Stereogum — There’s been a lot written about the so-called Drake effect, in which the Canadian superstar boosts the careers of young rappers by jumping on remixes of their songs or otherwise endorsing them. But there’s also something to be said for the idea ... more info

Stereogum — We’re seeing the beginnings of a pattern here: Taylor Swift makes a sleek, high-profile video that seems racially weird in some way or another, and that video’s director then steps forward to defend the video, and Swift, against charges of racism... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — photo: Grace Jones @ Roseland, 2012 (more by Dana [distortion] Yavin) You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight's shows, but here are some highlights... Afropunk Festival @ Commodore Barry Park It's day one of the... more info

Stereogum — Along with Thundercat and Flying Lotus, Earl Sweatshirt headlined this Saturday’s second annual Low End Theory Festival In Los Angeles. Earl took the opportunity to debut a couple of new songs, dark and booming things that reflect the angry, insula... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — by Andrew Sacher It took him 16 years, but this past Friday Dr. Dre put out his third album, Compton, and it's way better than a Dr. Dre album in 2015 seemed like it would be. There's a lot of... more info

The Independent — While Odd Future may have disbanded, its members are keeping the OFWGTA spirit alive and well. more info

Stereogum — Earl Sweatshirt just kicked off his Ready To Love Now Tour a couple of days ago in New Zealand. At Earl’s show in Auckland last night, some guy crashed the stage and grabbed Earl from behind, who responded by throwing a couple of punches. Trash Tal... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — by Andrew Sacher Plenty of great hip hop shows in NYC are getting all the time. We don't get a chance to write about all of them, so here's a roundup of some recently-announced stuff coming up: Blog-hyped rapper Father... more info

Stereogum — Producers/MCs the Alchemist and Oh No met back in 2010 and formed hip-hop psych project Gangrene. Since then, the duo has a slew of albums and EPs and brought together Earl Sweatshirt and Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring for the latest Grand Theft... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — In addition to the Made In America-presented Mary J Blige show that happened last week and the second TBA one-day NYC show, the Jay Z-curated Budweiser Made In America festival returns to Philly Labor Day Weekend. It happens September... more info