-
![]()
The Atlantic. Source: Vaughn Ridley / Getty. ‘Not Like Us’
A rap feud, a New Yorker essay, and the skin-deep racialism that still holds us back
-
![]()
Dean Rogers / Focus Features No, No, No
Back to Black re-creates the tragedy of what happened to Amy Winehouse without trying to understand it.
-
-
![]()
Evan Jenkins / Guardian / eyevine / Redux Steve Albini Was Proof You Can Change
To a certain kind of listener, it sometimes felt like he was the last honest musician in the industry.
-
![]()
Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Sources: Arturo Holmes … It’s Not a Rap Beef. It’s a Cultural Reckoning.
The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has become far, far bigger than music alone.
-
![]()
Dana Jacobs / Getty Bad Bunny Has It All—And That’s the Problem
The Puerto Rican superstar is known for his anthems of community. His latest tour is about his own isolation.
-
![]()
Illustration by Joanne Imperio / The Atlantic. Sources: … Why Does Taylor Swift See Herself as an Albatross?
She can’t help identifying with the notorious bird from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem.
-
![]()
Beth Garrabrant Taylor Swift Is Having Quality-Control Issues
The Tortured Poets Department excavates her private life more deeply than ever—but somehow, it’s a story we’ve heard before.
-
-
![]()
Amazon Prime The Wasteland Is Waiting for You
Amazon’s Fallout show gets the weirdness of the game just right.
-
![]()
Mason Poole / Parkwood Entertainment This Is What an Album Needs to Do Right Now
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is an exploration of country—not just the musical genre, but America itself.
-
![]()
Blair Caldwell / Parkwood Entertainment Beyoncé Stands Her Ground
The singer’s confrontational spin on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” is the key to understanding Act II: Cowboy Carter, her new album.
-
![]()
Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Sources: … The Rick Rubin Guide to Creativity
Can the legendary record producer’s book really make you into an artist?
-
![]()
Scott Dudelson / Getty Kanye’s Creepy Comeback
Despite his supposed cancellation, the Hitler-praising rapper has his first No. 1 single since 2011.
-
-
![]()
Alex Lockett The Haunting of Modern Pop Music
The producer who helped build Taylor Swift’s empire of nostalgia is still finding new ways to explore the past.
-
![]()
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani A Kind of Timeless Jazz Masterpiece
The best-selling and arguably the best-loved jazz album ever, Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue still has the power to awe.
-
![]()
William H. Kelly III / Jackson State University … Why the Best Singers Can’t Always Sing Their Own Songs
Performing pop songs live offers a thrilling reward—if your voice doesn’t betray you, that is.
-
![]()
Tommy Kha / Shore Fire Media They Rode the Rails, Made Friends, and Fell Out of Love With America
Hurray for the Riff Raff has made the next great American road album.
-
![]()
Amazon The Fabulous Desperation of Our Celebrities
Jennifer Lopez would like us to take her seriously now.
-
-
![]()
Rick Diamond / Getty Toby Keith Had More to Talk About Than His Politics
The late singer became a household name by leaning into partisan controversy, obscuring his often-artful songwriting.
-
![]()
Valerie Macon/ AFP / Getty What Joni Mitchell Proved at the Grammys
In performing an instant-classic awards-show set, she affirmed her timelessness—and her influence on a new generation of artists.
-
![]()
Leon Bennett / WireImage / Getty The Gay Icon Who Wants Conservative Approval
Lil Nas X is a provocateur, a troll, an individualist … but he also really, really wants to be liked.
