Music Features

For documentary filmmaker Randall MacLowry, the Black folk hero John Henry was a natural subject. The mythical 19th-century figure who helped install railroad tracks by way of his sledgehammer skills, Henry has been saluted in literature (Colson Whitehead’s John Henry Days), dance (part of a program by the Alvin Ailey …

In their early days of touring, every night was a party for Mayday Parade. The Tallahassee pop-punkers would hit a new city, play for small yet impassioned crowds, make friends with the locals — and always find a place to party (and crash) at night. In the morning, all five …

Earlier this year, Justin Bieber posted an earnest Instagram story about his feelings of impostor syndrome, and another describing how he felt like he was “drowning” in pent-up hatred from his past. This, coupled with paparazzi photos over the past few months where Bieber appeared somewhat disheveled, spurred rumors about …

2025 could be the year of gentle giants in R&B: Summer Walker’s icy “Heart of a Woman” has been inescapable on Black radio, marking her biggest solo hit since her mainstream breakthrough six years ago. Over the past few weeks, British singer Cleo Sol’s airy hymns landed her sold out …

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week,Lana Del Rey yearns for freedom on her latest ballad, Addison Rae invites listeners into her synth-pop fantasy, and JID puts the bar work in on his …

I t’s 5 a.m. in Georgia, and Tree Sound Studios is quiet. I’m in a side room of the vast, oaky complex near Atlanta, preparing to be the first person outside of Lil Wayne’s circle to hear Tha Carter VI, the album he’s been working on for six years. On …

When Amanda Knox was locked away in an Italian prison in 2007 for a murder she didn’t commit, she’d find solace in singing. “Most of the people in prison knew my voice before they knew who I was,” she says; she favored sad songs by folks like Joanna Newsom and …

The social media pop fan ecosystem is fragile. Its participants are easily excitable and just as effortlessly aggrieved, their collective nervous system tied somewhat intrinsically to social media notifications. On Tuesday, Pop Crave posted: “Fans speculate Tate McRae is featured on Morgan Wallen’s new album after she posted a Tennessee …

A few years ago, David Ramirez almost got in a fight at a karaoke bar in Arkansas. The Texas singer-songwriter had just finished a gig down the street and decided to get up and sing a tune. When he didn’t get the response he’d hoped for, he was ready to …

TV on the Radio, the celebrated group whose experimental amalgam of rock, post-punk, electronic, and soul made it sui generis in the 2000s New York scene, knew it was time for a break. It was 2019, and after nearly 20 years and five albums together, the nonstop demands of recording …