| Drake Surprises The Internet With a Trilogy of Errors | October 29, 2014 |
Paul Thompson believes that with the latest round of leaks, Drake is truly on his worst behavior.
| Hustler Turnt Sad Robot: Jaden Smith “Blue Ocean” | October 2, 2014 |
Paul Thompson sees the me-first-I'm-sad-on-Tumblr generation through the eyes of Jaden Smith
| Elvis Was No Hero to Me: Vince Staples “Blue Suede” | August 20, 2014 |
Paul Thompson doesn’t need extra cheese on that Sicilian You’re lying in bed, colorless. Liquor stores. Barbed wire. Jesus candles. There’s a pounding on the roof. It’s Vince Staples, sueded out and giving startlingly few fucks. Christmas comes in August, except the 19-year-old from Long Beach is jacking you for everything you own. If it […]
| Lil Boosie “Crazy” | August 19, 2014 |
Paul Thompson paid for the necklace and ate breakfast We celebrate a curious quality in our rap stars. The contradiction—a blunt, imprecise tool—humanizes these larger-than-life figures, we say. Makes them seem like us. Nas documents the plight of the black woman, then buys her jewelry and holds it over her head; Kanye laments his materialism […]
Paul Thompson leaks Mott Street noodles out his mouth when he talks “We never really stopped,” says Elucid. “We already had the groove.” Armand Hammer is New York’s new perpetual motion machine. After a 2013 that saw both a mixtape (Half Measures) and a critically acclaimed album (RACE MUSIC)—not to mention a solo record from […]
| Fist of the North Star: Greg Grease “Really Tho” | July 29, 2014 |
Paul Thompson is now signed to P0rnHub “I just want to be genuine with whatever it is I’m doing.” Greg Grease moves at his own pace. Minneapolis rappers are carving out a new identity, with more dimensions—the old-guard Rhymesayers disciples are sharing stages with irreverent party-starters like Prof and Lizzo; Mike Mictlan is turning your […]
Paul Thompson might take a loss but bitch, he’d rather take his chances Do you remember the single from the second Mike Jones album? Of course you don’t. “Mr. Jones” was released in September of 2006, debuting at #92 on Billboard and disappearing almost immediately after. You remember the beat, though—Lil Wayne repurposed it as […]
Think Paul Thompson’s a joke? Har-dee-har Every now and then, there are glimpses of the old Jay Z. You hear the half-maniacal laugh, you can still smell the crack in his clothes. But underneath the Samsung deals and the half-hearted veganism lies a bleak, existential truth: Jiggaman got rich and took the doo-rag off. Shawn […]
Paul Thompson is hotheaded with cold shoulders Elucid and Billy Woods just want to pay their rent. Collectively known as Armand Hammer, the duo is responsible for the best album you missed in 2013: the stellar, heady RACE MUSIC. Whatever you were listening to on the way to work this morning, this record knocks harder […]
| Eyedea: Even When He Says Nothing, It’s Beautiful | July 1, 2014 |
Paul Thompson’s brain is IBM compatible Eyedea was the meanest battle rapper you had ever heard–until he wasn’t. Micheal Larsen won Scribble Jam the same summer he graduated from Highland Park High School in St. Paul. The following year–when he was finally old enough to vote–he beat Immortal Technique in New York to win Rocksteady […]
