The most memorable moment in rap of 2024 isn’t an album, it’s the multi-song rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that culminated in the release of the year’s most world-conquering rap song, ...

As the year comes to an end, we are wading deep into list season. Now that we’ve talked about the best albums, songs, debuts, and EPs of 2025, it’s time to get even more granular and pay tribute to a ...

So much rap music comes out all the time, and especially with frequent surprise releases, it can be hard to keep track of it all. So, as a way to help keep up with all of it, here’s a roundup of the 5 ...

Every time I do one of these lists, I mention that rap feels more splintered than ever, but, right now, it really does. One thing I miss is casually sitting around with friends, breaking down why a ...

The best rap beats are nerdy as hell. Every drum placement, every melody, every chopped-up sample sends me down a YouTube rabbit hole trying to piece together the way a producer contorts and dissects ...

In 1894, “The Little Lost Child” went “platinum” off sheet music sales in what might be considered the first successful music video marketing campaign. Innovations in aurafarming have taken things to ...

At the end of the 20th century, hip-hop was booming, but the mood was dour. Two of the greatest rappers of all time—2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.—had recently been violently killed. Artists were ...

One of the first albums I downloaded to my bulky iPod Classic as a teenager was Curren$y’s Pilot Talk. The song that brought me there was the smoker’s anthem ...

Every month, The FADER's Vivian Medithi showcases all the standout rap songs from the past 30-ish days in one unranked list. Over the sort of subtle ShunGu beat that makes you sit up and listen a ...