Music Features

In late October, Lecrae was getting ready to announce the winner of a rap contest featuring the work of people behind bars. The contestants had submitted their entries in August, with the goal of becoming the one lucky winner, crowned by Lecrae, who would get their track recorded, mastered, and …

“My forties are kicking my ass/And handing them to me in a margarita glass.” In a smooth opening line that makes Christopher Cross look like an amateur sailor, Jenny Lewis kicks off “Puppy and a Truck” with a realistic view of her life, complete with unconditional love from her dog …

This piece is part of Rolling Stone’s second annual Grammy Preview special issue, released ahead of the start of first-round voting. We spoke to some of the year’s biggest artists about the albums and singles that could earn them a nomination — or even a statue come January — and …

Scott Baker grew up obsessed with all things horror, playing various types of heavy, riff-based music, and “listening to too much Danzig.” When he was 19, a band-mate took a demo to L.A. and claimed that it garnered some interest, but by the time Baker arrived, the deal had fallen …

Herbert Wright was a ten-year-old kid living in Chicago when Lil Wayne released Tha Carter II. It was the first Wayne release made after Hurricane Katrina pushed him from his native New Orleans. The album ushered in an era in which Wayne would tower above the rest of the rap …

The 2021 Newport Folk Festival (technically titled “Folk On”) is, for obvious reasons, much different than past installments: Coming off a year of mass tragedy and societal reckoning, this year’s event, ongoing through July 28th, features double the amount of days — six instead of three — reduced capacity, and …

It’s been a good few months for Kingpin Skinny Pimp, a Memphis rap pioneer who has never earned the same widespread recognition of other hometown heroes like Three 6 Mafia and 8ball & MJG. Last fall, a snippet of his voice from the classic Nineties track “Lookin’ for da Chewin’” …

On the evening of Tuesday, June 15th, after more than a year of relative isolation, an aspiring singer named Lily Davies entered a recording studio in Toronto for her first post-pandemic writing session with strangers. The 20-year-old had scribbled a slew of lyrics earlier that day after a boozy brunch; …

The past couple of years have not been easy on David Crosby. After the pandemic made it impossible for him to tour, his financial situation grew so dreary that he feared the bank would take away his house. The tendonitis that’s been plaguing his hands has advanced to the point …

Racism is baked into the foundation of the modern music industry. The business took the first steps to grapple with its role in perpetuating and profiting from racism last year, when Jamila Thomas (now at Motown Records) and Brianna Agyemang (Platoon) launched a movement called #TheShowMustBePaused shortly after the murder …