1. Release Day: Young Thug, Coi Leray, Camidoh, Big Freedia
    Music

    Release Day: Young Thug, Coi Leray, Camidoh, Big Freedia

    Coi Leray channels her critics and her complicated relationship with her father Benzino into her self-titled sophomore album COI. Big Freedia returns after nearly a decade with Central City, featuring Faith Evans and Lil Wayne.

    ·3 min read
  2. Culture

    Friday Notes "Amapiano, We go show, We go let dem know, na we de run the town"

    Asake's sophomore album Work of Art drops, igniting what the post calls the Summer of Amapiano. Nikola Jokic's low-key championship celebration contrasts with Denver's euphoric Nuggets parade, while Minneapolis marks three years since George Floyd's murder.

    ·3 min read
  3. Release Day: Asake, Killer Mike
    Music

    Release Day: Asake, Killer Mike

    Asake's Work of Art arrives less than a year after his debut, operating at a near-peerless level with amapiano-Fuji fusions and Yoruba panegyrics. Killer Mike's MICHAEL is his most personal record — gospel, funk, and hip-hop all grounded in the Black Southern church.

    ·3 min read
  4. Wednesday Notes "I got, mental vision, intuition"
    Culture

    Wednesday Notes "I got, mental vision, intuition"

    Jude Bellingham, just 19, is profiled as a once-in-a-generation talent heading to Real Madrid. Meanwhile NBA free agency looms with Khris Middleton, Bruce Brown, and Dillon Brooks among the top available forwards.

    ·2 min read
  5. Friday Notes: Supreme court rules in favor of Black Alabama Voters, Release Day, NBA Finals and Champions League Previews
    Culture

    Friday Notes: Supreme court rules in favor of Black Alabama Voters, Release Day, NBA Finals and Champions League Previews

    In a surprise ruling, two conservative Supreme Court justices sided with Black Alabama voters to uphold the Voting Rights Act. PSG simultaneously signals it will entertain summer bids for Kylian Mbappe, with Real Madrid ready to move.

    ·4 min read
  6. Release Day: Amaarae, Janelle Monáe
    Music

    Release Day: Amaarae, Janelle Monáe

    Amaarae's Fountain Baby is a globe-trotting sonic otherworld where Afropop, punk, hip-hop, and alternative rock coexist seamlessly. Janelle Monáe's The Age of Pleasure trades Afrofuturism for unmasked sensuality and a pan-African love letter.

    ·3 min read
  7. Culture

    Friday Notes: Burna Boy, Release Day

    Burna Boy's new single samples Brandy's 1998 hit 'Sitting on Top of the World' featuring Mase — a classic flip in his signature style, alongside Meta's new return-to-office mandate.

    ·2 min read
  8. Release Day: Burna Boy, Camidoh, Bad Boy Timz, Metro Boomin, Toosii
    Music

    Release Day: Burna Boy, Camidoh, Bad Boy Timz, Metro Boomin, Toosii

    Metro Boomin's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack landed the same day as Toosii's Naujour and Burna Boy's Brandy-sampling new track — one of the year's biggest music Fridays.

    ·1 min read
  9. Burna Boy “Sitting on top of the world”
    Music

    Burna Boy “Sitting on top of the world”

    Back with another vintage soul sample, Burna Boy flips Brandy's 1998 'Sitting on Top of the World' featuring Mase into a new Afrobeats banger.

    ·1 min read
  10. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - The Hillbillies
    Music

    Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - The Hillbillies

    Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar's joint track 'The Hillbillies' arrived via pgLang on the same day Tyler the Creator hinted at Camp Flog Gnaw 2023 — a big day for hip-hop.

  11. Tuesday Notes: Stormzy on African music, AI poses a threat to humanity, NBA Finals matchup set
    Culture

    Tuesday Notes: Stormzy on African music, AI poses a threat to humanity, NBA Finals matchup set

    OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind leaders signed a statement calling AI an extinction-level risk — the same day Stormzy told Dazed that the greatest music on Earth is coming out of Africa.

    ·4 min read
  12. Saturday Notes: Beyonce x Tina Turner, Celtics x Heat
    Culture

    Saturday Notes: Beyonce x Tina Turner, Celtics x Heat

    The night after Tina Turner's death, Beyoncé transformed the Renaissance Tour into a tribute — projecting her image while the crowd chanted her name. Plus: Celtics-Heat Game 4 recap.

    ·2 min read