Recently, in casual conversations, I’ve been asked for my opinion about the October report that “No Rap Songs Are in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40 for the First Time Since 1990” more so than my ...

As the year comes to an end, we are wading deep into list season. Now that we’ve talked about the best albums, songs, debuts, and EPs of 2025, it’s time to get even more granular and pay tribute to a ...

We should address the elephant in the room: hip-hop did not have a strong year on the charts. In fact, rap music had its worst showing in years. Back in October, it made headlines when—for the first ...

Every year, we’re told that hip-hop is in crisis. But if you ask us, it feels like there’s too much heat to keep up with. What’s lost on the chart-watchers lamenting rap’s mainstream lull is that the ...

In 2024, the song of the year was so undeniable and inescapable that we don’t even have to bother naming it. This year, the landscape is much trickier. Twenty twenty-five hasn’t produced a ...

Introduction / by DJ Kool Herc -- Prelude -- Necropolis : the Bronx and the politics of abandonment -- Sipple out deh : Jamaica's roots generation and the cultural turn -- Blood and fire, with ...