The kids are coming up from behind.
New York rapper Billy Woods, who built a reputation across the 2010s as one of the most brilliant lyricists in the rap game and prolific writers, released his ninth studio album (but actually, including collaborations, closer to his 20th). Golliwog is perhaps his most tortured album yet and his most simultaneously personal and conceptual, though … Read more
British hip-hop spawned a new star with London-based producer-songwriter James ‘Jim Legxacy’ Folarunso, who built popularity with a prolific run of mixtapes and EPs and especially, a high-profile production credit on Dave and Central Cee’s hit, Sprinter. His second self-produced mixtape black british music, a series of lively pop-rap productions, introduced a new voice to … Read more
Rapper Terrence LeVarr Thornton ‘Pusha T’ and his older brother Gene Elliot ‘Malice’ Thornton (who had been absent from the rap game for several years) and celebrity producer, Pharell Williams reunited after 15 years on Let God Sort Em Out. The sleek production and vitriolic delivery album showcases that the group hadn’t lost the talents … Read more
The 5th album by the former Odd Future rapper marks the transition to a more optimistic sound though still drenched in the psychedelic atmospheres of the MIKE acolytes to which he belongs. Thus, we get another dose of glitchy beats and warped instrumentals and Earl’s now-signature earnest rapping style but the sonic connection is less … Read more
Spanish pop superstar, Rosalia Vila Tobella, whose first 2 albums were released while she was still in music school updated flamenco for the hip-hop era on El Mal Querer and shifted towards art-pop-reggateon fusion on Motomami. Her fourth studio album, LUX is a whole different animal. Recorded alongside the London Symphony Orchestra and with a … Read more
Puerto Rican superstar, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, ‘Bad Bunny’, who globalised reggaeton by fusing it with trap and house music became the most streamed artist worldwide in 2025 after the release of his sixth studio album Debí Tirar Más Fotos (English: I Should Have Taken More Photos), which followed up the wildly successful Un Verano … Read more
British dance-pop upstart Rose Gray debuted with Louder, Please yet another rehash of the stereotypes of Madonna (Angel of Satisfaction) and Kylie Minogue (Tectonic, Just Two, which interpolates I’m Blue), which duo Magdalena Bay had already done less than a year ago with more taste. However, there is also a contemporary imitation of erotic industrial … Read more
UK 00s popstar, Lily Allen released her fifth studio album West End Girl, recorded over less than 10 days in Los Angeles. Ostensibly a concept album about a break up with her also-famous ex-husband, the album made a splash due to its intimate private lyrics and themes which double as a criticism of male chauvinism. … Read more
British producer and singer-songwriter, Dev Hynes (stage name, Blood Orange), who initially excelled at crafting spacey atmospheric pop songs that updated Michael Jackson for the re verb era, shifted towards the esoteric on 2018’s Blood Swan, a collage of melodic snippets, ambience and brief conceptual pieces. After a 7-year hiatus, the new modus is revived … Read more
Ghanaian-American singer Amaerae, who plays Afrobeat-infused R&B and dance music, released her third album, BLACK STAR, ostensibly a tribute to her homeland. The music is decidedly hip-house focused based on cerebral beats contrasting with her hushed, high-pitched and amorous vocal. There are several unusual interpolations of older pop songs across the record (most egregiously Cher’s … Read more