Eighteen years ago, Kanye West was proud as punch to have signed to Roc-A-Fella, which he called “the hottest rap label in the world.” West was a superproducer at this point, but leading figures in hip-hop doubted his abilities as a frontman. “I never really had a good rapper story,” …

The country music community has been honoring the memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, following the Supreme Court Justice’s death on Friday at 87. On Saturday, Dolly Parton posted a poetic statement on Instagram, with a photo of Justice Ginsburg in her judicial robe. “She was small in stature but even …

In 1978, toward the end of Ozzy Osbourne‘s original stint as Black Sabbath’s main madman, the group posed for a promo photo. In it, the singer wore a T-shirt with a funky, homemade logo for something called “Blizzard of Oz.” “When I was in Black Sabbath, I wanted to do …

A day before L7 reissues Smell the Magic for the 30th anniversary, Donita Sparks dropped a video of “Fast and Frightening.” Featuring newly recorded vocals, the clip shows the singer-guitarist tearing through the Smell the Magic track, backed by the dancers of Lucha VaVoom. Wearing masks in Los Angeles, they …

Melanie C goes for a long ride with U.K. rapper Nadia Rose in the video for the empowering new song “Fearless.” The Spice Girl member’s self-titled eighth album will be released on October 2nd. On the track, Melanie C looks to uplift someone she cares about: “I wish that you …

Sufjan Stevens is about to release his new albumThe Ascension, out September 25th via Asthmatic Kitty, and he’s shared a brand-new song and video from the album, “Sugar.” Directed by Ezra Hurwitz, the dance-heavy video shows a family living a vintage and seemingly peaceful life before their domestic bliss starts …

The City of Louisville, Kentucky will pay the family of Breonna Taylor $12 million and institute a new set of policing reforms to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. The settlement was confirmed and detailed at a press conference Tuesday, September 15th, with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Taylor’s family and their …

In 2004, Bonnie Raitt teamed up with Toots Hibbert for a joyous cover of his reggae classic “True Love is Hard to Find.” It was a huge moment for Raitt, who had been a major fan of Toots & the Maytals since she heard him on the soundtrack to The …

Last October, standing on the front porch of a small two-story house that had seen better days, I witnessed one of the more unsettling conversations of my adult life. I had embedded with a team of community organizers in Alamance County, North Carolina, an hour’s drive west of Raleigh. This …

There’s a steel guitar solo on Elizabeth Cook‘s new album Aftermath that sounds like no steel guitar you’ve heard before. Snaking and shimmering rather than twangy and weepy, the solo on “Perfect Girls of Pop,” played through a flanger pedal, is more Giorgio Moroder than George Jones. It’s only 30 …