A History of Hip-Hop’s Obsession With Lean
An in-depth look into the past and present of rap’s favorite drug.
Essay
50 articles
The Most Consequential Southern Rap Verse Ever Recorded
How Bun B’s flawless performance on UGK’s 1996 classic “Murder” changed the parameters for all of rap music.
What Does It Even Mean to Be a Music Critic Now?
A veteran culture writer surveys the radically transforming journalistic ecosystem.
That Time Dolly Came to My Little Wyoming Hometown
Honoring the late country icon with a story about her appearance at a rodeo in 1978.
The Latest Elegy for Music Journalism and Middle-Class Musicianhood
Sometimes professional failure isn’t your fault.
The Last Immortal Rock Star
How ‘The Vampire Lestat’ is resurrecting the archetype of the sexy, sweaty rock frontman.
How I Became A Beatmaker (By Watching Other People Make Beats)
A first-time beatmaker’s case for the nuances of developing style and gatekeeping within rap production.
How to Disappear Mostly
Considering Radiohead’s liminal existence at their Motion Picture House experience.
A Lapsed Catholic Goes to Rosalía’s Ecclesiastical Lux Tour
How the Spanish star uses devotion to push her art to unprecedented places.
The Field's New Groove
How the surprisingly emotional use of an unusual time signature powers the ambient-techno god’s best track in years.
Don’t Stop ’Til You Rewrite History
The Michael Jackson estate’s campaign to un-cancel the King of Pop is all about what they let you see.