dancing on my own
Victoria Monét Still Wants to Dance
August 17, 2020
The singer-songwriter discusses her new album, “Jaguar,” and what it’s like to make music with Ariana Grande.
Desiigner
July 27, 2016
At a time when our country seems more divided than ever, in comes 19-year-old emcee Desiigner with a track that’s taken summer hostage with its love-it-or-hate-it appeal.
Exclusive Video Premiere and Interview: ‘Q&A,’ CJ Fly
January 28, 2014
From the ’90s scratch-and-scribble bombast of Statik Selektah’s “Day ZzZ’s” production to the ’70s gangster flick-sound of the Backpack-helmed “Left Get,” rapper CJ Fly’s Thee Way Eye See It is arranged like a movie montage, minus the camera.
Discovery: ASTR
October 23, 2013
Listening to mysterious New York duo ASTR is an experience as spiritual as the project’s birthplace: a Manhattan yoga center.
Exclusive Video Premiere: ‘Hush Bb,’ Le1f
October 10, 2013
New York-based emcee Le1f returns with a collaborative visual directed by artist Alex Da Corte, put together by MOCA Los Angeles, for his Tree Houses mixtape cut, “Hush BB.”
Discovery: Adrian Marcel
October 9, 2013
Enter Adrian Marcel, Oakland-bred singer-songwriter and protégé to Grammy-winning neo-soul king Raphael Saadiq. Appropriating sounds he grew up on in the ’90s and early ’00s, Marcel works R&B the way most of us remember.
Kitty Joseph and Absolut Find a New Flow
October 1, 2013
Today marks the launch of Absolut Originality, a bespoke collaboration between the Swedish vodka brand and up-and-coming UK designer, Kitty Joseph. A limited-edition Absolut bottle with a single, cobalt-blue drop, infused into the glass during production, is the primary inspiration to the designer’s three-look capsule collection.
Discovery: LIZ
July 3, 2013
Y2K sounds have yet to return into full-focus. Too soon, perhaps? Not for newcomer LIZ, whose reconstructed early-’00s sound alludes to acts like Craig David, Mya, Dream, and Mandy Moore—giving them something of a second chance.
Exclusive Video Premiere and Interview: ‘Hustle (feat. Kid Art),’ Vinny Cha$e
June 20, 2013
Harlem-bred rapper-entrepreneur Vinny Cha$e is a viable contender as the heir to Nas, Hova, Rakim, and Biggie. Skewing recession-era material obsessions into equal portions humor and seriousness, Cha$e rides basslines with nonchalance and cultural breadth.
Exclusive Song Premiere and Interview: ‘Fireman,’ Kat Dahlia
May 20, 2013
Kat Dahlia, who burst onto the scene via Sylvia Rhone’s Vested In Culture imprint on Epic Records, brings old-school hearty vocals to today’s street-strong sound.
Exclusive Song Premiere and Interview: ‘Draped in Gold,’ Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire
May 2, 2013
We talked to Crown Heights rapper Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire on the eve of his return—his Kismet mixtape is coming at the end of this month, and we’re pleased to premiere the new song “Draped in Gold” here—about his life-affirming hiatus, the pressures of going mainstream, and quitting the sauce.
Conversations with Cassie
April 12, 2013
The world takes time to warm up to you—longer in some cases than others. It’s taken Bad Boy songstress and former model Cassie nearly seven years to find her place in today’s soundscape. The singer, who released her biggest hit to date, “Me & U,” in 2006, has become something of a cult star for R&B’s new sound—but without actually being a part of it.
The Multihyphenate Rapper: Njena Reddd Foxxx
November 30, 2012
In hip-hop, to boast is to breathe—and some fare better than others. The genre’s become so synonymous with braggadocio, it’s practically a no-holds-barred palace of self-inflated “triple beam dreams,” most times so extreme, listeners can never be too sure what, or rather, who to believe. For New York (by way of D.C.) newcomer, Njena Reddd Foxxx, one doesn’t have to listen to deem her top-notch at anything (although it helps)—just look to her credentials.
Exclusive Song Premiere and Interview: ’86,’ Dawn Richard
September 25, 2012
Dawn Richard, formerly of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money, has released a mixtape and EP on her own, without any major label assistance, to rave reviews and an inspired fanbase—yet it’s her upcoming debut solo effort, Goldenheart, that’s set to get the mainstream talking once it’s released next month.
Private’s ‘Everywhere’ Makes it Pop
September 5, 2012
Even with praise sung by tastemakers like Diplo and a remix of theirs appearing in a Prada ad, Copenhagen-based band Private is still mostly unknown to the American ear.
M2Malletier Is Everyday Armor
September 4, 2012
While studying at Parsons School of Design, Colombians Melissa Losada and Marcela Velez discovered a shared interest in translating old-world luggage into everyday chic. “We’re both from the same place, but we had never met,” remembers Losada. They met one late night at the now-defunct Bungalow 8 and started talking. “Ever since it’s sort of been fate.”
Blood Diamonds’ Big, Big Room
July 24, 2012
Mike Tucker’s sound is considered by some to be of “big room” origins, but the 21 year-old up-and-comer, who performs under the name Blood Diamonds, would simply call his electro-hinged variety, “fun shit.” And that’s exactly what we’re so into about his latest vertiginous EP Phone Sex.
French Montana Makes It Pop
June 12, 2012
“Money comin’, money goin’—ain’t like you can take it wit’ ya,” Drake raps over the relentlessly vicious Hard-NRG skitter-beat of French Montana’s “Pop That”—and that’s exactly how it sounds: like the last kegger before succumbing to the apocalypse. The track that’s already considered summer’s unofficial fire-thrower—accompanied by a posse video shot over Memorial Day weekend in Miami, due to debut any day now—is Montana’s first foray into the mainstream, courtesy of the cut’s Young Money and Maybach Music tie-in verses (by superstars Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne and Drake).
Discovery: Zhala
April 25, 2012
Sweden has always been a hotspot for bubbly, melodic fun: from Robyn and producer Max Martin to ABBA, The Cardigans and back again. But never before has the small Scandinavian country birthed such a uniquely magnetic, otherworldly pop creature as Zhala. A&R’s, take note: the former Lykke Li backup singer—who just last week debuted the far-out “Slippin’ Around,” her first and only single and video, via her YouTube channel—is a free agent.
G-Side’s Occupations
November 14, 2011
In today’s #Occupy landscape, independent Huntsville, Alabama rap duo G-Side might make the most relevant hip-hop music out there.