Articles by Kyle Mullin

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  GoldLink

  Diaspora

  PUBLISHED Jun 18, 2019

  Panting. A racing pulse. Palpable, all but audible perspiration. Howling creatures in the distance.   These are but a few of the elements t...

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  Mariee Sioux

  Grief in Exile

  PUBLISHED Jun 4, 2019

  How can grief sound so gorgeous? Nevada City, CA singer-songwriter Mariee Sioux deftly pulls off that dichotomy on "Baby Wave," a key track...

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  Blu & Exile

  True & Livin

  PUBLISHED May 27, 2019

  NASCAR isn't a typical touchstone in hip-hop lyrics, to say the least. But leave it to Blu to boldly go outside the box and name-check driv...

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  Aquasocks

  Holos

  PUBLISHED May 23, 2019

  We all know the worst hip-hop glamorizes materialism and excess. But some of the best rap elevates such desires into fantasies that can ins...

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  Carlton Jumel Smith

  1634 Lexington Avenue

  PUBLISHED May 13, 2019

  In the tradition of Curtis Mayfield's "Miss Black America" and Sam Cooke's "You're Always On My Mind," Carlton Jumel Smith's "Woman You Mad...

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  Logic

  Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

  PUBLISHED May 13, 2019

  Hate Logic all you want — you're only giving him more ammunition.   He spits quicker than an automatic rifle on "Homicide" (the smash singl...

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  Donovan Woods

  The Other Way

  PUBLISHED May 3, 2019

  By stripping down the songs from his masterful 2018 LP Both Ways on the newly released The Other Way, Donovan Woods has put a fresh spin on...

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  ScHoolboy Q

  CrasH Talk

  PUBLISHED May 1, 2019

  Good news, ScHoolboy Q fans: he's still as menacing, off-kilter and creative as ever, maybe more so. But this time, he makes all those comp...