Timmhotep Aku

We're the midst of a Future frenzy, and with good reason. The Atlanta MC and singer has positioned himself as hip-hop's premier trap rapper by consistently (and frequently) releasing compelling music in recent months. His newest album, Dirty Sprite 2 — a sequel to his 2011 mixtape and the first ...

King Los' long-awaited major-label debut, God Money War, dropped on June 23 while our collective attention was — and is — turned to American terrorists, burning churches, music streaming services, and much more widely hyped album releases from other hip-hop artists. From a publicity standpoint, it's an inopportune time to ...

Miguel is back. Nearly three years after the release of his breakthrough album Kaleidoscope Dream the singer has returned with Wildheart, a love letter to his hometown of Los Angeles and a hip-hop and rock-inflected example of what California soul sounds like in 2015.

It's not ...

Vince Staples is used to playing the bad guy. Since he was first introduced as a fringe Odd Future affiliate the 22-year-old rapper has established himself as a calm, sinister presence—in sharp contrast to the sometimes shocking, but mostly innocuous, hijinks of Tyler and company. His calling card ...

The state's tourism slogan is "Virginia is for lovers," but if you're a fan of the Neptunes, Timbaland, or Missy Elliot you know that the VA should be known for its musical innovators, too. Hoping to join the ranks of the aforementioned Virginia legends is singer-producer duo Sunny & Gabe.

Picking one song from Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's ebullient new album to talk about is no easy task. Surf is so layered, so textured and such a vibrant body of work that singling out one song feels almost like you're not doing the entire album justice.

The group ...

How is it possible to swim against the current of chaos in life and still remain calm? Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins shows us how it's done in his conceptual new clip for "P's & Q's." Jenkins has a thing for hydration; he encourages listeners to "drink ...

On paper, Vince Staples' Long Beach origins, gang affiliation and grim subject matter would lead some to write him off as just another gangsta rapper from Los Angeles County (see: YG), but skillfully executed songs like "Senorita" prove he's much more than that.

Over a Christian Rich beat ...

"Just another day, in another life / I'm a satellite, watching the world watch people / as they do what they do to people," sings a bewildered and audibly affected Bilal. After taking a trip to the surreal side of soul on 2013's aptly titled A Love Surreal the ...

J*Davey knows what it's like to be early to the party. The L.A. duo of producer Brook D'Leau and singer-songwriter Jack Davey made its debut a decade ago with a sound that drew from electro and new wave as much as it did hip-hop and pop. Back in the days ...

A thumping bass kick, triplet hi-hats, dramatic piano chords and synthesized string arrangements are standard fare for your typical trap rap song. But once again, Memphis' Don Trip proves he's far from a typical trap rapper.

"Let's go do a drive-by on the White House," Trip spits, adding, "Let's ...

Binary thinkers beware: If you're the type who's uncomfortable with contradiction, or would rather deal in stereotypes than nuance, then rapper Heems and his new album, Eat Pray Thug, are not for you. That kind of thinking in black and white won't work here, where Heems is making what he's ...

"Things just ain't the same for gangstas." Dr. Dre was more right than he could have known when he opened "The Watcher," from his 1999 album Chronic 2001, with those words. Meant to be a matter-of-fact acknowledgement of changing times and his own shelf life as a gangsta ...

PRhyme, rapper Royce Da 5' 9" and producer DJ Premier's collaborative project, is in actual fact a hardcore rap fan's fantasy realized; it's also one of those mythical instances of a good-looking tracklist exceeding all expectations. PRyhme is a nine-song testament to its creators' perseverance in changing times and proof ...

The music of Jeremiah Jae is an anomalous but welcome blip on rap's radar in 2014. Uncompromising and idealistic, Jae's latest release, a mixtape called Good Times put out through Warp Records, is yet another concept-driven, abstract, art for art's sake project from the prolific producer/MC whose catalog includes mixtapes ...

There is hardly a title in music as onerous as "New York hip-hop artist." Attached to that description are preconceived notions about look, sound and subject matter, coupled with the stigma of being from a place that has gone from being the most prominent and relevant locale in hip-hop to ...