Tag Archives: direct

Wyatt Flores can pinpoint the exact moment he says the party ended in country music. After a decade-plus of tailgating, beer-drinking songs clogging up playlists, the pandemic struck and forced artists and fans alike indoors with their thoughts. And shit got real, fast. “They got trapped inside of wherever they …

Towards the end of her song “Amelia,” Samia walks into a party. “I’m writing a poem, somebody stop me,” she sings over balmy synths and a chirpy beat. It’s less of an actual threat and more a self-aware quip from the 27-year-old musician who’s better than almost anyone at turning …

When Peggy Gou is working on a new track, she keeps one thing in mind. “Every song that I do has to have sexiness to it,” says the Berlin-based, South Korea-born DJ, singer, producer, and songwriter who’s as close to an It girl as anyone in today’s club scene. Maybe …

Not long ago, Lizzie No had an out-of-body experience while listening to Gillian Welch. The singer-songwriter had spent the past few years trying to make sense of the fractured, frighteningly personal songs she’d been writing, songs that spoke to a pain whose source she couldn’t always name. Many of them …

When you witness the confidence, composure, and professionalism that Le Sserafim bring to every performance, it can be hard to believe that they’re only in their second year as a group. In fact, several members have “past lives” that helped get them where they are today — from Kim Chaewon …

Preceded by a crew of gymnasts who shot fire — and themselves — high in the air, Black Sherif earned a hero’s welcome when he took the stage at the El-Wak Stadium in Accra, Ghana, to headline the AfroFuture festival last December. The event, which has become one of the …

One afternoon, Shyniece Thomas, known professionally as the rapper Lola Brooke, was in her Brooklyn apartment contemplating the pitfalls of being a rapper. “Sometimes you don’t feel safe — in your own hometown — all because of your occupation,” she says. “I was just pouring my heart out about how …

Veeze has joked that 2022 was his “rap internship” as he prepped his debut LP, Ganger, and spent time around rap stars like Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, and Babyface Ray, observing them and learning rap-star decorum. Now, with the album out to much acclaim, the 28-year-old Detroit native is on …

Pink plastic cows and fake aqua-blue trucks decorated the lobby of the Wiltern during the last night of Chappell Roan’s U.S. Midwest Princess Tour in November. Her fans — donning sparkly devil horns and bedazzled bralettes decorated with hearts — posed for photos in front of the backdrops as they …

A couple of years ago, the Spanish reggaetón star Saiko was talking with his friend’s stepdad, Walter, known for his spiritual wisdom and for being in touch with the metaphysical. “He told me, ‘You have to name a song ‘San Walter,’ and I told him, ‘What are you talking about?’” …