Year: 2020

Black Noi$e prefers controlled chaos. The Michigan producer/DJ, born Rob Mansel, was raised in the circle pits and sweaty raves of Detroit’s music scene. Rap, hardcore, ghettotech, and house pulsed through his radio speakers and facilitated a sense of belonging. “That feeling of going to shows was unmatched,” Black Noi$e explains over the phone. “I couldn’t find this nowhere else; that sense of everyone being in the same place for the same reason.” Unfortunately, the feeling responsible for jumpstarting Black Noi$e’s omnivorous production style isn’t easily achievable in 2020. The coronavirus continues to stall the live music scene indefinitely—at least

Detroit rapper Boldy James’ spit the above bar on his 2020 breakout album, The Price of Tea in China. Itsums up the ethos of his entire career. “I grew up on the radio,” Boldy James, born James Clay Jones III, explains over the phone. “The music kept me out of trouble and gave me a different focus. Because you can’t see the music, you gotta feel it.” Boldy’s music is nothing if not overflowing with feeling: kitchen pots filled with drugs resembling oatmeal; care packages sent to loved ones in prison unsure whether they’d see daylight again; the cool relief

The music industry can be ruthless. Thankfully, we have resources like William “Squeak” Watkins, Drumma Boy’s fabled manager, who believes in music education and helping artists through the highs and lows of the business.  Squeak, 50, knew he wanted to be in the music business back in 1998, getting his start in engineering before transitioning into artist management. The Washingtonian and Atlanta-based artist manager went on to learn hard lessons about the business, experience incredible highs and lows, and establish longevity in a dog-eat-dog business. A proponent of TuneCore, ownership, and artist education, Squeak was kind enough to give me his time

Guapdad 4000’s life sounds like a movie. Within minutes of our recent phone conversation, he’s filling me in on the comic book club that he recently started with Thundercat and Isaiah Rashad. The California-based rapper/producer, born Akeem Douglas Hayes, is currently reading author Jonathan Hickman’s run on Marvel’s Avengers. Twenty minutes on, near the end of our conversation, I ask Guapdad, 28, to describe his average brainstorming session. “I’ll do a fake brainstorm session right now… Boogie’s asking to do the video for ‘Hairless Horseman,’” he says without hesitation, referring to the standout song from his latest EP Platinum Falcon Returns, out now via

My Favorite Color is something of a nomad. Living in Compton, Pittsburgh, and now LA, the influences of the coasts come together on his Rostrum Records debut album, Velma, where My Favorite Color—or Willis, as his friends refer to him—shines and growls through 30-plus minutes of heartfelt and layered raps. From bangers (“Dale”) to aching odes (“Funeral”), My Favorite Color delivers a relatable and rugged debut. The textures of his voice hit the heart. His natural rasp and the grain of his delivery give us a classic feel, but his fluid and, at times, deadpan flows reveal him to be