#Rap Blog: Hook’s filthy “Mattress”

#Rap Blog: Hook’s filthy “Mattress”

The California rapper’s album Castle, her first in four years, dropped this month. Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song. When I first listened to Hook’s 2019 project Bully, I remember thinking how apt a title it is. The California rapper’s flows — whether sledgehammer blunt or wispy smooth — are…

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#Rap Blog: Merci beaucoup, Shawny Binladen

#Rap Blog: Merci beaucoup, Shawny Binladen

Hear the N.Y.C. sample drill rapper’s cinematic collaboration with French rapper Jwles. Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song. L’Argent, the final film from French auteur Robert Bresson, doesn’t really have a main character: the title of the minimalist thriller translates bluntly to “Money.” Instead of a single protagonist, the film…

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#Rap Blog: ALLBLACK is still it

#Rap Blog: ALLBLACK is still it

Listen to “It’s It” from the Oakland rapper’s new project Slow Motion Better Than No Motion. ALLBLACK. Photo courtesy of EMPIRE   Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song written by Vivian Medithi and Nadine Smith. There’s an unexpected continuum between the West Coast and Michigan’s high work rate rap scene,…

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#Rap Blog: JT is all the way in her bag

#Rap Blog: JT is all the way in her bag

Listen to “Sideways,” the lead single from JT’s forthcoming solo EP. Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song written by Vivian Medithi and Nadine Smith. “It’s 2024 we finna kick this shit off right,” JT announces at the beginning of the music video to “Sideways.” What follows is two minutes of…

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#How Serane brought plugg to Paris

#How Serane brought plugg to Paris

A primer on the Francophone rapper working with MexikoDro, StoopidXool, and EvilGiane. Serane in the “Pardonne Moi” video   Rap Column is a column about rap music by Vivian Medithi and Nadine Smith for The FADER. For the past month, I have been obsessed with “Ig” by Serane. It’s a charmingly carefree ditty about fans…

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