Robert Glasper, Dave Chappelle and Dwyane Wade share the stage at Blue Note Jazz Festival at Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif. on July 29, 2023. Derek Fisher/STAFF. NAPA — Thousands of jazz and hip-hop enthusiasts turned out to the Silverado Resort and Spa on Saturday on the second day…

The best hip-hop albums of 2022 include Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, Nas, Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, Locksmith, Pusha T, Lupe Fiasco, Mount Westmore, Denzel Curry, Ho99o9, Freddie Gibbs, Homeboy Sandman, Bob Dylan, Czarface, Black Star, Black Thought and Danger Mouse, Your Old Droog, Open Mike Eagle and Token.…

The best albums of 2022 include Beyoncé, Gang of Youths, Weyes Blood, Rosalía, The Smile, Nas, The Weeknd, Lupe Fiasco, Spoon and Ho99o9. We’re down to the top 10 albums of the year. Before continuing, check out parts one, two, three, four and five. The conclusion includes the guitar-based rock of Gang of Youths…

Nas, “King’s Disease III.” Nas decreed on his previous release that we would receive King’s Disease III. On the new installment in this trilogy and his 15th album, he returns to affirm his status as one of hip-hop’s all-time greats, his role within hip-hop and the wisdom he feels he…

Our list of the 20 best hip-hop albums of 2021 includes (L to R): Row 1: Lil Nas X, Polo G, Tyler, the Creator, J. Cole, Nas. Row 2: Little Simz, Meek Mill, Isaiah Rashad, Czarface & MF DOOM, Backxwash. Row 3: Vince Staples, Wale, Your Old Droog, BROCKHAMPTON,…

Much to the glee of Odd Future fans, Tyler, the Creator is back with Call Me If You Get Lost. Announced just a week earlier, the album follows 2019’s IGOR and maintains the experimental stylings of the rapper teetering back and forth between his more meditative and thoughtful sides while diving back into his earlier aggressive…

A bold and bittersweet closing chapter for one of the greatest rappers of all time, the long-awaited album from DMX, Exodus, comes a little over a month and a half after his death. His first release in nine years (following 2012’s Undisputed) and his first on Def Jam since Grand Champ, Exodus is…

Our list of the 20 best hip-hop albums of 2020 includes Megan Thee Stallion, Big Sean, Backxwash, Dizzee Rascal, Busta Rhymes, Aminé, Bambu, Nas, Public Enemy, R.A. the Rugged Man, Benny the Butcher, Eminem, Logic, Homeboy Sandman, Royce da 5’9″, Aesop Rock, clipping., Black Thought, Run the Jewels and…

Under that moniker DJ Shadow, Joshua Paul Davis in 1996 gave sample-based music one of its first hit albums with Endtroducing. He transcended the established norms of ‘90s hip-hop by incorporating elements of ambient music, electronica and “sampledelia.” Davis found more common ground with U.K. trip-hop than West Coast G-funk—which might…

Phoebe Bridgers performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Nov. 27, 2018. Photo: Chloe Catajan. The end has finally arrived—the end of 2018 that is. That means it’s year-end list time. With great albums comes great songs, and in a year that brought us plenty of great singles,…