“Essential & Unheard” is a series that highlights awesome music that probably flew under your radar each month. Learn why MIKE's "Tears of Joy" made him the first ever artist to be featured twice on Essential & Unheard, and check the playlist for 20 tracks songs that just missed the cut—all by lesser-known artists that deserve a helluva lot more … [Read more...] about June Spotlight: MIKE’s Tears of Joy
Black Mirror’s “Ashley Too”: Inside the Dark Dystopia of the Modern Music Industry
Black Mirror’s latest season blends their typical dystopian brand of science-fiction with the life of Miley Cyrus and the worst side of the music industry. “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too” was one of the most chilling episodes to date, painting a disturbing vignette of artist abuse and commercialization that seems unnervingly possible - because it already exists. Black … [Read more...] about Black Mirror’s “Ashley Too”: Inside the Dark Dystopia of the Modern Music Industry
Behind Doggystyle: The Singles that made a West Coast Classic
As the sun rotates and his game grows bigger, it’s now become easy to forget just how Snoop Dogg became a pop culture legend. It was Doggystyle, his Death Row debut, that catapulted him to the forefront of mid-’90s hip hop. In celebration of a quarter-century of G Funk, we’re breaking down all the samples - both Dre-flipped and Snoop-interpolated - on the records three … [Read more...] about Behind Doggystyle: The Singles that made a West Coast Classic
Inside the Allegory of KIDS SEE GHOSTS: Demons, Ghosts, and Self-Transformation
The supernatural themes of Kids See Ghosts morph throughout the album. Kanye West and Kid Cudi act to reframe the societal perception of mental illness through the personification of their shackles and saviors as ghosts. After a full year of the album, we analyze how these two creatives came together to flip the script on stigma and reframe perceptions of mental health, … [Read more...] about Inside the Allegory of KIDS SEE GHOSTS: Demons, Ghosts, and Self-Transformation
Anatomy of the Funk: G-Funk Deconstructed
G-Funk, one of the most iconic sub-genres in hip-hop history, was a defining chapter in the West Coast's rise to become the hip-hop powerhouse that we know today. Although G-Funk enjoyed a relatively short-lived golden era, the producers and samples behind the classic West Coast sound remain as influential as ever. Music is never created in a vacuum. It’s an … [Read more...] about Anatomy of the Funk: G-Funk Deconstructed
The Hard Reality of Snippet Culture: A Case Study
The way we consume music is ever-changing, becoming easier and quicker as the days go by. Snippets, despite their small size, have become a vital piece of an artist's marketing process and one of the most complicated mediums to follow as a fan. This is a look into snippet culture and how it's both helped and hurt every party involved. Snippets. 15 to 30 seconds of … [Read more...] about The Hard Reality of Snippet Culture: A Case Study
Behind Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Era: Every Sample, Every Collaborator
The ‘G’ in Warren G stands for Griffin, but it might as well be shorthand for “G Funk”. Warren’s distinctive production chops and romantic vision of gangsterism made him one of the most indispensible voices of the G Funk era and, in the years since, they’ve enshrined him as one of the West Coast’s most recognisable veterans. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, we’re … [Read more...] about Behind Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Era: Every Sample, Every Collaborator
How J. Cole Flourished Under – and Ultimately Outgrew – Jay-Z’s Approach as a Label Head (ROTD 3 Preview)
J. Cole is changing before our very eyes. The infamous “no features”, self-reliant Cole that flourished under Jay-Z’s hands off management at Roc Nation has learned from his mentor to form a new mentality - far, far from his comfort zone. This new J. Cole is a label head first and foremost, sacrificing his own solo career and personal comfort to give his new generation of … [Read more...] about How J. Cole Flourished Under – and Ultimately Outgrew – Jay-Z’s Approach as a Label Head (ROTD 3 Preview)
How Earl Sweatshirt and Quelle Chris capture the Complexity of Human Existence through Art
Earl Sweatshirt and Quelle Chris use the contrast and inconsistencies in their psyche to create music that digs at what it truly means to be human. On their most recent solo albums, the two MC's undertake a tandem journey to understand their own minds and how self-perception shapes the imperfect realities of being alive. Earl Sweatshirt, Quelle Chris, and the Oscillating … [Read more...] about How Earl Sweatshirt and Quelle Chris capture the Complexity of Human Existence through Art
25 Years of Illmatic: The Producers and Samples that Created a Classic
If 1994 is one of hip hop’s greatest years, then Illmatic is one of the richest cherries atop the proverbial cake. Whilst it might not have been the most immediately impactful of the year’s debuts, it still stands as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. We’re breaking down the samples throughout the massive album, from killer to killer. That’s right: there ain’t no … [Read more...] about 25 Years of Illmatic: The Producers and Samples that Created a Classic
