Jeezy’s new banger “Me OK” is not this morning’s only example of a longtime Atlanta rap star going on attack mode. T.I. has a new single called “Turn It,” which sounds like an 808 being used as a jackhammer. He also has a new video for said single, which features Tip arriving via helico...

In 2014 we appraise hip-hop on its forthrightness. Take, for example, the two front-runner Grammy-nominated hip-hop albums of 2013: Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid M.A.A.D. City and Macklemore’s The Heist. Both albums, in different ways, present up-front opinions on the word we live in, be it the gangland problems still present in ...

The idea of a posthumous Michael Jackson album, full of “contemporized” versions of unreleased recordings, is more than a little dubious, but there’s a decent chance that the forthcoming Xscape will be a fun listen. We’ve already heard the title track, and it was a fine example of late-period MJ. The new s...

Future Islands have been getting tons of attention ever since 4AD signed them and David Letterman co-signed them. One of the oddest examples is this new “moving portrait” from Google Play in which footage of bandmates Samuel T. Herring, William Cashion, and Gerritt Welmers staring sentimentally at the camera is matched with a...

The Beyoncé producer BOOTS, aka Jordy Asher, has been releasing a bunch of promising solo material lately, and today he leaked a couple more examples of his dark-hued, futuristic R&B. “My Heart Is A Stone Today (Unharmed)” is the most upbeat, poppy single he’s unveiled so far, but it’s still far ...