Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, Black Fathers, and White Women
EIC Zoe Patterson weaves together an analysis of Kendrick Lamar's new album with grief over her relationship with an absent parent
Sitting Down with Dubai Rapper KAFV
An interview with Dubai-based rapper KAFV, talking about the UAE's hip-hop scene, sampling, foreign cinema, and more
You Give Me That Contact High
The UAE, like many countries, has grown increasingly entranced with hip-hop culture, streetwear, and their history. This cross-cultural interest manifests in the arrival of the "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop" exhibition at Manarat al Saadiyat, reviewed here by EIC Vamika Sinha
Psychedelic Rhapsody
Weaving from Jay-Z to Khruangbin, Aravind Kumar takes us through a "psychedelic" listening practice
My Coffee
Drawing on the rhythmic flow of rap, this poem emerges from the incomparable buzz of a coffee cup
When I Get Home: Solange's Cartography
In When I Get Home, a title itself implying a road and destination tied to self, Solange sketches a journey, maps out the paths that have led her to this exact moment as both artist and woman and black being.
Going Black: The Commodification of Hip-Hop Culture
“The commodification of hip-hop leads to a watering down of its content. As corporations try to capture as much of the market as possible, they ‘tone down’ hip-hop’s radical aspects to make it as palatable for consumers as possible.”
Thinking Bout Frank Ocean's Blonde
A personal review of Frank Ocean’s iconic album by Lillian Snortland.
I'd Love It If We Made It
“Hip-hop seems to be our protest music du jour but for another generation, it was rock ‘n’ roll” – Vamika Sinha unpacks The 1975’s songs as modern cultural commentary in the form of millennial rock music
Notes on Kendrick Lamar, Moby-Dick, and the Margins
A clever, surprising intertextual analysis of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN album and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick as tales of outsiders.
The Color Blue
Vamika Sinha weaves personal memoir with music criticism, jazz writing and New York history in this hybrid essay.