LØLØ, courtesy. This week we feature the solemn soliloquies of Lani Renaldo and Tom The Mail Man, pop-punk of LØLØ, drill rap of Kur, and garage influences of Weatherstate and Drug Church. Lani Renaldo, “help!” — As the days grow shorter and the weather gets colder, it’s important to…

After spending the last year away from others, perhaps we all got a glimpse into the isolation and madness that colors the mind of hip-hop hermit Aesop Rock. Like everyone else, Aesop also had a rough year, between the death of a close friend and a creative dry spell. But…

Wale wastes no time whatsoever on Florian II, getting at the heart of his frustration with critics, superficiality of his peers and asserting his status within the hip-hop scene—all while packing punch after punch, track after track. In the follow-up to his 2012 mixtape of the same name (coming after…

Clockwise from top left: Kurt Baker, Lotic, Shakka, Namesake, aldn and Lil Migo. This week we feature the surreal discordant sound of Lotic, the playful antics of Shakka, as well as Lil Migo, Namesake, aldn and Kurt Baker. aldn, “n2o” — The thumping bass, 8-bit melody and snapping garage drumming on…

It’s kind of wild that Punk is only the second album from Young Thug, considering his prolific output of 19 mixtapes. The rapper had expressed a desire to embrace a significant shift in tone on the follow-up to 2019’s So Much Fun. He sought to embody what he referred to as “real rap”…

“All that glitters isn’t always gold,” so the saying goes. Expensive Pain, the fifth studio album from Meek Mill, rides largely on the idea that money can’t buy happiness. While the album still indulges in the luxurious lifestyle someone of Meek’s status can enjoy, the curtain is often drawn back…

G-Eazy, “These Things Happen Too.” Everyone has regrets, and G-Eazy holds his share. His fourth LP, These Things Happen Too, finds G-Eazy having to grapple with the fallout of his failed relationships, the toll that drug abuse has taken on him artistically and personally, as well as the self-doubt that he’s…

Lil Nas X performs during WiLD 94.9’s Jingle Ball at The Masonic in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 2019. The debut album by Lil Nas X, Montero, has been a long time coming.  The Atlanta rapper has transformed before audiences from the meme zeitgeist of “Old Town Road” to a…

The second album from Injury Reserve emphasizes the impact last year had on the hip-hop group. But it wasn’t just the pandemic or societal unrest. Injury Reserve’s Steppa J Groggs (whose real name was Jordan Alexander Groggs) died unexpectedly in June 2020. The remaining members, MC Ritchie With a T and…

Self-reflection has been a critical part of the last year and a half for many first locked down with nowhere to go then worn down by an onslaught of crises. Looking inward became inevitable. English rapper and actress Little Simz (Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo) makes self-examination and explanation the focal point…