Category: News

Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.

Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of March below.

Wings — Venus And Mars (50th Anniversary Edition)

Paul McCartney made the most of life after The Beatles with Wings, and the band was really hitting its stride by the time they released 1975’s Venus And Mars. The album turns 50 years old this year, so there’s a new vinyl edition that was cut at half speed using a high-resolution transfer of the original master tapes, meaning it sounds terrific.

Get it here.

Black Sabbath — Paranoid (Reissue)

Black Sabbath is coming to an end, but we’ll always have the music. Paranoid is one of the band’s defining releases, of course, and now it sounds better than ever on a new Rhino High Fidelity reissue.

Get it here.

Alice Cooper — Love It To Death (Reissue)

Alice Cooper also just got the Rhino Hi-Fi treatment with a rerelease of Love It To Death. The album, the band’s third, was a critical one for them, as it was their big breakout after a pair of albums that underwhelmed commercially.

Get it here.

Ariana Grande — Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead

Even with Ariana Grande being primarily in Wicked mode at the moment, she’s still been delivering new music at a solid clip. The deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine dropped last week, as did a short film and, of course, new vinyl.

Get it here.

Eli Roth’s Red Light Disco: Dancefloor Seductions From Italian Sexploitation Cinema

Director Eli Roth has a passion for Italian “sexploitation” movies from the ’70s and ’80s, and that applies to the films’ songs that often aren’t available outside of the movies themselves. Well, Roth went ahead, rounded up a bunch of his favorites, and honored the era with a carefully considered new compilation.

Get it here.

Fleetwood Mac — 1975-1987

Fleetwood Mac had a legendary run in the ’70s and ’80s, highlighted by Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, Tusk, Mirage, and Tango In The Night. Those iconic projects have now all been collected in a box set, that also comes with a clear 12-inch of “Silver Springs” and “Go Your Own Way,” and that’s limited to just 1,000 copies. If you’re missing any of these classics in your collection, this is an ideal way to finish off that period from one of music’s greatest bands.

Get it here.

Kraftwerk — Autobahn (50th Anniversary Reissue)

Never before has Kraftwerk officially released a picture disc vinyl. Now, though, in celebration of a half-century of Autobahn, it’s gotten a lovely blue picture disc reissue, and the minimal original artwork is a great fit for this format.

Get it here.

David Bowie — Young Americans (Reissue)

It’s also been 50 years since one of Bowie’s biggest classics, Young Americans. You can choose your flavor with this reissue, as there’s a picture disc version, as well as a half-speed mastered LP edition.

Get it here.

The Temptations — Psychedelic Shack

Motown has been on a tear with reissues over the past year or so, busting out a few exemplary releases from the archives monthly. As the title suggests, it’s more psychedelic than most Motown releases, making it a fascinating outlier in the label’s history.

Get it here.

Sun Ra — Space Is The Place (Vinyl Me, Please Reissue)

In case you missed it, Vinyl Me, Please recently moved away from their Records Of The Month format. That’s not necessarily bad news, though, as they continue to frequently release snazzy new reissues, one of the latest of which being this Sun Ra favorite.

Get it here.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Ariana Grande expand Eternal Sunshine and Little Simz forging ahead with more artistic hip-hop. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Ariana Grande — “Twilight Stone”

Ariana Grande adds a heaping handful of songs to her latest album with the Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead deluxe edition (not to mention the short film). Among the highlights from the fresh batch is the soaring “Twilight Zone.”

Lucy Dacus and Hozier — “Bullseye”

The breakout success of Boygenius is a tough act to follow, and that’s just what Lucy Dacus was tasked with on her new album, Forever Is A Feeling. She mostly goes about the project alone, but she did get a boost from Hozier on the soothing “Bullseye.”

Nav — “Pain Away”

It’s been nearly a year since Nav announced On My Way 2 Rexdale, an eternity in modern music industry terms. But, at long last, the project is finally here, led by tracks like the vulnerable “Pain Away.”

Perfume Genius — “Clean Heart”

Perfume Genius (who recently told Uproxx the stories behind all of his album covers) his a new LP under his belt, Glory. Among the highlights is “Clean Heart,” which is subtle and understated, but also lush and lovely if you pay attention.

Kali Uchis — “Sunshine & Rain…”

Uchis just released one of 2024’s best albums last year, but she’s already following Orquídeas with a new LP, Sincerely. This one arrives in May and she previewed it last week with the smooth and serene “Sunshine & Rain…”

d4vd — “What Are You Waiting For?”

Ahead of his April album Withered, d4vd has offered an advance look at the project with the lively and pleading “What Are You Waiting For?.” (Also, credit where it’s due: “Fortnite montage” is definitely a new way to officially share a new song.)

Lil Durk — “1000 Times” Feat. Lil Baby

Durk’s new album Deep Thoughts is out now and it boasts features from Future, Hunxho, and Jhené Aiko. Most notably, though, the project sees him reunite with Voice Of The Heroes collaborator Lil Baby on the autobiographical “1000 Times.”

Little Simz — “Free”

UK hip-hop auteur Little Simz considers the different meanings of love on a new single from her upcoming album Lotus, “Free“: “I think that love is forgiving yourself / I think that love is offering your immediate help / I think that love is everything that we need in this world / I think the key is being honest and being yourself.”

Ari Lennox — “Soft Girl Era”

Happy belated birthday, Ari Lennox! Her big day was last week, and she celebrated by dropping “Soft Girl Era,” a bouncy, confident, and instantly catchy number.

Rico Nasty — “On The Low”

More than just about anybody in music, Rico Nasty is always in her own lane, whatever that lane may be. Rico’s currently signed to Fueled By Ramen, a label best known for pop-punk and alternative rock, and her latest single “On The Low” is a melding of electronic and trap influences.

Last year, from the ashes of the Sound On Sound festival rose a new event, Soundside Music Festival. Year 1 started out strong with Noah Kahan and Foo Fighters (who later canceled) as headliners. Year 2 is looking good, too: The 2025 lineup was announced today and leading the way are The Killers and Hozier.

Other lineup highlights include Weezer, Vampire Weekend, The Backseat Lovers, Djo, Remi Wolf, Japanese Breakfast, Inhaler, Rachel Chinouriri, and The Last Dinner Party. They’ll all be heading to Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut from September 27 to 28.

The fest features a “unique rotating single-stage set up,” per a press release, as well as “gourmet food options from some of Connecticut and surrounding area’s best establishments, including a curated selection of cocktails, craft beer and wine options and much more.”

Pre-sale tickets are available starting April 3 at 10 a.m. ET, and the public on-sale will start an hour later, at which point ticket prices will increase from the pre-sale rate. More ticket information is available on the festival website.

Check out the full day-by-day lineup below.

Soundside Music Festival 2025 Lineup For Saturday, September 27

The Killers
Weezer
Djo
Japanese Breakfast
The Last Dinner Party
Inhaler
Rachel Chinouriri
Wild Rivers
Hollow Coves
Dipsea Flower

Soundside Music Festival 2025 Lineup For Sunday, September 28

Hozier
Vampire Weekend
The Backseat Lovers
Remi Wolf
Chelsea Cutler
Alex Warren
Gigi Perez
Brenn!
Vundabar
Happy Landing

It feels like I’ve written some variation on the title of this post at least five times since Travis Scott entered the ring at WWE’s Elimation Chamber and delivered a thunderous slap to the head of prone champion Cody Rhodes at the beginning of the month. The devastating attack resulted insome truly iconic merch, it also reportedly left some brutal-looking bruises on the wrestler’s face — and Travis might want to think twice about setting foot in a WWE ring for the foreseeable future.

While Rhodes apparently shrugged off the injury, telling Complex in a new interview “that’s wrestling,” that doesn’t mean Scott’s safe from retaliation. “I am not mad so much, but I am looking, and my eyes are open for what we inevitably, what we’ll call a ‘receipt’,” Cody said. “If Travis Scott ever makes his way back into the WWE fray, maybe there’s a receipt for Travis. Prior to this though, by the way, I was a Travis Scott fan. I bought those sneakers on [Sneaker Shopping].”

A “receipt,” in behind-the-curtain wrestling parlance, is given to a performer who puts a little too much mustard into an attack. While most wrestling strikes, holds, and throws are at the very least pre-planned or practiced to ensure the performers’ safety, many are very real and painful to the recipient. So, if a blow is delivered with more force than is strictly necessary or agreed-upon to get the point across to the cheap seats, a receipt is a way to let the offender know, “Hey, I felt that. Bring it down a notch.” While Rhodes praised Travis’s enthusiasm, it sounds like the rapper has a reminder to keep it show business coming his way.

As for those Travis Scott Nikes? Cody joked he hasn’t seen them in the house since. Maybe his wife and daughter weren’t too fond of watching Mr. “4×4” smack the champ quite that hard.

Last year, I called Tyler The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw the best music festival in today’s market. In two reviews running, I wrote that the Los Angeles-based fest set the standard by focusing on fan experience, highlighting local music, food, and overall vibes, and maintaining a close-knit feel among the artists on stage.

So it makes sense that one of the few other festivals hitting all those high points would be another artist-owned and curated festival, J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival. Now in its fifth and final year, Dreamville Festival has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the best-in-class festivals around, and with its end, it’s leaving behind a void that few other festivals can fill. It also leaves behind a blueprint for other mid-size festivals to follow, and perhaps its success can be duplicated in the future by other artist-fronted festivals.

The number-one tenet of Dreamville’s success over the past year is baked into the concept. Unlike other artist-owned festivals or hip-hop festivals that rely on organizing principles like a sound or an era, Dreamville is based around the stable of artists on J. Cole’s label, Dreamville Records. Since the label already includes an array of artists with different but thematically similar sounds and overlapping fanbases, Cole has already created a draw that makes the price of admission much more appealing.

Think about a wide-ranging lineup for a festival like Coachella. For a casual fan, maybe only the top line artists are interesting enough to warrant a ticket, so if the headliners don’t appeal, the surrounding experience might not feel worth it. For a hip-hop-oriented event like Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash, the diversity of sounds on the lineup could draw a wider range of fans — or, a fan of, say, Saba would simply not find it worth the price since there aren’t too many other acts of his ilk on the flyer.

With Dreamville, the odds of a J. Cole fan also enjoying a frequent collaborator like Ari Lennox or Bas is higher. Likewise, the lesser-known artists like Cozz or Lute get the halo effect of sharing certain stylistic aesthetics with JID or Earthgang. The “family-first” concept ensures that there’s a solid enough foundation to build on that there’s always been a core of “day-one” fans willing to buy-in on the strength of the brand name before any glitzy stars are added to the bill. This is similar to Flog Gnaw, in that many of Tyler’s Odd Future cohorts are practically guaranteed to show up.

When those big names are booked, though, there’s a relatively easy to grasp throughline: These are Cole’s faves, his friends, and his extended family. Bold-print names like Big Sean and 21 Savage from the first year were folks Cole shares multiple or recent songs with. Likewise, Drake’s appearance in 2023 presaged the two blog-era faves’ eventual joint tour — which really was a good idea before Drake decided to take shots at you-know-who on “First Person Shooter.”

Older acts like Lil Wayne, Nelly, and Usher are clear influences on J. Cole, and were the top names in the game as he rose through the ranks. It makes sense some of his biggest fans would also look up to those artists. This is family-first, extended to include older branches and roots of the family tree that spawned Cole and his Dreamville compatriots, as well as musical “cousins” like SZA and Summer Walker, Ari Lennox’s fellow descendants of Erykah Badu — who is, fittingly, also performing at this year’s final festival.

Even the food options at the festival each year put more focus on local businesses from J. Cole’s home state, North Carolina. The upcoming final festival boasts a 30% increase in vendors, with over 76 local eateries offering everything from barbecue (the state’s signature) to Filipino finger foods. It’s clear that care and intention was put into every aspect of the festival experience, all with keeping the theme of family and community at the forefront of the festival’s strategy. With this year’s food lineup growing and the music lineup coming full circle, Dreamville Festival is going out with a bang. Hopefully, any new fests that crop up to fill the space will take its family-first outlook to heart.

The headline about Miley Cyrus’ upcoming album Something Beautiful so far is that it’s a high-production, Pink Floyd-inspired concept album. Well, she just shared the video for the title track today (March 31), and Cyrus isn’t kidding. The visual is essentially a performance video, albeit one with high-effort set design and serious production value, while the song itself swings back and forth between reclined and in-your-face.

Cyrus co-wrote the song with her boyfriend, Liily’s Maxx Morando, who also produced multiple tracks on the album. Cyrus previously said of him, “He looks at life really differently than I do. He grew up with a laptop. I had a desktop computer that I shared with my brothers and sisters. […] Honestly, he’s raised our dog off Reddit. I’m like, ‘Are you sure we’re supposed to be doing this?’ And he’s like, ‘On Reddit it says blah, blah, blah.’”

Hours earlier, Cyrus also shared a video for “Prelude.”

Cyrus also described the album as “hypnotizing and glamorous” and said of it, “It’s a concept album that’s an attempt to medicate somewhat of a sick culture through music. […] It was inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall. […] My idea was making The Wall, but with a better wardrobe and more glamorous and filled with pop culture.”

Watch the “Something Beautiful” and “Prelude” videos above.

Something Beautiful is out 5/30 via Columbia Records. Find more information here.

We’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century and it’s a great time to take stock in how hip-hop has evolved over that time. Every year, it feels like a different artist takes their turn at the rap crown, while a new producer comes up with the sound of the moment.

To etch this in stone, I’ve gone year by year to declare the best artist, producer, song, verse, beat, and album for each year of the century so far. Do some rappers dominate? Of course they do: There isn’t that much room at the top. But this exercise also shines a light on hip-hop’s constant flux, and how easy it is to slip from the peak.

2000

Best Artist: Eminem
Best Producer: Dr. Dre
Best Song: Nelly — “Country Grammar (Hot Shit)”
Best Verse: Jay-Z — “Intro” from The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
Best Beat: M.O.P. — “Ante Up” (producer: DR Period)
Best Album: Outkast — Stankonia

2001

Best Artist: Jay-Z
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: Nas — “Ether”
Best Verse: Jadakiss — “We Gonna Make It” Feat. Styles P
Best Beat: Ludacris — “Move Bitch” (producer: KLC)
Best Album: Jay-Z — The Blueprint

2002

Best Artist: Eminem
Best Producer: The Neptunes
Best Song: Eminem — “Lose Yourself”
Best Verse: Eminem — “Till I Collapse”
Best Beat: Nas — “Made You Look” (producer: Salaam Remi)
Best Album: Eminem — The Eminem Show

2003

Best Artist: 50 Cent
Best Producer: Lil Jon
Best Song: 50 Cent — “In Da Club”
Best Verse: Jay-Z — “Public Service Announcement”
Best Beat: Joe Budden — “Pump It Up” (producer: Just Blaze)
Best Album: 50 Cent — Get Rich Or Die Tryin’

2004

Best Artist: Kanye West
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: Snoop Dogg — “Drop It Like It’s Hot” Feat. Pharrell
Best Verse: Ja Rule — “New York”
Best Beat: De La Soul — “Rock Co.Kane Flow” (producer: Jake One)
Best Album: Kanye West — The College Dropout

2005

Best Artist: Kanye West
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: The Game — “Hate It or Love It” Feat. 50 Cent
Best Verse: Jay-Z on Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)”
Best Beat: Young Jeezy — “Go Crazy” Feat. Jay-Z (producer: Don Cannon)
Best Album: Kanye West — Late Registration

2006

Best Artist: T.I.
Best Producer: Toomp
Best Song: Lupe Fiasco — “Kick, Push”
Best Verse: Pusha T on Clipse’s “Mr. Me Too”
Best Beat: T.I. — “What You Know” (producer: Toomp)
Best Album: T.I. — King

2007

Best Artist: Kanye West
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: 50 Cent — “I Get Money”
Best Verse: Kanye West — “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”
Best Beat: Kanye West — “Flashing Lights” (producers: Kanye West and Eric Hudson)
Best Album: Kanye West — Graduation

2008

Best Artist: Lil Wayne
Best Producer: Drumma Boy
Best Song: Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Best Verse: Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Best Beat: Lil Wayne — “Let The Beat Build” (producers: Kanye West and Deezle)
Best Album: Lil Wayne — Tha Carter III

2009

Best Artist: Jay-Z
Best Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
Best Song: Drake — “Best I Ever Had”
Best Verse: Kanye West on Jay-Z’s “Run This Town”
Best Beat: Gucci Mane — “Lemonade” (producer: Bangladesh)
Best Album: Jay-Z — The Blueprint 3

2010

Best Artist: Kanye West
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: Rick Ross — “B.M.F. (Blowin Money Fast)” Feat. Styles P
Best Verse: Nicki Minaj on Kanye West’s “Monster”
Best Beat: Kanye West — “Devil In A New Dress” (producer: Bink & Mike Dean)
Best Album: Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2011

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
Best Song: Jay-Z and Kanye West — “N****s In Paris”
Best Verse: Drake on DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One”
Best Beat: Drake — “Lord Knows” Feat. Rick Ross (producer: Just Blaze)
Best Album: Drake — Take Care

2012

Best Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Best Producer: Mike Will Made-It
Best Song: Meek Mill — “Dreams And Nightmares”
Best Verse: Drake on Rick Ross’ “Stay Schemin”
Best Beat: Kendrick Lamar — “Money Trees” Feat. Jay Rock (producer: DJ Dahi)
Best Album: Kendrick Lamar — Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City

2013

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
Best Song: J. Cole — “Power Trip” Feat. Miguel
Best Verse: Kendrick Lamar on Big Sean’s “Control”
Best Beat: Migos — “Versace” (producer: Zaytoven)
Best Album: Drake — Nothing Was The Same

2014

Best Artist: J. Cole
Best Producer: DJ Mustard
Best Song: Big Sean — “I Don’t Fuck With You” Feat. E-40
Best Verse: Young Thug on Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle”
Best Beat: YG — “My N****” Feat. Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan (producer: DJ Mustard & Mike Free)
Best Album: J. Cole — 2014 Forest Hills Drive

2015

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Metro Boomin
Best Song: Future — “Thought It Was A Drought”
Best Verse: Drake — “Back To Back”
Best Beat: Future — “Stick Talk” (producer: Southside)
Best Album: Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp A Butterfly

2016

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Metro Boomin
Best Song: Migos — “Bad And Boujee” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
Best Verse: Chance The Rapper on Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam”
Best Beat: Kanye West — “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1” (producers: Kanye West, Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, and Rick Rubin)
Best Album: Drake — Views

2017

Best Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Best Producer: No I.D.
Best Song: Cardi B — “Bodak Yellow”
Best Verse: Drake — “Do Not Disturb”
Best Beat: Future — “Mask Off” (producer: Metro Boomin)
Best Album: Kendrick Lamar — Damn

2018

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Kanye West
Best Song: Travis Scott — “Sicko Mode” Feat. Drake
Best Verse: Pusha T — “If You Know You Know”
Best Beat: Pusha T — “Infrared” (producer: Kanye West)
Best Album: Cardi B — Invasion Of Privacy

2019

Best Artist: Tyler, The Creator
Best Producer: Madlib
Best Song: Young Thug — “Hot” Feat. Gunna
Best Verse: J. Cole — “Middle Child”
Best Beat: 21 Savage — “A Lot” Feat. J. Cole (producers: DJ Dahi and J. White Did It)
Best Album: Tyler The Creator — Igor

2020

Best Artist: Lil Baby
Best Producer: Hit-Boy
Best Song: Roddy Ricch — “The Box”
Best Verse: Freddie Gibbs — “Scottie Beam”
Best Beat: Jay Electronica — “A.P.I.D.T.A.” Feat. Jay-Z (producer: Khruangbin)
Best Album: Lil Baby — My Turn

2021

Best Artist: Tyler The Creator
Best Producer: Tyler The Creator
Best Song: Baby Keem — “Family Ties” Feat. Kendrick Lamar
Best Verse: Lil Baby on Drake’s “Wants And Needs”
Best Beat: Drake — “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” (producers: Austin Powerz, Boi-1da, FNZ, and Keanu Beats) Feat. Rick Ross
Best Album: Tyler The Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

2022

Best Artist: Drake
Best Producer: Metro Boomin
Best Song: Drake — “Jimmy Cooks” Feat. 21 Savage
Best Verse: Drake on Jack Harlow’s “Churchill Downs”
Best Beat: Pusha T — “Dreamin’ Of The Past” (producer: Kanye West)
Best Album: Drake and 21 Savage — Her Loss

2023

Best Artist: J. Cole
Best Producer: Tay Keith
Best Song: Drake & J. Cole — “First Person Shooter”
Best Verse: J. Cole on Lil Yachty’s “The Secret Recipe”
Best Beat: Larry June — “60 Days” (producer: The Alchemist)
Best Album: Gunna — A Gift & A Curse

2024

Best Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Best Producer: Metro Boomin
Best Song: Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Best Verse: Kendrick Lamar on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That”
Best Beat: Future and Metro Boomin — “Like That” Feat. Kendrick Lamar (producer: Metro Boomin)
Best Album: Kendrick Lamar — GNX

HOT 97’s Summer Jam is typically one of the biggest hip-hop events to look forward to every summer, and that’ll be true again this year, too. The one-day show goes down at June 20 at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, and the lineup was announced today (March 31).

The lineup includes Gunna, GloRilla, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Muni Long, Asake, Ayra Starr, Ja Rule & Friends: A Tribute To Irv Gotti, Kash Doll, Bobby Konders & Jabba Feat. Masicka, Jim Jones & Friends, Cash Cobain, 41 (Kyle Rich, Jenn Carter, Tata), and more. A press release also teases “surprises, special guests, and unforgettable moments.”

The general on-sale starts on April 4 at 10 a.m. ET. Pre-sales start with an American Express pre-sale starting on April 1 at 10 a.m. ET. There’s also a Boost Mobile pre-sale and a promoter pre-sale, both of which start on April 2 at 10 a.m. ET. More information can be found here.

The festival is produced by The Black Promoters Collective and is part of the Prudential North To Shore Festival. Shelby Joyner, Founder of SJ Presents and President of The Black Promoters Collective, says in a statement, “Summer Jam is the pinnacle of hip-hop culture, and we’re honored to bring this electrifying experience to fans once again. This year’s lineup is a testament to the genre’s evolution, featuring both chart-topping superstars and rising talent who are shaping the future of hip-hop.”

The 36th GLAAD Media Awards went down last week, on March 27, and there, Doechii picked up the award for Outstanding Music Artist. As she told People, that was a major win for her.

Doechii called the award the “warmest win that I have gotten yet,” explaining, “Because I feel like I’m amongst my family, I feel like I’m in my element, I’m with my community, and I just feel proud to be here because I know I’m safe.”

Doechii also said of her past year, “It’s been transformative for me. Truly. All of my dreams have become a reality, and I feel like I am literally walking in a dream.”

While accepting the award during the show (video above), Doechii said:

“I am thrilled at being recognized with such a prestigious award by GLAAD, and joining the prior honorees such as Reneé [Rapp], Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, and Janelle Monáe. This is a huge and special moment as well because GLAAD is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which is super fab [laughs]!

This organization was founded on the principles of acceptance, inclusiveness, and empowerment, and those are the same things that I strongly believe in and advocate for and that continue to propel me forward, especially now that hard-won cultural change and rights for transgender people and the LGBTQ community have been threatened, and I’m disgusted. Disgusted. But I want to say that we are here and we are not going anywhere.

So, the support and the love I’m feeling as I accept this award from GLAAD is truly overwhelming and uplifting, and as I move forward in my life and career, enabling. It’s also a beacon to other aspiring artists to not let anyone ever block your dreams, like ever [laughs]. So, I just want to encourage you guys to stay connected with one another, stay passionate, stay focused, keep your chin up, be kind, and be fab [laughs]!”

In a 2022 interview with British GQ, Doechii said of her sexuality, “I started becoming comfortable with it when I started getting more gay friends. I always knew that I was queer, and I was bisexual. But I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about it, because nobody around me was gay. So it’s not like I was hiding it, but I also wasn’t fully embracing it.”

Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.

1. Destroyer, Dan’s Boogie

This is the 14th album Dan Bejar has made as Destroyer. When you get to the 14th album in any discography, you’re hoping for something that sounds fresh and exciting while also delivering the unique qualities that kept you interested through the other 13 records. Dan’s Boogie does that. It feels like a new beginning after the previous three releases, which form a stylistically united trilogy. (Let’s call those dark, synth-infused LPs his ’80s Dylan period — which coming from me is a compliment.) Dan’s Boogie, meanwhile, retains some of the feel of that music while also reaching back to the live-band looseness of aughts-era albums like This Night and Rubies.

It’s a compact record (under 40 minutes), and yet Bejar’s song structures feel even less conventional than usual. Songs like “Hydroplaning Off The Edge Of The World” are dense to the point of inscrutability, but you also can’t get it out of your head. It is, in other words, precisely the record that Destroyer fans invested in the 14th Destroyer album will probably want.

2. Fust, Big Ugly

My favorite album of 2025’s first quarter. Given that Fust makes hearty alt-country and hails from North Carolina, it’s natural to think of it as a post-Manning Fireworks southern indie rock record. But Fust’s singer-songwriter Aaron Dowdy is no Lenderman-come-lately. He’s been working on music under the Fust banner for eight years, and part of that time he’s been a Ph.D candidate in literature at Duke University. Which means I am required by music-critic law to describe Big Ugly as “literary.” Which it is, though Fust truly satisfies by playing beautiful bar-band jams that convey warmth and coziness to academics and morons (my kind of people) alike.

3. Haim, “Relationships”

As you would expect from Haim, this is pretty much a perfect indie-pop single. If I were Ariel Rechtshaid, and someone wrote a breakup song inspired by my personal life, I would insist that it was as well-executed as this song.

4. Charley Crockett, Lonesome Drifter

I have enjoyed this Texas country singer’s albums over the years, though even if I didn’t, I would just have to wait a few months for another one to come along. Last year, he put out two records, and he’s already back in 2025 with another LP, Lonesome Drifter. By now, his formula is more or less set — a mix of originals and covers, all pitched in the retro honky-tonk zone. This time, one of the highlights is a rendition of “Amarillo By Morning,” a 1980s era hit for George Strait that Crockett delivers with his usual barrel-chested élan.

5. Dutch Interior, Moneyball

I wrote about this California band last month upon the release of the single “Fourth Street,” one of the better songs from Moneyball, out this month. If you missed them in February, don’t sleep on them now — Moneyball is a pleasurable collection of rustic indie tunes that occasionally slip into Allmans-style harmonized guitar leads.

6. The Waterboys Feat. Fiona Apple, “Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend”

I’m a big fan of The Waterboys’ work from the 1980s, when they mixed self-described “big music” in the mold of bands like Simple Minds and pre-Joshua Tree U2 with American and European folk influences. Singer-songwriter Mike Scott has kept the band going over the years, though his forthcoming record — a conceptual work about Dennis Hopper called Life, Death And Dennis Hopper — appears to be the strangest and most high profile in a while. It’s out on April 4, but one of the album’s standouts — featuring an impassioned (is there any other kind?) Fiona Apple lead vocal — has already been released.

7. Florry, “Hey Baby”

I loved this Philadelphia band’s previous album from 2023, The Holey Bible, and I’m pleased to hear that they haven’t much tamed their shambolic country-rock sound on the forthcoming Sounds Like…, due in May. “Hey Baby” has two hearty “woo’s!” during the sloppy guitar solo and it sounds like the rhythm section was recorded after bars closed on a Saturday night. Can’t wait to marinate in the entire album.

8. Alien Boy, “Changes”

It’s been four years since this Portland band’s breakthrough LP, Don’t Know What I Am, which made my year-end best of list in 2021. But judging by “Changes,” the first song released from their upcoming LP Do You Wanna Fade? (due in May), they are still making fuzz-pop gems that split the difference between ’90s lo-fi and classic dream pop.