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Kanye West, Finally Unraveled
Kanye West does not do well with loss of control. Never has. He is a maestro in the truest sense—of his music, of his feelings, of the way he is interpreted by the masses. If the conversation about him is moving in a direction he dislikes, he gestures with his hands and changes it. This […]
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Daddy Yankee . . . In Space!
Reggaeton’s in a weird but kinda awesome place in 2010. The raw, adrenalized dancehall-in-Spanish sound that vaulted into the mainstream pop consciousness back in 2003 (in large part propelled by two swaggering Daddy Yankee singles, 2004’s “Gasolina” and 2005’s “Rompe”) is all but gone, replaced by a fragmented but ambitious style that can encompass the […]
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The Duchess of York Speaks Out About the Queen
Sarah Ferguson—you know, the Duchess of York—hosted a high tea to promote the DVD/Blu-ray release of Young Victoria, the nattily attired historical film that she co-produced last year when we needed a jolt of royal splendor. Alas, she’s not terribly familiar with this queen. “Where do you work?” she asked on introduction at the Mandarin […]
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Nelly Battles the Recession, Also The Recession
It’s one of the ironies of art—if not life, generally—that the moment you fully realize someone’s influence is frequently exactly when they’re no longer capable of exerting it. Nelly was attacked as a hip-pop softie when he debuted almost a decade ago; now, it’s impossible to imagine what the game would sound like without the […]
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Michael Jackson’s Nigh-Unstoppable Thriller Gets the 25th-Anniversary Treatment
Reimagining Michael Jackson’s Thriller—the World’s Best-Selling Album of All Time—takes boatloads of selective memory loss and revisionist visualization, but let’s go for it. Try to forget about the plastic surgery that ills you more than any ghoul could ever dare try; dismiss the homoeroticism of MJ naming both his sons Prince (echoing his only true […]
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Daddy Knows Best
Could someone please tell Daddy Yankee that reggaetón is supposed to be over? Because on El Cartel: The Big Boss, the fiery Puerto Rican rapper acts like the party’s just begun. While detractors continue to proclaim the genre’s premature death, this proper follow-up to 2004’s “Gasolina”-powered smash Barrio Fino is a welcome reminder of what […]
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More Melting-Pot Jams From Jovial L.A. Hip-Churners
If you’re a giddy optimist like me, you hope to one day hear Ozomatli’s cheerfully rebellious politi-pop wafting from every car radio in New York City. Don’t Mess With the Dragon is a celebration of their native L.A. in all its multicultural vibrancy and socioeconomic volatility. Singing in both English and Spanish, toying with Tower […]
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Fergie Is a Man
God Bless MTV. For the VMAs, we expect no less than Christina Aguilera cloaked by a sea of white fog, Beyonce backed by the bomb squad, Al Gore stopping in for a public service announcement, and stage crashers risking life and limb just to drop their website URL. And of course there was that opening […]
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Future Troubles
Hip-hop sometimes sounds like a once future culture hung up on its past. Welcome back Izod Lacoste pastels and skinny jeans, cocaine binges and nuclear fears. But what once appeared effortless now seems premeditated. Missy’s Cybotron and Fergie’s Sexual Harrassment samples are noise as capital, a guarantee against future earnings. Atlanta’s “snap” and “trap” allude […]