PinkPantheress
&
Kaytranada
10.24.2022
10.21.2022
Latto
&
Flo Milli
Two of 2022’s hottest MCs worked hard to prove themselves in the music industry — and now, they want to share the love and support
Two of dance music’s best young artists on the ideal time of day to create, the ins and outs of sampling, and teaming up in the studio
10.25.2022
Chloe x Halle
&
the Isley Brothers
Soon after she meets Ronald and Ernie Isley one sweltering afternoon in downtown L.A., Chloe Bailey tells them a quick, impossibly cute story: As kids, she and her sister Halle used to perform the Isleys’ “Who’s That Lady,” serving as backup singers while their baby brother took the lead. The Isley Brothers’ mix of muscular funk and buttery soul was the bedrock for much of the music Chloe and Halle grew up on, and the brothers have the staggering sample credits to support that claim — a list that Ernie is happy to run down at any time. (It includes Chloe x Halle’s mentor Beyoncé, whose group Destiny’s Child sampled the Isleys on their debut album.)
Chloe x Halle have honed their own spellbinding R&B with a blend of jazz, indie rock, trap, synth-pop, and soul, which they write and produce themselves. (Lately, they’ve been branching out: Chloe, 24, has been plotting her solo debut, as Halle, 22, prepares to make her mark in Hollywood with leading roles in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and the musical film adaptation of The Color Purple.) But like the Isleys, whose new album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl, came out Sept. 30, Chloe x Halle started off as a sibling act. Today, the ladies are eager to pick the brains of Ronald, 81, and Ernie, 70, the two remaining members from the classic Isley Brothers lineup. The legends, it turns out, are more than happy to pass on what they’ve learned.
Two of pop’s great sibling acts
on finding inspiration and trying
not to annoy each other
10.20.2022
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Japanese Breakfast frontwomen on smashing expectations and the power of ‘no’
Karen O
&
Michelle
Zauner
Some of music’s biggest artists come together for conversations about life, music, and everything in between
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PinkPantheress is talking about the time she produced a beat for a friend and tried to make it “as Kaytranada-inspired as possible.” It’s a sweet story, especially since the person she’s telling it to is Kaytranada himself.
“I want to hear it, I want to see how it turned out,” he responds. PinkPantheress quickly shuts down the idea: “It’s fucking terrible.” Then they both break into laughter.
“My Capricorn sis!” The shared zodiac sign that doubles as a greeting from Latto, 23, to Flo Milli, 22, is just one of the two MCs’ many similarities. Both hail from the Southeast, both are tattooed with their lucky number, seven — and neither of them has ever been to iFly Atlanta, the indoor skydiving venue across the street from the stadium where the Atlanta Braves play. Donning a red skydiving suit, Latto reaches for a helmet to complete the look. “You already know my big head needs an extra-large,” she jokes, and they laugh as Flo asks for the same size.
Flo Milli can recall a time just a few years ago when it felt like fans, critics, and the music business were pitting her and Latto against each other as two female rappers on the rise. Now, they loudly support each other. Latto, a fan of Flo Milli’s 2022 album, You Still Here, Ho?, urges her to release a favorite song that didn’t make the track list; Flo Milli reminisces about Latto’s “poufy-hair days,” before hits like last year’s “Big Energy,” recalling the inspiration she found from watching a young woman like herself thrive in the rap game. The energy in the room is clear: It’s all love.
About a year ago, Karen O was scrolling through Instagram when she came across a photo of Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner that left her a little concerned. It was from a stop on Zauner’s relentless tour over the past couple of years, which has included more than 100 concerts and promotional appearances on the heels of her Grammy-nominated third album, Jubilee, and her bestselling memoir, Crying in H Mart. “She had the million-mile stare,” says Karen O, who turns 44 in November.
It’s late August in Los Angeles, and Karen O and Zauner are sitting in a studio in the Arts District, meeting in person for the first time and looking back on their text exchanges from around the period of that million-mile stare. “She sent me some really nice messages,” says Zauner, 33. “It felt very K.O. She was like, ‘If you ever want to break a table with me...’ ”
11.02.2022
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Over the past several years, two of Argentina’s biggest careers have run parallel to each other: In the port city of Rosario, singer and rapper Nicki Nicole broke into the music scene when her 2019 track “Wapo Traketero” became a hit and showcased her gritty, darkly hued R&B sound to the world. A few months later, a massive YouTube session with the buzzy producer Bizarrap blasted her into even more fame, setting the stage for her debut album, Recuerdos. About 200 miles away, in the working-class neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires, a young rapper named Trueno was battling his way through the city’s renowned freestyle scene. The son of the Argentinean rapper Pedro Peligro, Trueno’s skills got him noticed and won him the national championship at Red Bull’s Batalla de los Gallos competition in 2019.
Their paths finally crossed one day in 2020: Trueno had been working on his first LP, Atrevido, and he enlisted Nicki for the song “Mamichula.” Sparks flew in the studio. “It was the best way to connect because we could express in the song everything that we wanted to say to each other in person,” says Nicki with a smile. “We went on a date a few weeks later, fell hard in love, and started making tons of music together.” Since then, their careers have only continued to grow: Nicki’s blockbuster album Parte de Mí, from 2021, is full of transcendent collaborations with the likes of Mon Laferte and Rauw Alejandro. Earlier this year, Trueno dropped Bien o Mal, a sprawling LP that features musicians from disparate genres, pays homage to old-school rap, and reinvigorates South American hip-hop.
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&
Trueno
Nicki
Nicole
Argentina’s favorite couple sit down in Buenos Aires and talk about everything that has connected them personally and artistically
&
Trueno
Nicki
Nicole
Argentina’s favorite couple sit down in Buenos Aires and talk about everything that has connected them personally and artistically
&
Trueno
Nicki
Nicole
Argentina’s favorite couple sit down in Buenos Aires and talk about everything that has connected them personally and artistically
10.26.2022
Roger Daltrey walks through Kore Studios near London’s Shepherd’s Bush, opening doors and looking for Yungblud. “Is he here?” the Who frontman asks. Yes, he is. “A young musician on time! Unheard of,” Daltrey booms. Everyone within earshot laughs.
This location was chosen for its familiarity (Daltrey has recorded here) and for ease — the 78-year-old lives not too far from Kore, just outside of London. On the contrary, the much younger star he’s meeting has flown in from Paris, where he played a show last night, and will soon hop on a flight to L.A.
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&
Roger
Daltrey
Yungblud
On staying fashionable in music, how ego ruined social media, and saying ‘no fucking way’ to ‘The Voice’
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10.27.2022
Two iconic British frontmen on staying fashionable in music, how ego ruined social media, and saying ‘no fucking way ’to ‘The Voice’
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10.26.2022
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&
Roger
Daltrey
Yungblud
Argentina’s favorite couple sit down in Buenos Aires and talk about everything that has connected them personally and artistically
10.26.2022
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On loving their queer fans, the challenges of autobiographical songwriting, and what they learned from difficult childhoods
It’s no longer the mid-Nineties, but Shania Twain is still the reigning queen of country pop. Just look at the over-the-top reaction from the Gen Z crowd when Harry Styles brought her onstage at Coachella this year, or check out Post Malone rocking out during Twain’s AMAs appearance a few years back. Or take a listen to Rina Sawayama’s glittery banger “This Hell,” which kicks off with Twain’s iconic “Let’s go girls!”
For Sawayama, Twain has been a lifelong influence. The British Japanese star incorporates Twain’s country anthems into a futuristic sound that also mixes in pop and nu metal, among other styles. This isn’t lost on Twain, who was struck by the video for “This Hell.” “I was chuckling that you have [line dancing] going on in it,” she tells Sawayama over Zoom. “I thought, ‘Wow, it lives on!’ ”
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&
On staying fashionable in music, how ego ruined social media, and saying ‘no fucking way’ to ‘The Voice’
Daltrey
Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Rina Sawayama
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10.28.2022
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10.28.2022
On loving their queer fans, the challenges of autobiographical songwriting, and what they learned from difficult childhoods
It’s no longer the mid-Nineties, but Shania Twain is still the reigning queen of country pop. Just look at the over-the-top reaction from the Gen Z crowd when Harry Styles brought her onstage at Coachella this year, or check out Post Malone rocking out during Twain’s AMAs appearance a few years back. Or take a listen to Rina Sawayama’s glittery banger “This Hell,” which kicks off with Twain’s iconic “Let’s go girls!”
For Sawayama, Twain has been a lifelong influence. The British Japanese star incorporates Twain’s country anthems into a futuristic sound that also mixes in pop and nu metal, among other styles. This isn’t lost on Twain, who was struck by the video for “This Hell.” “I was chuckling that you have [line dancing] going on in it,” she tells Sawayama over Zoom. “I thought, ‘Wow, it lives on!’ ”
Argentina’s favorite couple sit down in Buenos Aires and talk about everything that has connected them personally and artistically
Yungblud
&
Daltrey
Roger
Yungblud
&
Shania Twain
Rina Sawayama
THE LATEST
10.28.2022
On loving their queer fans, the challenges of autobiographical songwriting, and what they learned from difficult childhoods
It’s no longer the mid-Nineties, but Shania Twain is still the reigning queen of country pop. Just look at the over-the-top reaction from the Gen Z crowd when Harry Styles brought her onstage at Coachella this year, or check out Post Malone rocking out during Twain’s AMAs appearance a few years back. Or take a listen to Rina Sawayama’s glittery banger “This Hell,” which kicks off with Twain’s iconic “Let’s go girls!”
For Sawayama, Twain has been a lifelong influence. The British Japanese star incorporates Twain’s country anthems into a futuristic sound that also mixes in pop and nu metal, among other styles. This isn’t lost on Twain, who was struck by the video for “This Hell.” “I was chuckling that you have [line dancing] going on in it,” she tells Sawayama over Zoom. “I thought, ‘Wow, it lives on!’ ”
Shania Twain
&
Rina Sawayama
Two groundbreaking producers on how they made their biggest hits, keeping their ears fresh, and the importance of beautiful surroundings
It’s about two hours before Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, are due onstage in Brisbane, Australia. For the moment, though, Finneas’ mind isn’t on the gig; he’s backstage, loading up Zoom so he can meet one of his heroes.
“I feel like we’ve been meant to meet for a long time,” Rick Rubin says when Finneas pops up on his screen. “I feel like it was in the ether, and now it’s actually happening. It feels good.”
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Rick Rubin
&
Finneas
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10.31.2022
Two groundbreaking producers on how they made their biggest hits, keeping their ears fresh, and the importance of beautiful surroundings
It’s about two hours before Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, are due onstage in Brisbane, Australia. For the moment, though, Finneas’ mind isn’t on the gig; he’s backstage, loading up Zoom so he can meet one of his heroes.
“I feel like we’ve been meant to meet for a long time,” Rick Rubin says when Finneas pops up on his screen. “I feel like it was in the ether, and now it’s actually happening. It feels good.”
&
Rick Ruben
Finneas
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10.31.2022
On loving their queer fans, the challenges of autobiographical songwriting, and what they learned from difficult childhoods
It’s no longer the mid-Nineties, but Shania Twain is still the reigning queen of country pop. Just look at the over-the-top reaction from the Gen Z crowd when Harry Styles brought her onstage at Coachella this year, or check out Post Malone rocking out during Twain’s AMAs appearance a few years back. Or take a listen to Rina Sawayama’s glittery banger “This Hell,” which kicks off with Twain’s iconic “Let’s go girls!”
For Sawayama, Twain has been a lifelong influence. The British Japanese star incorporates Twain’s country anthems into a futuristic sound that also mixes in pop and nu metal, among other styles. This isn’t lost on Twain, who was struck by the video for “This Hell.” “I was chuckling that you have [line dancing] going on in it,” she tells Sawayama over Zoom. “I thought, ‘Wow, it lives on!’ ”
&
Finneas
Rick Rubin
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10.31.2022
Some of music’s biggest artists come together for conversations about life, music, and everything in between
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Some of music’s biggest artists come together for conversations about life, music, and everything in between
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Two groundbreaking producers on how they made their biggest hits, keeping their ears fresh, and the importance of beautiful surroundings
At this point in their reign as the world’s biggest band, the members of BTS are accustomed to hero worship and nervous fans. But as that group’s leader, RM, sits across from Pharrell Williams in early September, onstage in an empty, secured auditorium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, he’s unnerved to find himself on the other side of the equation. It feels “embarrassing,” RM says with a smile, to talk about his artistic journey in front of “my own idol.”
Williams, eternally youthful and smooth-skinned (needless to say), is relaxed and full of small talk, in a leather jacket, matching leather shorts, boots, and a blinding array of ice-studded jewelry on one wrist. RM, in a Bottega Veneta double-breasted brown suit, is quieter, seemingly shuffling through the many questions he’s prepared in his head.
Two guys who’ve changed the sound of pop sit down for an incredibly honest conversation about music, responsibility, and fans
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11.01.2022
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&
RM
Williams
Pharrell
COVER STORY
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10.31.2022
Two groundbreaking producers on how they made their biggest hits, keeping their ears fresh, and the importance of beautiful surroundings
It’s about two hours before Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, are due onstage in Brisbane, Australia. For the moment, though, Finneas’ mind isn’t on the gig; he’s backstage, loading up Zoom so he can meet one of his heroes.
“I feel like we’ve been meant to meet for a long time,” Rick Rubin says when Finneas pops up on his screen. “I feel like it was in the ether, and now it’s actually happening. It feels good.”
Read the Article
Read the Article
&
Pharrell Williams
RM
On loving their queer fans, the challenges of autobiographical songwriting, and what they learned from difficult childhoods
It’s no longer the mid-Nineties, but Shania Twain is still the reigning queen of country pop. Just look at the over-the-top reaction from the Gen Z crowd when Harry Styles brought her onstage at Coachella this year, or check out Post Malone rocking out during Twain’s AMAs appearance a few years back. Or take a listen to Rina Sawayama’s glittery banger “This Hell,” which kicks off with Twain’s iconic “Let’s go girls!”
For Sawayama, Twain has been a lifelong influence. The British Japanese star incorporates Twain’s country anthems into a futuristic sound that also mixes in pop and nu metal, among other styles. This isn’t lost on Twain, who was struck by the video for “This Hell.” “I was chuckling that you have [line dancing] going on in it,” she tells Sawayama over Zoom. “I thought, ‘Wow, it lives on!’ ”
Read the Article
Read the Article
&
RM
Pharrell Williams
THE LATEST
10.31.2022
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
Being able to express myself through words and music allows me to know myself better,” Common says. “I found in writing, I was able to say things that I truly felt. I don’t think I would have had that conversation with certain people and friends, but I had it through the art,” he says of rapping about abortion and hard topics, in reference to “Retrospect for Life,” Common’s 1997 collaboration with Lauryn Hill. To which John Legend happily interjects, “I remember that song,” before breaking into a pitch-perfect riff on its chorus.
The longtime friends and collaborators connect in-person for the first time since the pandemic, reflecting on their music, artistic vulnerability, and the importance of championing cultural diversity in America
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&
Common
Williams
John Legend
Common
&
John Legend
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