Shatter the Standards

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Wednesday Roundups #138: 14 New Projects You Should Listen to Now
Listen to new releases from Misha & BeMyFiasco, Chino XL, Lynae Vanee, Dave East & Scram Jones, Nnena, Fiend & DeeLow Diamond Man, 3ee, Pomrad, KUR…
 • Shatter the Standards
EP Review: Manhunt by Boldy James & Rome Streetz
Two MCs this deep in their catalogs shouldn't still be this sharp, but here they are, counting bricks. An EP of narcotics memoir pitched between boredom…
 • Shatter the Standards and Nehemiah
Milestones: Corinne Bailey Rae (Self-Titled) by Corinne Bailey Rae
After twenty years, this record has become a standard. Corinne Bailey Rae’s debut, the LP that opened a lane for Black British womanhood that didn't…
 • Shatter the Standards and Chinedu Faulkner
Album Review: The Pleasure Is Yours by GENA
Liv.e and Karriem Riggins form a new duo for a debut album about boundaries, desire, and learning to trust yourself.
 • Shatter the Standards and Jamila W.
Album Review: MORELUV by 3ee
3ee’s third album in two years runs hot on desire but thin on what to do with it. The songs that admit confusion matter more than the dozen that don’t.
 • Shatter the Standards and Jill Wannasa
Black Girls in Pop Groups Deserve More Than Survival
Manon, Normani, and Leigh-Anne earned their spots and still had to fight for basic respect inside their own groups. Black girls in pop groups keep…
 • Blackpolitan and Zaria Farah
The One Where Everyone Catches Feelings
New R&B songs from Ty Dolla $ign, Jorja Smith, kwn, Jai’Len Josey, and Yaya Bey. Here are the songs that stretch from luxury-brand flirting to…
 • Soulpolitan
Deciphering On the Radar Raps New Class Cypher (Vol. 1)
On the Radar Radio has spent a decade building a room where rappers say what they actually mean. Ten of them showed up, and the ones with the most to…
 • Words Past da Margin and Quinn Baptiste
Grown R&B That Doesn’t Need Permission (Five 2006 R&B Albums)
Jaheim pulls from Willie Hutch and Harold Melvin, but keeps his stories in the present. Plus: a Headley set built around big singing, Javier’s new era…
 • Soulpolitan
Reality Check Music That Looks Past the Block (Five 2006 Rap Albums)
Juve sounds fully back and keeps changing his attack inside the same song. Plus snap-era Atlanta momentum, a long-awaited TS debut, a producer locked-in…
 • Words Past da Margin
Album Review: Spiral Staircases by Larry June, Curren$y & The Alchemist
Two of rap’s most prolific independents and its best loop-digger pool their catalogues. The fit is so seamless it barely leaves a pulse.
 • Shatter the Standards and LeMarcus
The Jackson 5 Follower Groups Before 1994
The Jackson 5 template proved too profitable to retire. Family harmony meets youth marketing. These nine albums trace the Jackson 5’s afterlife in…
 • Shatter the Standards, Brandon O'Sullivan, and Phil
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