If Brian Josephs was the Big Apple, he'd be hard to the core. And he'd make sure Ka was king, and all was good.

Brian Josephs still thinks “DLZ” was that “heat for the streets.”  It’s tough describing TV on the Radio without bordering hyperbole. For almost a decade, the group has been making very familiar, yet complex concepts — death, love, carnal fucking — an articulate focus through a sonic expanse. Rock is a genre of catharsis and […]

Brian Josephs wants you to know Quavo is a precious angel who needs to be protected at all costs. If you’re familiar with church, chances are you heard of a phenomenon known as “catching the holy ghost.” It’s like when the horns of “Blood on the Leaves” blare in the club — with all the […]

Brian Josephs died five times listening to Run The Jewels 2. Tweet him your condolences. The Stuyvesants, a production duo consisting of Bed Stuy’s Allan Cole (Algorythm) and Darien Birks (Flwrpt), make instrumental albums full of soul and funk samples. According to their Facebook, they connected “under a moniker that would pay homage to the […]

The paradox of Gambino Vs. Glover

Brian Josephs prays to the Shmurda Hat. It’s his guardian angel. Here’s the thing about a lot of Afrofuturists: They don’t necessarily like the term. That’s partly because it simplifies the varying beliefs the artists under the label represent. Also, “labels”: Many Black artists have been paranoid of those. The term itself is a bit […]

Brian Josephs spent the weekend listening to Purple Haze on Lenox Ave. Doesn’t feel all that different. Here’s a bit of a life hack: There’s a chance you’ll come across some epiphanies gazing at subjects you actively or intentionally avoided. Like death — that thing you’re inching toward as you’re reading these words. It’s something […]

Brian Josephs sleeps with the lights on to avoid being white-appropriated. With all the pints of ink that’s been used to dissect it, it’s easy to forget to take a step back in awe at the fact that Endtroducing… was made by a twentysomething-year-old human with a bunch of samples. DJ Shadow’s masterwork is an […]

Brian Josephs watches Stacey Dash on Fox News on mute. You Old Droog sounds like Nas. Admittedly that does look good on paper, but I can’t think of an image of Nas nefariously wringing his hands in the studio every time I put on the Your Old Droog EP. I gotta confront his bland spectrum […]

Brian Josephs did see OutKast at Governor’s Ball, but any perceived references is coincidental. Everybody’s talking but nobody’s quite sure where New York rap is going in the near future. What fans can come to an agreement on is its past. It was the Mecca before the city fell, and part of its storied culture […]