In the lead-up to the release of The Lion King: The Gift, a collection of music inspired by the 2019 reboot of the classic Disney film, Beyoncé remarked that the project was meant to be “a love letter to Africa”. […]
Previously hiding his identity behind a balaclava, north-west London rapper M Huncho switched to a bespoke mask for the release of his first full-length mixtape. His intention is to present a less intimidating image, and it’s a move befitting the […]
The more music Dave makes, the more out of step his prosaic stage name seems. The richness and daring of his songwriting has already been granted an Ivor Novello Award—for “Question Time”, 2017’s searing address to British politicians—and on his […]
“There are a few truthful rappers,” Loski tells Apple Music. “But there aren’t a lot of them. Everything I’m saying is truthful. My whole life I was in trouble with the police and I was literally stuck on my block. […]
When New York rap heavyweight Jadakiss lent his patronage—and the name of his D Block label—to D-Block Europe in 2013, it served noticed that the South London collective was one of UK rap’s most promising acts. Strikingly cohesive and consistent, […]
From doing over-the-top music videos with Charlie Sheen to declaring himself the most lyrical rapper, provocation is an integral part of what makes the notorious Miami MC’s full-throated, trap-informed anthems so beloved by fans—and so bewildering to the haters. Harverd […]
Giggs has always been one of UK rap’s more upwardly mobile talents. One of the MCs to receive Drake’s patronage during the Canadian’s 2017 🇬🇧 love-in, his fifth studio album has a strikingly cross-Atlantic guest list that hints at broader […]
EDITORS’ NOTES AJ Tracey knew his own mind when approaching his long-anticipated debut album. “I’m versatile and I do what I want,” the West Londoner tells Apple Music. “If people don’t want me to branch out and try new things, […]
“Most of my mixtapes all had songs I’d written while I was in jail,” Fredo tells Apple Music. “This is all different. I was free the whole time and put a lot of time and thought into it. This is […]
Meek Mill knows how to make an entrance. “Dreams and Nightmares”, the opening track from his 2012 debut, became one of the most chantable rap songs of the era. “Intro”, the opener from the rapper’s fourth studio album, Championships, revisits […]
U.K rapper/grime artist D Double E is a major player in the U.K. grime scene, having been one of the original artists to nurture the genre off the back of drum’n’bass, jungle, and garage. D Double E, born Darren Dixon, […]
“This is a story that shows no matter where you come from, you can actually go to the top,” Bugzy Malone tells Apple Music. Few UK MCs embody triumph over adversity like the Mancunian. Across a series of mixtapes and […]
Few artists have impacted 21st century rap like Nicki Minaj. Born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982 but raised mostly in Queens, Minaj attended Manhattan’s prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (the […]
Travis Scott is the stage name of Jacques Webster, a Houston-born hip-hop artist and producer affiliated with Kanye West’s GOOD Music and T.I.’s Grand Hustle. Scott has a heavily Auto-Tuned half-sung/half-rapped vocal style, and refers to himself as a singer […]
On 1999’s “My Name Is,” Eminem entered the public imagination with a mandate: “God sent me to piss the world off.” From his provocative early work to the redemption narratives of 8 Mile and beyond, he’s more or less stayed […]
Eschewing an academic career in favor of music, Hackney, East London born and bred rapper Not3s put all his time and effort into developing his career, rising from online obscurity to being signed by a major label in a relatively […]
Miami-area rapper Denzel Curry emerged as an affiliate of SpaceGhostPurrp’s Raider Klan in 2011. Born in Carol City, Florida to Bahamian and Native American parents, Curry started writing poetry as an elementary school student, later battle rapping at his local […]
Propelled to fame by appearances on the Maybach Music Group compilation Self-Made, Vol. 1, Meek Mill is one of the most combative and commercially successful rappers of his time. The native Philadelphian, born Robert Williams, sharpened his skills in a […]
South London’s 67 started life as a street gang before evolving into a music and media brand that involved a number of people from the Brixton Hill area in London. 67 strove to break away from the U.K. grime scene, […]
Chicago-area hip-hop musician Juice WRLD delivers introspective lyrics atop melodic production, echoing Travis Scott and Post Malone. Born Jarad Higgins in 1998, the Calumet Park artist grew up playing piano, drums, and guitar, turning to rap freestyling in high school. […]
Known for a uniquely fluid and melodic yet mumbling vocal style, rapper Future busted out of Atlanta at the dawn of the 2010s with a flurry of mixtapes, high-charting albums, certified platinum singles such as “Turn on the Lights” and […]
Canadian songwriter, producer, rapper, and singer Drake sustained a high-level commercial presence shortly after he turned to rapping in 2006, whether with his own chart-topping releases or a long string of guest appearances on hits by the likes of Lil […]
If ye, Kanye West’s solo album released one week prior, was him proudly shouting about his superpower—bipolar disorder—from the peak of a snow-capped mountain, KIDS SEE GHOSTS is the fireside therapy session occurring at its base. Both Kid Cudi and […]
Born in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, hardcore rapper Jay Rock was raised in the Nickerson Gardens Projects. With most neighborhood teens joining a gang, it was a no-win situation for Rock, since hanging with any of his […]
Beginning with his classic debut, Illmatic (1994), Nas stood tall for years as one of New York City’s leading rap voices, outspokenly expressing a righteous, self-empowered swagger that endeared him to critics and hip-hop purists. Whether proclaiming himself “Nasty Nas” […]
Headie One is a U.K. rap artist from Tottenham, London. Known for his unwavering vocal flow with stylings of trap and drill, he made his first appearance on the scene in 2010 on tracks such as “Wood Green Diss” and […]
Some couples repair rifts in their relationships with expensive therapy. Beyoncé and JAY-Z tour stadiums together and surprise-release collaborative albums that mine their self-mythologised personal drama for big-ticket entertainment. Sonically closer to Beyoncé’s 2016 high-art airing of dirty laundry Lemonade […]
Debuting as a member of the hip-hop duo Clipse, rapper Pusha T was born Terrence Thornton in the Bronx but was raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia along with his brother Gene Thornton. With Gene taking on the name Malice, the […]
Influenced by the Southern-style swagger of UGK and the rhymes of his hometown heroes the Diplomats, A$AP Rocky gave up slinging drugs in Harlem and moved to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, where he started rapping. By the time he had […]
Quoting both the ’90s rap group Sporty Thievz and dancehall don Beenie Man on his breakthrough hit “Dem Boy Paigon,” U.K. rapper J Hus exploded on the scene in 2015 with a sound that mixed rap, reggae, and the new […]
In the span of three short years, Kanye West went from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker, as his stellar production work for Jay-Z led to a major-label recording contract and, ultimately, a wildly successful solo career. West paired his beats […]
J. Cole, the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, was among the most commercially successful rap artists of the early 2010s. Born in Germany but raised in North Carolina, Jermaine Cole grew up with a mother who loved […]
Atlanta hip-hop artist Playboi Carti raps with a repetitive and catchy flow like contemporaries Lil Uzi Vert and Young Thug. Born Jordan Carter in the south side of the city, Carti grew up listening to Prince, Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, […]
Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” the most chantable song of 2017, introduced the Bronx MC’s lively around-the-way-girl persona to the world. Her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, reveals more of Cardi’s layers, the MC leaning forcefully into her many influences. “I […]
Rapper Lil Baby grew up in Atlanta hanging with friends like Young Thug, Coach K, and Pee, tending more toward a life of petty crime and street hustling while his friends went on to thrive in the music industry. In […]
North West London rapper Nines drew a loyal fan base through a dichotomy in his music that celebrated the grim reality of the streets while expressing his aspirational drive to escape them. Hailing from the Harlesden area of London, the […]
Dropping basketball references like the old-school but wrapping them in thoroughly modern beats, Post Malone hit in 2015 with his single “White Iverson.” Raised in Dallas, Malone was NFL before he was NBA thanks to a father who worked for […]
Punjabi-Canadian hip-hop recording artist NAV (aka Navraj Goraya) had his first taste of fame when reality TV star Kylie Jenner posted a Snapchat video of herself singing along to his song “Myself.” The mysterious star had been steadily building a […]