Bodied ends with a needle drop: “Hi, My Name Is.” As explicated in our Kicking the Canon piece, Eminem sought to make a villain of himself on…
A relatively unknown Chicago rapper, Jean Deaux (pronounced “John Doe”) hasn’t released a project in four years. Despite this, or maybe more accurately because of it,…
In the rap game, it’s hard to differentiate bluster from authenticity — or as ZillaKami puts it on “GraveHop187”: “Y’all ni**as bluffin’ / Not bangin’.”…
Keith Ape, a hyped rap prospect from the genre-eclectic 88rising house, delivers a consistent sound on his debut EP, Born Again. The technical aspect to…
Matt Ox is a bit of a conundrum in the game. A 13-year-old white rapper… ok seriously, I can’t give you much more than that; there…
“17 years old/I’m in this country alone/No I.D. or passport/I’m the only livin’ John Doe” moans Sheck Wes on “Jiggy on the Shits,” a song that specifically describes…
“They love to hate, they love to hate / How ironic, I know / She loves my long hair and my tattoos / How iconic,…
The Suicideboys’ mythos — and the group’s amassed discography of 42 EPs/mixtapes all since 2013 — is daunting, to say the least. The duo of…
Life’s a Trip, SoundCloud rapper Trippie Redd’s debut album, communicates much through its cover art, which distorts Trippie’s likeness into a revolting disembodied figure surrounded by various freaky/goofy cartoon characters.…
“Jealousy is a disease / die slow,” Nicki Minaj whispers to her critics at the end of “Majesty.” It’s devilish — almost pure evil —…
“I’m a young dread-head with anxiety,” asserts Aminé, late in the second verse of “Reel It In,” off his newest mixtape OnePointFive. It’s a strikingly honest sentiment,…
The old adage “born in the wrong generation” is rightfully a meme, and a trash one at that, but it may well apply to Denzel…
“Yeah, you fucked up the first stone, we had to get remarried.” “Yo, chill man!” “We keeping’ it real with these people, right?” goes the…
88rising is a media conglomerate that’s been methodically sowing seeds of future brand-dominance, with bombastic SoundCloud rapper collaborations (Ski Mask the Slump God), meme-to-musician re-inventions (Rich…