Despite this, Jonah Bromwich does not identify with the Sad Boys movement.  It’s hard to say whether every so often the music press just gets it right, or whether there are some albums that are so staggering that it’s impossible to deny them. I’d like to think that the latter is true of Sun Kil […]

Jonah Bromwich will house you. There’s no doubt that Mac Miller changed his public image last year, but that fact alone shouldn’t be enough to condemn him.  You’ll remember that Mac originally emerged from the woodwork praising rap’s golden age and rapping over the likes of Pete Rock and Primo.  It was nice, sweet, cringeworthy, […]

Words by Jonah Bromwich.  Art by Brad Beatson Smarm is everywhere. Take Big Sean on “Control (HOF),” smarming it up like a pro. And if you go back and pay attention to Big Sean’s lyrics, he is a professional smarmer. “I’m over niggas sayin’ they’re the hottest niggas Then run to the hottest niggas just […]

Jonah Bromwich knows how to D-Town Boogie. There are cosmetic similarities between Outkast and the Dallas duo A.Dd+ but, as the latter’s excellent new mixtape DiveHiFlyLow: Every Man is King shows, A.Dd+ don’t need facile comparisons to bait new listeners. Within the span of two great projects, (their last one, When Pigs Fly, was one […]

Jonah Bromwich steers the whip with one arm like Herman of Herman’s Military Antiques. Action Bronson is so consistent that it can be tough to figure out what makes his two best projects to date, Blue Chips and now Blue Chips 2, qualitatively better than other recent work. Saab Stories was underrated, and some feel […]

Jonah Bromwich knows but one wealthy industrialist. “Ephemera” initially seemed like the right word to describe Race Music. These are loose associations communing over semi-hardcore beats. Philly and D.C. kids, Elucid, Billy Woods, rapping as Armand Hammer, ripping wisdom-filled one liners all over the place. I don’t have it all together just yet. T-shirts and […]

Jonah will be spelling his last name Brom Witch for only three more days. Most poetry runs the risk of being precious. The threat is even worse when set to music. Bruce Springsteen, the patron saint of New Jersey, is the prime example, but even Dylan drifts into that territory. There are only two iconic […]

Jonah Bromwich, something something…Jets…fool. Let’s say you love music. All kinds of music. The Beatles, Radiohead, Dilla, Wu-Tang, Stereolab, Floyd, Flying Lotus. Real nerd shit, but it spans wide. Let’s say that you then start making music, in the mold of your influences. You have good taste, sure. But if you’re trying to follow the […]

Jonah Bromwich has a laptop in his front pocket. Eminem’s suffered from various problems for most of the last decade. Most importantly, he ran out of things to talk about after he exhausted the whining about his family and fame, and the more-nimble-than-funny pop culture jabs that kept seventh graders (me included) snickering and everyone […]

Jonah Bromwich has a tattoo of Kathleen Hanna on his left forearm. Though Passion has long been a home to all kinds of music, we have a special place in our hearts for girl-group indie rock, pop drenched in reverb.  Anything that sounds like Brian Eno and Phil Spector had a particularly sensual encounter, we’re […]