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Paris+ par Art Basel | Editorial

If it’s October, may we suggest starting under the canvas of Le Grand Palais Éphémère, where Art Basel has just hosted its second annual grand iteration of the international contemporary art festival. Unlike that in Miami Beach, it is - at least for now - understated in scale - and, too, notoriety - rendering it the largest exhibition remaining in Paris where it’s actually possible to observe art in peace. No pushing and shoving, no strollers to the back of the thigh, and at least a mitigated militaristic effort by the modern world’s legions of wannabe influencers. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Paris+ par Art Basel | Gallery

A collection of all our photos of all the art at Paris's second annual exhibition at Le Grand Palais Éphémère. Oct 19-22, 2023

Grandace | Lavalamp Cosmic

There is a certain cyber-softness that exists buried, albeit deeply influential, within the broad, dynamically conceptual nature of Grandance’s post-genre maneuverings. He says that his music is born of some sort of Sega Dreamcast nuance, and that very description — derivative of something before it, yet newer, and simultaneously rooted in a time not of quite ultra-modernity — delineates a tunnel of grey area madness that leaves a listener suspended in flight, or time, or something else unexplainable.

The BlackSon | Do Something Important

It’s been a mantra of The BlackSon for a while now. In the build-up to his recent short film, Take Some Time For Yourself - entered in The International Black Film Festival, and that exists separately from the new project, albeit in the same socio-creative self-renaissance he’s been inhabiting all of 2023 - his ardent focus on making the most of one’s time is crystal clear. Growth only matters if it actually grows towards something. And for The BlackSon, with his space as a teacher, an artist, and the many grey areas of a human being that exist somewhere in between, everything he’s been doing has been in the effort to do something bigger and more broadly interconnected.

Ron Obasi | Thirty Sunz

“Thirty Sunz is intentionally dedicated to the young knucklehead me obsessed with black heroes and black powers - who eventually grew into his own,” Obasi wrote upon the project’s release — on the morning of his 30th birthday. And from beginning to end, it curatedly tightropes past with presence, exploring exactly that connection and continuation of his innermost id, without sacrificing just how unique he and his sound have become, even when weighed against prior versions of themselves.

Greg Bussie & Enrique1x | Old Friends

Old Friends feels like the kind of project that tethers Greg Bussie’s past to his present through the lens of his music. It feels rooted in memories, influence, and a past version of himself — and reaching back through the plane of Southern hip-hop — while simultaneously inhabiting the most modern and focused take on his sound to date...

The Independent Venues Hopping on the Merch Cut Reversal may Fuel a Live Music Renaissance

More than the conglomerate venues, independents support both emerging artists and their communities. And by joining in on the movement to pull merchandise fees from performers, they’re perpetuating a more economically viable live music scene that has still not fully recovered for independent artists since venue lock-down at the beginning of Covid...

BLK ODYSSY are the Best Show in Live Music | LA Recap

Flashes of lights, propelled by drum kicks and lyrical bars, make time bend with unpredictability. A frenzy of torrid guitar solos and epoch-defying basslines amalgam with blistering keystrokes and timeless brass. A rare spoken moment from the frontman or his supporting soulstress addressing the crowd is bookended by countless more songs, disappearing into one another with compositional silkiness. Genre, as we know it, dies a thousand deaths on the stage at a BLK ODYSSY show, and something so much greater - the defiance of its very existence - is born in its place. It’s music, and it’s as simple as that. But from the Austin-based group of musical misfits turned sensational sonic alchemists doing so many things so very never done before with such grace and sultry stamina, it’s a complex zenith of modern performance. And of you’re a fan of a mosaic of preconceived musical spaces, it’s the greatest show on Earth.

Daniel Caesar Live at The Fillmore

Superpowers Tour. Denver, Colorado. September 16, 2023.

BLK ODYSSY | Live at The Moroccan Lounge

Los Angeles | September 14, 2023

Ron Obasi at The End in Nashville

A week-and-a-half ago, one show in particular spoke to the quickly changing, stereotype defying, ultimately collaborative stance that makes the real Nashville a breath of fresh air compared to cities with less youthful, creatively driven populations. Ron Obasi — a steady leader in a rising Nashville hip-hop scene that is as defined by a simultaneous attachment to lyricism and instrumentation, as it is to Southern bass and candy paint — shared the same stage with Mercury — a local indie rock band boasting an adherent Gen-Z fanbase, and Prince of Eden — a sandal-touting, guitar plucking folkster spouting story-driven acoustics.

Mo Better at The Blue Room | Nashville, Tennessee

August 25, 2023 featuring performances by Brian Brown, TriplePlay Squeek, OGTHAGAWD, Saucyy Slim & Moddy

Hip-Hop 'til Infinity Exhibit | 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Banshee House, Denver, August 11, 2023

An Interview with AB Eastwood

It makes sense for a producer to have a wide set of interests. Constantly creating is a challenge all by itself, but creating in an effort to constantly collaborate with a mosaic of other artists is a whole different skillset that requires of a producer breadth, bridge-building, and the creative navigation of thoughts and ideas. For AB Eastwood —who grew up as a multi-instrumentalist and spent a stint learning to produce beats in Miami before returning to his native Nashville — that range of interests is almost as impressive as his ability to tie them together, and link everything back to music. At his studio, called Shangri-La — where dim lighting, comfortable couches, and a barrage of instruments promote comfort and creativity — we sat down with the man whose production has become synonymous with the city’s ever-evolving, always growing rap and soul scene, helping a young class of artists establish their signature sounds, and have fun while doing it. And the conversation was broad, to say the least, and yet still made so much sense in a way that only a producer could navigate so fluidly.

iNTRO | Girls (this is not about you)

Like watercolor bleeding across the page, swirling, repetitive synth strokes and a quick drum pattern coalesce with the dynamic flow of iNTRO, who, at the onset of DREAM GIRL, is re-introducing listeners to his fast-paced, floaty raps in the introduction of his first project in years: GIRLS (this is not about you). It’s only a three-pack and comes in well under 10 minutes, but the EP is one that nonetheless acts as a dynamic glimpse into the old-school roots, new-school experimentalist, fun-loving nature of a lyricist and vocalist that has for years painted with a one-of-a-kind brush. And starting with opener, DREAM GIRL, he proves his artistry focused on building up what he laid as foundation with last project, 2021’s Welcome To Next Year. Where then, he operated much more broadly, weaving through the half-hour long project with wide opportunities to slow down and take on new sounds, here he’s hyper-intentional with his sonic spaces.

We Designed a Cocktail Book to Pair with Blvck Svm's 'Mangalica Mink'

It was originally his vision, or at least his idea. The Chicago-based rapper had long ago written out his thoughts behind the inspiration and titling of the tracks that make up his 2022 breakout project, Mangalica Mink, in hopes of editing them into a cocktail book meant ot be paired with the release of the project on vinyl. But ultimately, he never got around to desiging it. So, we thought we'd save him some time and energy...

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Adekunle Gold | Tequila Ever After

Adekunle Gold’s is the kind of auditory aesthetic inexplicably tethered to the elements, to positive emotion, to friendship and love. It’s overwhelmingly applicable to those situations that feel particularly deserving of music; especially in need of a soundtrack. And yet it’s also the kind of music tuned perfectly for the moments when we need courage or strength. His vocals and his words, his profoundly traditional instrumentation bleeding into his brash experimentation with modern production and a mosaic of other musical influences, lend themselves to powerful emotion, and that inner soundtrack we all need from time to time. His music is cinematic, and Tequila Ever After is his masterpiece.

Get to Know : Elmiene

It’s that mystery, that effortless delicacy with which he navigates the ever-expanding extents of his range in new, and seemingly easy directions, that makes the UK singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist not simply an artist to watch, but one whose music, now in this moment, should be known by anyone who treks through Neo-Soul, R&B, folk-acoustic, and beyond.

Tobi Loiu and Chief Keef Got Each Other Back in their Experimental Bags

It’s not on one track, but two, where Tobi Lou and Chief Keef link during ‘Decent. And something about their collision of sounds, of energies, of narratives feels propelling for both artists. Both Chicago rappers who led a subgenre shift that skyrocketed them to recognition; both unique characters whose internet presence feels as documented by forces outside of music as it does by the force they hold within it; both trailblazing creatives who seemingly need a little spark to unearth something new for themselves at a time when audiences always want to hear the same old signature. Both, together, radically new for themselves, creating again, as they once did: freely.

Cory Henry | Live At The Piano

It’s rare enough these days to be so wholesale connected to analogue instrumentation. It’s rarer still to make an album out of it. But to release an entire live album, full enough of the emotion and energy that drives performance, yet that is listenable whilst in any room, is a dying art, revived again - or perhaps simply continued forward - by way of Cory Henry’s Live At The Piano.

PHABO | Don't Get Too Cozy

‘It’s purposely peaks and valleys placed throughout the project so that you don’t get too comfortable in any mindset, like “Ooh, look at him. He in love on this song. He’s talking like he don’t even care to be here type-sh*t on ‘Your Loss’ with Kalan.FrFr.” It’s just unpredictability in that sense. New words, new inflections, new beat patterns [and] new cores. [It’s] more authenticity from the start to the finish. I feel like people can look forward to those notes of classic R&B that they grew up listening to and loving as well as the sound that we’re trying to push forward as well,’ Phabo told Rated R&B.

Adi Oasis | Lotus Glow

From Brooklyn, by way of Paris and Martinique, with love, Adi Oasis has been showering the Neo-Soul world with the warmth of her new album, Lotus Glow since it was released at the beginning of March. From Adeline to Adi Oasis, the Parisian-born, New York-based soulstress’s new project is a cementing stamp of her moniker shift, steeped deeper in the now-clear signature definition that years of prolific features across the globe, and solo efforts spanning soulful influence from the Caribbean, France and her now home in the US, have brought into focus.

Baby Rose & Q Gallery

Through The Soul Tour | Marquis Theater, Denver | June 10, 2023

Femdot | Free Samples, Vol. 1

“When in doubt, feed the streets,” reads the slogan on the branding of his newly minted faux grocery chain, WFFL Goods, from which the thematic discourse of his new extended play, overflowing with the widest of stylistic and story-immersive cuts, emanates. Free Samples, Vol. 1: Variety Pack is the first iteration in this seeming short series, but owing its due to Femdot’s constant drive for growth and evolution, reads like one of his most refined, meditative, and complete works to date. And that’s saying a lot.

Baby Rose | Through and Through

There’s something innately powerful about the little things when they’re given the space and attention that they need to in order to bloom and flourish. The microcosmic, too, can be cosmic when you really focus in on the details. For Neo-Soul flower child, Baby Rose, and her unparalleled ability to hone in on one syllable - one note - one moment’s minutiae - and breathe the life into it necessary to expand its bounds into a sonic universe all to itself, the little things take center stage.

[INTERVIEWS]

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[SERIES]

[NEW & NOW]

A Series & Playlist Dedicated to the In-Depth Exploration of Black Music's Most Significant Statements

A Hypotheical Exploration of Collaborations We Want to See in Music

Bullet Pointing Why Our Favorite Artists are also Some of the World's Most Stylish Figues.

Reflections on our Best Concert Experiences

Reviews & Reactions to some of Music's Most Important Works

An Exploration of our Favorite Footwear.

Narratives Culminating in the Ultimate Live Show

Conversations with some of the World's Most Interesting Artists

Two of Our Writers Pen their Organic Responses to Album Releases

A Series & Playlist Dedicated to the In-Depth Exploration of Black Music's Most Significant Statements

A Hypotheical Exploration of Collaborations We Want to See in Music

Bullet Pointing Why Our Favorite Artists are also Some of the World's Most Stylish Figues.

Reflections on our Best Concert Experiences

Reviews & Reactions to some of Music's Most Important Works

An Exploration of our Favorite Footwear.

MUSIC

Let's Talk About Terrace Martin

27 projects. Some are mixtapes in the most classic form of the word, where a dynamic central figure composes a thoroughfare of beats for a mosaic of rappers, vocalists, and even other instrumentalists and producers to adorn their own craft. Some are albums, worthy of any accolade from a source that can understand the gravity of the world that the LA-based composer has and continues to create. And the rest are a scattered selection of EP’s and remixed collections, further detailing the boundless expanse of an unparalleled catalogue. 27 projects through the course of decade have built a label, Sounds of Crenshaw, into one of the most quietly prolific and prosperous empires in music. And yet, there’s not nearly enough talking going on that concerns the already legendary Terrace Martin.

[Full Story]

Sincere Hunte’s ‘SO FAR SO GOOD’ is an Unpolished Ode to the Deadpan Flow

[Review]

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Don't Say We Didn't Warn You About Nija's Starry Debut Album

[Review]

Cordae, Hip-Hop’s Proverbial Little Brother No Longer with New Album

[Review]

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Two Years Later, Brian Brown’s ‘Journey’ is Still Southern Genius

[Review]

[More Music]

[MUSIC SPOTLIGHT]

[More New Music]

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Sad Romance

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STYLE

The French Boot Company Merging Sustainability and Streetwear

Environment. That’s what it’s all about, after all. The name Virón is plucked directly from the word which in English, in French, in all languages is struggling in a battle against a modern society that in so many ways has forsaken it at its core in the name of convenience and growth. And in so many ways, fashion, as Rombaut sees it, is in and of itself a terrible offender of atrocités contre notre planète. And as he sees it, it doesn’t have to be that way.

'For the planet, the animals & the people. Equally.'

[Story]

10 Reasons why the Dreamville Soulstress is a Style Queen

[Style Points]

Vitaly Design | a story of Futurist Fashion Fluidity

[SS/20]

How the Italian Frame Collective is Spurring an Age of Self-Expression

[Review]

10 Reasons why the Anti-Pop Pop Star is One of the Most Stylish People Alive

[Style Points]

[More Style]

ART & DESIGN

A Recap of 2021's Art Basel Installment in Miami Beach

No one viewer can claim that they see – that is to say that they aesthetically appreciate or even understand – everything on display. Instead, Art Basel’s immense expanse at its Miami Beach edition alone grants any and all attendees the opportunity to immerse themselves in art and whittle down their specific yet undeniably always evolving taste for aesthetics, experience, and their intertwined paths that bring about inspiration and awe...