Cui Jian’s status as a cultural icon was largely staked on the reputation of his first breakout song, “Nothing to My Name”: its progression…
Waylon Jennings may not have invented outlaw country, but with Honky Tonk Heroes he gave the movement its clearest distillation of purpose; its manifesto, its aesthetic framework, even…
What Luke Combs ultimately represents is a recalibration of mainstream country music. Less traditionalist than traditional-ish, Combs presents a more mainstream-palatable iteration of Chris…
To this point in his career, Justin Moore hasn’t developed an artistic identity: A consistent C-list presence, his output has been characterized primarily by…
It took far longer than it should have, but Runaway June’s terrific “Buy My Own Drinks” finally clawed its way into the top 10…
Kentucky troubadour Tyler Childers is fast on his way to becoming one of country music’s most accomplished miniaturists. His body of work now includes…
Our monthly music feature, Rooted & Restless, finds country music aficionados Josh Hurst and Jonathan Keefe wading into all things Americana, expanding the definition…
The third official collaboration between Buddy & Julie Miller — long one of the Americana scene’s reigning power couples — is not a divorce…
A man (bearded, crestfallen) traipses into the woods, where he holes up in a small cabin and writes music about his heartbreak — agonizingly…
Across three mixtapes preceding Chancelor Bennett AKA Chance the Rapper’s studio debut, an organic maturation, both personal and artistic, occurred. 10 Day proved a…
100 Gecs makes music that dares the listener to hide behind snobbery. Every song is designed to make your parents scoff, as if Gecs…
If there is one thing Matthew Hauri — aka Yung Gravy — knows, it’s that to succeed in the rap game, and the modern media sphere…
Listening to Polo G is a deeply humbling experience — that’s something you can’t honestly say about a lot of young rappers’ music without having the…
There’s no denying the constant underlying groove in Goldlink’s Diaspora. He’s an artist indebted to dance music: just take “Zulu Screams,” whose intro sublimates the energy…
When they first announced their intentions to team-up nearly a decade ago, the concept of producer Madlib and rapper Freddie Gibbs collaborating seemed unorthodox: the great discoverer of…
There couldn’t be a more appropriate name for Gucci Mane’s fourteenth studio album: Delusions of Grandeur are exactly what Guwop has to have on his mind at…
The verdict is in: Lil Nas X is the realest of deals. After being subjected to a deluge of dissent — first from Billboard, and then…
The West Coast has always been a boon for launching rap oddities; today, it’s brought us Lil B and Blueface, and in the ’90s,…