Shatter the Standards

Shatter the Standards

Home
Album Reviews
BLAST
Blackpolitan
Lists
Milestones
NWSPRNT
Soulpolitan
Wednesday Roundups

Guides

The Ten Songs That Joe Thomas Wrote for Other Artists
Joe Thomas’ résumé behind the microphone is well-known, yet his pen is just as formidable. A close read to show what makes his writing persuasive, and…
 • 
Imani Raven
3
The Best R&B Mixtapes You Might’ve Missed In the 2010s
The 2010s produced a quiet flood of R&B tapes that redirected the genre through bedrooms, label boardrooms, and avant-garde club basements. Let’s see if…
 • 
Jill Wannasa
R&B Groups That Never Came to Fruition
The list outlined an alternative timeline of R&B, one where everything remained central even as the business world around them kept changing the rules.
 • 
Jill Wannasa
The Handguide to ‘70s Funk Albums (Beginners Edition)
These selected albums significantly influenced the history of funk, conveying its breadth and diversity.
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
 and 
Murffey Zavier
The Handguide to Backwoodz Studioz
These releases chart the moment when Backwoodz Studioz forged its signature alloy of literary street rap, deconstructed samplecraft, and…
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
 and 
Phil
2
Revisiting the Year 1978 in R&B
Stitch these moments together and you get a year that didn’t add chapters to R&B’s saga but opened entirely new plotlines.
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
 and 
Phil
The Lineage of Miles Davis and Roy Ayers
Each guide is based on legendary musicians believed to be part of D’Angelo’s roots. It then branches out into post-‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Voodoo,’ drawn…
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
, 
Phil
, 
Tai Lawson
, and 
Imani Raven
R&B Albums That Basically Counts As Going to Therapy
Below is a hand‑picked R&B syllabus for the soul—seventy albums that feel less like casual listening and more like a guided therapy session.
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
21
The Lineage of Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and Minnie Riperton
Each guide is based on legendary musicians believed to be part of D’Angelo’s roots. It then branches out into post-‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Voodoo,’ drawn…
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
 and 
Phil
4
The Lineage of Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday
Each guide is based on legendary musicians believed to be part of D’Angelo’s roots. It then branches out into post-‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Voodoo,’ drawn…
 • 
Brandon O'Sullivan
 and 
Phil
3
The Handguide to the Ladies of Hip-Hop
Presented chronologically to show the long march of ladies in rap music toward success and recognition, contains several types of projects.
 • 
Tai Lawson
, 
Jamila W.
, and 
Tabia N. Mullings
The Handguide to Albums by Related Artists (‘80s Whitney)
In the 1980s, Whitney Houston released two essential albums: her debut and follow-up. Here, we’ve selected 11 albums by the key collaborators who helped…
 • 
Imani Raven
© 2025 Shatter the Standards, LLC.
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture