Past and Infiltrated the Mainstream
Billy Strings backs his black Jeep Gladiator down to the lip of Nashville’s Percy Priest Lake and hops out to unhook the tricked-out bass boat he’s towing behind him. The heavy sounds of Primus, one of his favorite bands, spill loudly out of the cab, where old Combos wrappers, cigarette …
Read More »Beyoncé's 'Break My Soul' is Our Dance Floor Anthem for the Post-Pandemic Era
It’s time to stop binge-watching Netflix, hit up the group chat, put on those killer platforms you haven’t worn since 2019 and get your ass out of the house. The club is calling — and, with the release of her highly anticipated new single “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé is positioning …
Read More »A Lotta Love to Give: The Brilliant Voice and Too-Short Life of Nicolette Larson
W hen Nicolette Larson was growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, she’d ask her friends to drive over bumpy roads so she could show off her Neil Young impression. As the truck moved up and down, she’d break out into a shaky vibrato. Just a few years later, the singer …
Read More »'The Devil's Music' No More: Inside Nigeria's Rock Resurgence
In 2013, Bianca Okorocha, a Nigerian artist who performs as ClayRocksU, received a DM from one of her Twitter followers. It was an invitation to Metal and Romance, a party in Lagos focusing on rock music — a genre long plagued by negative stereotypes in Nigeria. When she got there, …
Read More »Brooklyn's Underground System Wants You To Dance
The Brooklyn band Underground System makes exuberant dance music that blooms out into countless directions — a result, in part, of band members with different backgrounds and musical experiences. “It’s a true New York, eclectic vibe,” the band’s co-founder and singer Domenica Fossati says on a recent call with Rolling …
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