Photo Credit: Obidigbo Nzeribe The agreement that Nas’ Illmatic – which will turn 30 next year – is a classic unites almost all hip-hop fans. To so many, it represents the pinnacle of ’90s rap music – a heartfelt, intelligent, and conscious boom-bap record that crowned a 20-year-old an instant legend of his genre. But opinions… Read more
Photo Credit: Brian Bowen Smith Kelly Clarkson burst onto the music scene in 2002 as the winner of the first season of American Idol. Since then, she has become one of the most successful artists of her generation with four Grammy Awards under her belt. Known for her powerful voice and emotional performances, Clarkson has… Read more
Photo Credit: Max Montgomery In 1994, Nasir “Nas” Jones burst onto the frontiers of hip hop seemingly out of nowhere with Illmatic (though, in reality, his first major break occurred when he featured on Main Source’s 1991 debut LP). Now considered the “gold standard” of conscious, boom-bap rap, it captured something profound, incredibly timely, and… Read more
Photo Credit: Danny Clinch At the outset, a major artist doing a studio album comprised entirely of songs made popular by other artists may seem like a lazy way to stay in the public eye and/or take care of one contractually-obligated release. However, it’s probably closer to being a rite of passage, as Bob Dylan,… Read more
Photo Credit: Danny Clinch Just last year Bruce Springsteen released Western Stars, a concept album based around Americana themes – particularly cowboys of the old west, the ultimate symbol of American folklore. This was perhaps fitting for an artist who grew up in the ‘50s, the era during which that sort of mythology was the… Read more