LOS ANGELES — In 2004, Utkarsh Ambudkar completed the acting program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts feeling disillusioned. He’d spent his days in class but his nights at clubs in the East Village, freestyling and battle rapping — in his mind, he was much more of a rapper than an actor. A life chasing down parts in an industry where talent mattered less than “the amount of roles for people that look like you” seemed grim, he said recently, over a gargantuan bowl of chili at ...
JACKSON, Ky. — Earlier this month, Sturgill Simpson headed eastward from Lexington until he hit Highway 15, which he drove until it dead-ended into Highway 30. This was the way into Jackson, the sparse, hilly town of around 2,000 people he grew up in. Just before the intersection, a small sign announced that he was in the right place: “Hometown of Grammy Award Winning Artist Sturgill Simpson.”
An auspicious start to a career, no? The 20-year-old Lil Nas X split the difference between prankster and proselytizer and — for a moment, at least — seemed equally good at both.
There was no precedent for the Wu-Tang Clan insurgency in the early and mid-1990s, and, if we’re being honest, there’s been nothing quite like it since.Uganda New York Times entertainment23 Apr 2019
(Live Review): INDIO, Calif. — Some days Kanye West is sacred, and some days he is profane. Sorting out which ones are which can be a slippery challenge, shaped by one’s tolerance for dissonance, appreciation for the tension between spirit and action, and capacity for forgiveness.
(Live Review): INDIO, Calif. — Some days Kanye West is sacred, and some days he is profane. Sorting out which ones are which can be a slippery challenge, shaped by one’s tolerance for dissonance, appreciation for the tension between spirit and action, and capacity for forgiveness.
Perhaps more than any other figure, producer and executive Shannon Houchins has had the most significant impact on the development of country-rap. He produced the first Bubba Sparxxx album, and his label Average Joes Entertainment — a partnership with country-rapper Colt Ford — has promoted several other artists who blend the two genres, including the Lacs, Lenny Cooper and Sarah Ross.
Over the last few weeks, “Old Town Road” — a strutting and lightheartedly comedic country-rap tune by the previously unknown 20-year-old rapper Lil Nas X — has lived an improbable number of lives.Uganda New York Times entertainment28 Mar 2019
OSLO, Norway — One evening in December, Marie Ulven was riding a tram through Oslo, remarking on just how unremarkable she hoped her music might someday be.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Blueface, everything is still new, and a little surprising. A couple of weeks ago, he was paid $20,000 to perform two songs at the opening of a boutique. When he asks women in the crowd at concerts to lift up their shirts, they oblige. Recently, seated in first class on a flight, he ran his phone camera over the sea of other people in cushioned seats, smiled and implored his viewers to “say hello to all my Caucasian friends.”
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — At the beginning of the year, 21 Savage was at his commercial apex. His second album, “I Am > I Was,” spent two weeks atop the Billboard album chart. “Rockstar,” his collaboration with Post Malone, was nominated for two Grammys, and he was set to perform at the ceremony.Uganda New York Times entertainment28 Feb 2019
Gunna is not the first rapper to retreat into the warm cocoon of pure tones. He is a dutiful student of Young Thug’s non sequitur filigree, which dominates the sound of streaming and has been put to use by everyone from Post Malone to Lil Baby.
With that success has come more visibility. In late January, he performed his single “A Lot” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” adding a new verse in which he rapped about children being separated from their parents at the border.
No current pop star is more adept at stoking and channeling swells of online fan curiosity than Ariana Grande. In the past year, she navigated a tumultuous relationship with comedian Pete Davidson; the death of an ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller; a public row with the Grammys; and more. In the process, she has become a master of the Easter egg, the clapback, the strategic tweet-and-delete. In the middle of a storm, Grande is cool and collected, hands firmly on the wheel.Uganda New York Times entertainment12 Feb 2019
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