The last time fans of R&B were as spoiled for choice as they are now, Ne-Yo was two-stepping across stages in his fedora singing “Closer.”
On Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, nearly 6,000 fans packed the outdoor venue for the first night of Long Beach crooner Giveon’s sold-out, two-night hometown tour stop, singing along every word. A few miles south, his Texas-bred fellow baritone Khalid was hosting the listening experience for his upcoming album After The Sun Goes Down, which drops this Friday, October 10. That event also had fans lining up down the block to get into the Arts District warehouse in which it was hosted.
The night before, at the Grammy Museum, I had the privilege of attending the Grammy Museum’s Spotlight series concert with child-actor-turned-funk-soul-icon Leon Thomas at that venue’s rooftop Ray Charles Terrace. That’s where Thomas joked about Ne-Yo’s heyday as the “golden era of R&B.” Then, on the way home, as the radio played one of the seemingly dozens of covers of Kehlani’s latest inescapable hit, “Folded” (both nights!), I mused that Thomas might have been mistaken; If ever R&B has had a “golden era,” it’s now. R&B is officially “back” — even though it never really left.
Just a couple of years ago, this didn’t appear to be the case. In 2020, Billboard ran a cover feature with Jhené Aiko, Kehlani, Summer Walker, and Teyana Taylor bemoaning the state of R&B, while in 2022, Bad Boy impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs caught a backlash over declaring that “R&B is dead,” forcing him to walk back his statement a few days later. At the same time, Uproxx Wongo Okon maintained his weekly “Best Of R&B” column, highlighting hundreds of artists flourishing in the space, apparently just out of public view.
Then, last year, it seemed that the supposedly dormant genre had a massive resurgence, thanks in large part to breakout performances such as Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show and Victoria Monét’s Best New Artist win at the Grammys. After years of major labels downplaying R&B in favor of SoundCloud rap, trap-accented pop music, and heartland country, a shift has occurred at the mainstream level. So, what happened?
In short, the only thing that changed was the music industry establishment’s attitude toward Black music being made by Black people. In my review of Doja Cat’s new album Vie, I recounted how the conventions of 1980s R&B and boogie were subsumed into the umbrella of pop, while the artists who made such music were filtered out. Those sounds continued to crop up in upbeat pop hits in recent years, but music publications either overlooked, ignored, or were unaware of those influences, downplaying them in favor of generic references to ’80s styles without naming the artists who pioneered them.
And, as the singers in Billboard‘s 2020 story pointed out, R&B artists were often shunted away from mainline charts and playlists into the dreaded “urban” category, limiting their reach and putting a paper ceiling on promotional budgets and marketing opportunities. As Living Legends Foundation chairman David Linton pointed out then, “The public doesn’t know the difference — only those at the labels who control the budgets.” Likewise, Aiko called the spade what it was, saying, “Now there are traditionally pop artists doing R&B albums, but it’s called pop.”
However, the R&B artists leading this resurgence figured out a crafty strategy for sidestepping this tendency. As pop hijacked contemporary sounds, R&B artists looked further back, bringing back foundational elements such as live instrumentation and big band sounds. In July, as Giveon prepared to release his new album Beloved, he told me in an interview that he intentionally wanted to pull from past decades like the ’60s and ’70s because, in his words, “even though my fan base is still the younger group, they’re not even going to know where that’s from. I feel honored to be able to introduce them to that world and that sound.”
And that juke is the key to the overall resurgence of R&B: Everything old is new again, especially for generations that get lightly joshed on social media for constantly “discovering” things that precede them by decades. It’s like watching a favorite childhood movie with a much younger relative. For them, it’s a mind-blowing new experience, while for you, it’s a nostalgic one, bridging that gap between generations.
Giveon’s show at the Greek exemplified this effect to a tee. While live bands are more or less old hat at this level, even for artists of Giveon’s generation and younger, he wasn’t content simply to present a five-piece with backup singers. Instead, the band sprawled across the stage with at least ten pieces, generating a lush soundscape that differentiated him from even the veteran R&B stars who kept the torch alight during the genre’s mainstream fallow period over the past decade and a half.
He’s not the only one to go this route, either; At last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, British soul revivalist Raye also brought the big-band vibes, including a brass trio in her boisterous, full-bodied set. Her fellow Brit, burgeoning vocal star Sasha Keable, opened for Giveon at the Greek (her first-ever Los Angeles show, and certainly not her last), and you could almost hear how magnificent she’ll sound when she’s able to follow their example in a few years.
If the jam-packed past few days are proof of anything, it’s that it’s up to recording artists to stay the course, rather than chase trends. By staying true to their sound and the roots of the genre, today’s R&B artists laid the groundwork for the fickle industry’s eventual return as it sought more fertile soil to cultivate. And maybe there’s a lesson for the industry in there, too: Giving equitable opportunities for all artists, not just the “trendy” few, means more chances for the stars that are already around to shine.
The last time fans of R&B were as spoiled for choice as they are now, Ne-Yo was two-stepping across stages in his fedora singing “Closer.”
On Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, nearly 6,000 fans packed the outdoor venue for the first night of Long Beach crooner Giveon’s sold-out, two-night hometown tour stop, singing along every word. A few miles south, his Texas-bred fellow baritone Khalid was hosting the listening experience for his upcoming album After The Sun Goes Down, which drops this Friday, October 10. That event also had fans lining up down the block to get into the Arts District warehouse in which it was hosted.
The night before, at the Grammy Museum, I had the privilege of attending the Grammy Museum’s Spotlight series concert with child-actor-turned-funk-soul-icon Leon Thomas at that venue’s rooftop Ray Charles Terrace. That’s where Thomas joked about Ne-Yo’s heyday as the “golden era of R&B.” Then, on the way home, as the radio played one of the seemingly dozens of covers of Kehlani’s latest inescapable hit, “Folded” (both nights!), I mused that Thomas might have been mistaken; If ever R&B has had a “golden era,” it’s now. R&B is officially “back” — even though it never really left.
Just a couple of years ago, this didn’t appear to be the case. In 2020, Billboard ran a cover feature with Jhené Aiko, Kehlani, Summer Walker, and Teyana Taylor bemoaning the state of R&B, while in 2022, Bad Boy impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs caught a backlash over declaring that “R&B is dead,” forcing him to walk back his statement a few days later. At the same time, Uproxx Wongo Okon maintained his weekly “Best Of R&B” column, highlighting hundreds of artists flourishing in the space, apparently just out of public view.
Then, last year, it seemed that the supposedly dormant genre had a massive resurgence, thanks in large part to breakout performances such as Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show and Victoria Monét’s Best New Artist win at the Grammys. After years of major labels downplaying R&B in favor of SoundCloud rap, trap-accented pop music, and heartland country, a shift has occurred at the mainstream level. So, what happened?
In short, the only thing that changed was the music industry establishment’s attitude toward Black music being made by Black people. In my review of Doja Cat’s new album Vie, I recounted how the conventions of 1980s R&B and boogie were subsumed into the umbrella of pop, while the artists who made such music were filtered out. Those sounds continued to crop up in upbeat pop hits in recent years, but music publications either overlooked, ignored, or were unaware of those influences, downplaying them in favor of generic references to ’80s styles without naming the artists who pioneered them.
And, as the singers in Billboard‘s 2020 story pointed out, R&B artists were often shunted away from mainline charts and playlists into the dreaded “urban” category, limiting their reach and putting a paper ceiling on promotional budgets and marketing opportunities. As Living Legends Foundation chairman David Linton pointed out then, “The public doesn’t know the difference — only those at the labels who control the budgets.” Likewise, Aiko called the spade what it was, saying, “Now there are traditionally pop artists doing R&B albums, but it’s called pop.”
However, the R&B artists leading this resurgence figured out a crafty strategy for sidestepping this tendency. As pop hijacked contemporary sounds, R&B artists looked further back, bringing back foundational elements such as live instrumentation and big band sounds. In July, as Giveon prepared to release his new album Beloved, he told me in an interview that he intentionally wanted to pull from past decades like the ’60s and ’70s because, in his words, “even though my fan base is still the younger group, they’re not even going to know where that’s from. I feel honored to be able to introduce them to that world and that sound.”
And that juke is the key to the overall resurgence of R&B: Everything old is new again, especially for generations that get lightly joshed on social media for constantly “discovering” things that precede them by decades. It’s like watching a favorite childhood movie with a much younger relative. For them, it’s a mind-blowing new experience, while for you, it’s a nostalgic one, bridging that gap between generations.
Giveon’s show at the Greek exemplified this effect to a tee. While live bands are more or less old hat at this level, even for artists of Giveon’s generation and younger, he wasn’t content simply to present a five-piece with backup singers. Instead, the band sprawled across the stage with at least ten pieces, generating a lush soundscape that differentiated him from even the veteran R&B stars who kept the torch alight during the genre’s mainstream fallow period over the past decade and a half.
He’s not the only one to go this route, either; At last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, British soul revivalist Raye also brought the big-band vibes, including a brass trio in her boisterous, full-bodied set. Her fellow Brit, burgeoning vocal star Sasha Keable, opened for Giveon at the Greek (her first-ever Los Angeles show, and certainly not her last), and you could almost hear how magnificent she’ll sound when she’s able to follow their example in a few years.
If the jam-packed past few days are proof of anything, it’s that it’s up to recording artists to stay the course, rather than chase trends. By staying true to their sound and the roots of the genre, today’s R&B artists laid the groundwork for the fickle industry’s eventual return as it sought more fertile soil to cultivate. And maybe there’s a lesson for the industry in there, too: Giving equitable opportunities for all artists, not just the “trendy” few, means more chances for the stars that are already around to shine.
They say the revolution will not be televised, but Black Thought and Danger Mouse‘s video for their new single “Up” would like to raise an objection. The clip features a stack of television sets flashing imagery from news stories cover protests and documentaries about community leaders as Black Thought and guest vocalist Rag’n’Bone Man appearing in static-ridden closeups to perform their parts.
“Up” is the first single from the reunited Black Thought and Danger Mouse’s upcoming follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2022 project Cheat Codes. The best rapper alive first teamed up with the MF DOOM collaborator in 2005, when they recorded their first records together, but the album really began to come together in earnest in 2017 and 2018, when they first had the idea for it and recorded the bulk of its material. The project landed in multiple publications’ Best of 2022 lists and peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200.
The news that the two veteran artists are making another album will undoubtedly be met with some adulation, but frustratingly, there’s no release date or even a title, beyond a rumored Cheat Codes 2. Fortunately, we probably won’t have to wait another five years for it to drop.
Watch Black Thought and Danger Mouse’s “Up” video featuring Rag’n’Bone Man above.
Gorillaz have always been a collaborative band, but they’ve been especially leaning into it over the past few years. On their upcoming album The Mountain, for example, there’s at least one featured artist on every track, with most songs having two or more guests.
The latest advance single, shared today (October 8), is “The Manifesto.” For this one, they recruited Argentinian rapper Trueno and Detroit rapper Proof, the latter contributing posthumously following his death in 2006. The verse is a freestyle recorded during an early recording session, as a press release notes.
Beyond this song, the album features contributions from people like Bobby Womack, Black Thought, Tony Allen, Idles, Johnny Marr, Yasiin Bey, and more.
Listen to “The Manifesto” above. Find the The Mountain cover art and tracklist below,
Gorillaz’s The Mountain Album Cover Artwork
Kong
Gorillaz’s The Mountain Tracklist
1. “The Mountain” Feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash
2. “The Moon Cave” Feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda, and Black Thought
3. “The Happy Dictator” Feat. Sparks
4. “The Hardest Thing” Feat. Tony Allen
5. “Orange County” Feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar
6. “The God Of Lying” Feat. Idles
7. “The Empty Dream Machine” Feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar
8. “The Manifesto” Feat. Trueno and Proof
9. “The Plastic Guru” Feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar
10. “Delirium” Feat. Mark E. Smith
11. “Damascus” Feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey
12. “The Shadowy Light” Feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash
13. “Casablanca” Feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr
14. “The Sweet Prince” Feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar
15. “The Sad God” Feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, and Anoushka Shankar
Gorillaz’s 2026 Tour Dates: The Mountain Tour
03/20/2026 — Manchester, UK @ Co-Op Live
03/21/2026 — Manchester, UK @ Co-Op Live
03/22/2026 — Birmingham, UK @ Bp Pulse Live
03/24/2026 — Glasgow, UK @ Ovo Hydro *
03/25/2026 — Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena *
03/27/2026 — Cardiff, UK @ Utilita Arena *
03/28/2026 — Nottingham, UK @ Motorpoint Arena *
03/29/2026 — Liverpool, UK @ M&S Bank Arena *
03/31/2026 — Belfast, IRE @ Sse Arena *
04/01/2026 — Dublin, IRE @ 3Arena *
04/02/2026 — Dublin, IRE @ 3Arena *
06/20/2026 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium *#
* with Trueno
# with Sparks
The Mountain is out 3/20/2026 via Kong. Find more information here.
We do now, because 2025 has been a banner year for rap music, but it’s also quietly been an incredible year for new whiskey releases, even in the face of cooling sales. The real secret is that whiskey has not only become better than ever in terms of quality, but it’s also being appreciated with greater intention. The ritual of spinning your favorite vinyl or hearing new music at an event is always enhanced with something high-quality in your glass, but the key is to choose your libations like you choose your tunes — play nothing but the hits.
Since this is our first spin on blending new music with new whiskey, I’ll draw inspiration from some of the best rap songs of 2025 and pair them with some of the best bottles in the same span. The stories behind these songs and spirits are aligned in one way or another, but the real key is that the mood set by each song syncs perfectly with the vibes evoked by every flavor in your drink.
They say music is how we decorate time, and with these whiskeys on deck, you’ll want to savor every moment.
Enjoy some sound sipping with ten of the best rap songs and whiskeys to enjoy together right now.
The Pairing: “I still ain’t got my roses, I’m waiting, I bought vases!” It’s true that Rapsody too frequently gets overlooked as one of the best lyricists alive today, but her twin collaborations with Madlib mark a perfect time to give the North Carolina rhymer her flowers. Of the two, it’s “Daddy’s Girl” with its lush soundscape that lends itself to laid-back listening enjoyment over a glass of whiskey.
That brings us to the 2025 expression of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon. The highly sought-after bourbon in 2025’s release already has a spot reserved on our annual best-of-the-year list, blending rich, sweet notes with plenty of punch to remind you that this is, after all, an adult beverage. Where the delicious, faintly peppery finish on the Four Roses lingers long after each sip, you’ll want to play “Daddy’s Girl” again and again, as it’s a potent track that always seems to end all too soon.
Better make that drink a double.
The Song: Your Old Droog & Madlib feat. Wiz Khalifa & Jay Electronica “Woodstock 2029”
Beat Konducta LLC
The Drink: Michter’s Bomberger’s Declaration PFG (Precision Fine Grain)
The Pairing: In one of the more unexpected, yet incredible, collaborations of the year, the team of Your Old Droog and Madlib is joined by Jay Electronica and Wiz Khalifa for a mesmerizing track that sees each of the rappers at his respective best. While Jay Elect kicks things off with a prototypically pensive 16, YOD follows with a sharply penned verse that instantly made me wonder aloud whose contribution was better. Not to be outdone, Wiz follows suit with a performance that his hardcore fans will applaud, as he extols his commitment to three of his greatest loves: counting cash, working out, and rolling up.
The perfect drink to go with this song is a nice pour of Michter’s Bomberger’s Declaration PFG. While Bomberger’s has been an ongoing release from the brand for a few years now, this PFG edition is a totally new and unexpected riff on the modern classic. The whiskey is first fully matured in an American oak barrel and then transferred to a second new French fine grain oak barrel, which undergoes proprietary toasting and a uniquely specified char level to fine-tune the flavor. The French oak in that second barrel comes from a variety of old-growth forests, including the Tronçais, Allier, Nevers, and Vosges. Simply put, the trees harvested for those barrels are typically at least 200 years old before being used to store and mature the whiskey in your glass.
It’s that blend of trees and rich history that accompanies them that gives you a lot to savor (and think about) while sipping Bomberger’s PFG. It’s a complex dark horse for whiskey of the year that perfectly complements the unexpected greatness of this track.
The Song: Bruiser Wolf, Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud “Raised By Dope”
The Pairing: Bruiser Wolf’s hypnotic stop-and-start cadence flows a bit more swiftly on his new single with Benny The Butcher and Harry Fraud, perfectly keeping pace with Fraud’s luxurious beat. By the time Big Butch steps to the plate, the song is already great, but his unique brand of bragodocious, been-there-done-there bars takes things to the next level. Benny always raps with a self-assured air of confidence, and he sounds perfectly at home on this one. These repeat collaborators are really hitting their stride.
When it comes to Heaven Hill, they hit their stride sometime in the early 2000s after recovering from a catastrophic fire, and they haven’t looked back ever since. Case in point, this mind-blowing 19-year-old wheat whiskey. It’s pretty atypical to see wheat whiskey on the market these days, but even more so when you consider the ample age on this one. Heaven Hill’s experience is on full display with this incredibly mature wheat whiskey, producing one of the year’s best releases seemingly out of thin air.
Bruiser and Benny have given us a banger already this year, but this song really lends a lot of weight to their track record in the same way Heaven Hill’s illustrious reputation is only bolstered by unexpected expressions like this one. It’s only right that you enjoy them together.
The Song: The Cool Kids, A-Trak & Sango “95-South“
The Pairing: When Chuck Inglish exclaimed, “Bring another bottle, that’s that potion!” over this up-tempo beat, seemingly ripped out of Miami in 1991 and Miami in 2091 at the same time, I knew precisely which whiskey to pair it with: Wild Turkey 8-Year 101 Bourbon. It’s a song that marks The Cool Kids’ triumphant return to their classic sound in the same way that Wild Turkey 8-Year 101 is a return to the specs of the bourbon the brand was producing in the early ’90s.
That said, neither this song nor the bourbon paired with it is trapped in the past. The whiskey is a real party starter and a glimpse into the future of Wild Turkey, which anticipates making this an ongoing age-stated offering that bourbon enthusiasts can grab year after year. Similarly, The Cool Kids’ newest single blows the doors off what we’ve seen so far from the rap game in 2025, providing a fresh twist on their typical nostalgia-twinged formula that’s poised to make Mikey and Chuck two of rap’s biggest fourth-quarter winners.
Not content with drawing inspiration from the classic bass beats and bourbon of the past, or offering a glimpse into the future, both this standout single and this whiskey serve as reminders that living in the moment is the best gateway to timeless enjoyment.
The Pairing: The beauty of Ghostface Killah’s new “Supreme Clientele 2” album is that you can tell how carefully it was constructed. It takes time to create a work of art so steeped with nostalgia in today’s age that maintains all of the authenticity that made the original album such an unassailable classic. On “Rap Kingpin”, Ghost flips two of the most legendary beats in hip-hop history, combining them with his usual vivid lyrical display where he nods to his length in the game, rapping that he’s holding “Old money, old 20s” while admiring a statue of himself in the projects. It isn’t vanity, it’s self-appreciation. After over 30 years in the rap game, there’s still no one who can do what Pretty Tony does.
Channeling the past is likewise one of Preservation Distillery’s more impressive feats, as they semi-regularly break out hyper-aged bourbons from a bygone era that show how prescient and selective its founder, Marci Palatella, was and is. American whiskey at the 20-year mark is incredibly rare, in part because it has a tendency to deteriorate in quality, and also because so few brands and distilleries had the forethought to carefully age bourbon for so long. With this particular release, not only is the liquid’s quality indicative of forward thinking, but it’s a flex in itself, as one of the best bourbons to be released in the last 5 years.
It’s been 25 years since Ghostface released the original Supreme Clientele, and for the lion’s share of that span, this whiskey was getting better with time. Suppose you want to pause and appreciate, not just Ghostface’s latest single but also his legendary career. In that case, you’d do well to enjoy it alongside a mature bourbon like this— one with remarkable flavor that tastefully brings the past into the present.
The Pairing: This song from underground virtuoso billy woods’ fantastic “Golliwog” album isn’t all that new, but it sounds that way every time I hear it. Buried 2/3rds of the way through the dense, dark album like a black truffle, this song finds woods recounting some of his most harrowing nightmares (enduring Math Hoffa’s homophobia and living on W 86th St. with two kids by his ex, among them) before the song takes a fully comedic twist and takes the perspective of his landlord.
The link here is that as bourbon matures past a certain point, producers almost invariably expect the liquid to deteriorate significantly. Defying those expectations, Knob Creek 21 is one of the rare bourbons-of-a-certain-age that actually appear to have improved over the 20-year mark. While there are many hallmark flavors you expect from hyper-aged bourbon, there’s a lively texture and a bevy of sugary flavor notes that demonstrate this whiskey has literally and figuratively hit the sweet spot.
Just as woods’ song gets better and better (for the protagonist), the longer it goes on, Knob Creek 21-Year Bourbon takes a similar track. Stick it out with both of them until the end.
The Pairing: When the late/great Prodigy opens this song with “Stronger than ever…I’m back!” it sent a chill down my spine, and sent my thoughts instantly racing to Rare Character’s brand-new Old Cassidy Small Batch Bourbon. Rare Character’s founder, Pablo Moix, confirmed that there’s a significant percentage of well-aged whiskey in this blend, which builds on the impeccable reputation of Old Cassidy’s inaugural single-barrel release, selected by yours truly in late 2023.
That’s not unlike the way “Against The World”, the intro to Mobb Deep’s new album Infinite, perfectly sets the tone for the record by recapturing the legendary group’s gritty mid-’90s energy while taking it in a new direction with both rappers’ more seasoned and polished vocal texture. The added dimension of this being the group’s first album to feature a posthumous member makes the song even more haunting yet alluring, as Havoc shows he can remain in lockstep with his fallen partner in rhyme all these years later.
It’s hard not to be mesmerized by the mere prospect of Mobb Deep and Old Cassidy returning in 2025, but the fact that they both deliver on that promise in such a significant way is a credit to the masters who worked on both, making it an ideal pairing.
The Pairing: Stove God Cooks’ viral song Marvin Ye only at first seems like the crescendo of a slowly building hype train, but with rumors of a big-budget album looming, it’s more likely this is just the start of another hot streak. It’s that specious trajectory that calls to mind New York’s Kings County Distillery, which just released one of its best whiskeys yet after 15 years in operation.
While it’s true that this song was released late last year, predating his current streak, the fact that it gained traction this year only adds gravity to his impressive momentum. Similarly, Kings County has previously released barrel proof Empire Rye single-barrels, but this nationwide release marks the first time a lot of people have access to it. Those folks are learning what New York already knew: Kings County can rival any brand in the country.
While 2025 feels like Stove God Cooks’ arrival on rap’s big stage, all signs point to things getting even greater later.
The Pairing: The production on the lead single of Jay Worthy’s stellar “Once Upon A Time” is smooth as butter and perfectly built to show off his velvet glove approach to rapping. Spinning a web silkier than a spider, it’s no surprise to find his verse has you hanging on his every word by the end. When Boldy finally saunters over the beat with his signature reserved precision, he spells out one of the keys to his success, “I ain’t have to catch up with my crowd, my crowd caught up with me.”
It’s that commitment to staying the course that has afforded Old Forester a loyal fanbase throughout whiskey’s rising popularity, and sees them marching to the beat of its own drum with this intriguing new rye. While many other brands were chasing the so-called rye resurgence, Old Forester took its time and delivered a show-stopper when fans least expected it.
Jay Worthy has spent more than a decade defying disbelievers, and though he’s put together an impressive career already, you can’t help but feel he’s charting new territory on his latest album. Moving at your own pace ensures you’re always in the right place at the right time. It’s a secret you’d be wise to appreciate while sipping a glass of President’s Choice Rye Whiskey.
The Pairing: The most heartfelt song of the year is a thoughtful celebration of life, and a fitting tribute to the late parents of 2025’s most celebrated rap group, Clipse. A similar celebration finds two generations of the Russell family joining forces to create Master’s Keep Beacon, which marks the final chapter in the limited edition lineup that Master Distiller Eddie Russell began and now welcomes his son, Bruce, into the fold.
Though “The Birds Don’t Sing”, the intro to Clipse’s tour de force rap album of the year frontrunner Let God Sort ‘Em Out, has been out for a while, the recent release of its music video on the heels of an electric performance at the Vatican have given the track new life, which is why it warrants an inclusion here. Intros are typically a distant memory by the time an album reaches its conclusion, but this particular song undergirds the entire album, serving as its beating heart, and will likely persevere as one of the group’s greatest songs ever.
For its part, Master’s Keep Beacon is already considered one of the best whiskeys in the critically acclaimed series, featuring 10-year-old bourbon distilled by Bruce Russell, which is then blended with 16-year-old bourbon distilled by his father, Eddie. The results are a multi-generational masterpiece that serves as a fitting closing chapter to the premium lineup.
This is luxury whiskey, and Clipse represents luxury rap better than anyone on the planet. Still, the layers of family history that produced these works of art are the lifeblood of their substance, making them ideal for enjoying together.
I’d highly encourage you to enjoy them together with a loved one.
Whitney is now a month away from the release of their latest album, Small Talk. Before that, they’ll launch a massive tour that runs into 2026. Before even that, today (October 8), they have a new song to share: The characteristically tender and bright “Damage.”
The group’s Julien Ehrlich says of the song:
“We were searching for the sentiment of ‘Damage’ for a while. In hindsight, I think we were trying to avoid writing a breakup song, and in the process ignoring what the song was calling for. I remember once we finally got the first chorus ironed out we were able to see that it was ok to write another song about heartbreak as long as we completed it in a way that felt unique and undeniably ‘Whitney’.”
Listen to “Damage” above. Below, find the Small Talk cover art and tracklist, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.
Whitney’s Small Talk Album Cover Artwork
AWAL
Whitney’s Small Talk Tracklist
1. “Silent Exchange”
2. “Won’t You Speak Your Mind”
3. “The Thread”
4. “Damage”
5. “Dandelions”
6. “Islands (Really Something)”
7. “In The Saddle”
8. “Evangeline” Feat. Madison Cunningham
9. “Back To The Wind”
10. “Small Talk”
11. “Darling”
Whitney’s 2025 & 2026 Tour Dates
10/16/2025 — Brisbane @ Crowbar
10/17/2025 — Melbourne @ Corner Hotel
10/18/2025 — Sydney @ SXSW, Tumbalong Park
11/02/2025 — Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
11/02/2025 — Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle (Early Show)
02/06/2026 — Paris @ Gaite Lyrique
02/07/2026 — Lyon @ Epicerie Moderne
02/08/2026 — Milan @ Magnolia (main room)
02/10/2026 — Geneva @ Antigel Festival 2026
02/11/2026 — Munich @ Hansa 39
02/12/2026 — Berlin @ Lido
02/14/2026 — Copenhagen @ DR Studie 2
02/15/2026 — Hamburg @ Knust
02/17/2026 — Brussels @ AB Ballroom
02/18/2026 — Utrecht @ Tivoli Vredenburg (Pandora Hall)
02/19/2026 — Cologne @ Gebäude 9
02/21/2026 — Dublin 1 @ The Academy Dublin
02/22/2026 — Manchester @ Band on the Wall
02/24/2026 — Glasgow @ The Art School
02/26/2026 — Bristol @ Electric Bristol
02/27/2026 — London @ Hackney Church
02/28/2026 — London @ Hackney Church
03/07/2026 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
03/08/2026 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
03/11/2026 — Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
03/12/2026 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
03/13/2026 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
03/14/2026 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
04/07/2026 — Kingston, NY @ Assembly
04/08/2026 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
04/09/2026 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
04/10/2026 — Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
04/11/2026 — Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
04/12/2026 — Portland, ME @ The State Theatre
04/14/2026 — Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall
04/15/2026 — Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
04/16/2026 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Cafe
04/17/2026 — Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
04/18/2026 — Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield
Small Talk is out 11/7 via AWAL. Find more information here.
For the past month and a half, Sony Pictures Animation’s Netflix film Kpop Demon Hunters has been an absolute juggernaut, dominating both the streamer’s native chart and, thanks to its banger of a soundtrack, the Billboard charts. Songs like “Golden”, “Your Idol”, “Soda Pop”, and “How It’s Done,” landed in the top ten of the Hot 100, making the voices of the titular band, Huntr/x, household names. EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami had all been bouncing around the industry for years, but now, thanks to KDH, they are bona fide superstars.
The trio made their real-life debut to perform Huntr/x’s signature song “Golden” on The Tonight Show (for real this time, after appearing in a Bad Bunny-led sketch on SNL this past weekend), bringing all their characters’ high-fashion aesthetics and ultra-high notes to the physical world. While a screen behind them alternated between the lyrics and scenes from the movie, EJAE belted, “I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be / We dreamin’ hard, we came so far, now I’ll believe,” the context behind the performance lending it some extra poignancy.
Prior to providing KDH protagonist Rumi her singing voice, EJAE had been a trainee in South Korea, but was told she was “too old” after ten years waiting for her debut. Instead, she became a songwriter for other Korean pop acts, like Aespa and Red Velvet. Now, at 33, she’s reached heights that no other K-pop act has, and all thanks to an animated movie some people mistakenly wrote off as being too goofy. Likewise, Audrey Nuna, who had some minor hits like “Comic Sans” with Jack Harlow, and Rei Ami, who had been a productive underground artist, are experiencing unprecedented heights in their careers.
Whether they’ll continue as a trio remains to be seen, but with the runaway success of the first film (and its various unresolved plotlines), talks of a sequel are undoubtedly underway, so at the very least, a reunion isn’t too far off. The group also sat on the couch for an interview, which you can watch below.
Watch EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami perform “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters on The Tonight Show above.
Jay Som (Melina Duterte) fans are about to eat, as this week, she’s releasing Belong, her first new album since 2019. Hayley Williams fans are being fed early, as Jay Som has shared the new Williams collaboration “Past Lives.”
Duterte says of the collab:
“It’s a dream come true to have Hayley sing on my first feature on an album before the recording of ‘Float,’ I still can’t believe it happened. She’s one of the kindest artists out there and she graciously accepts and uplifts the people around her. We’re all so lucky to witness her talent and live on the same timeline as her.”
Duterte also recently spoke about doubt she felt while making the album, saying, “For the longest time I remember thinking, ‘Should I just give up Jay Som and become a full-time producer?’ I did have those moments where I was like, ‘I have no business singing… What is going on? What’s the end game here?’ Just classic imposter syndrome. Like, ‘Am I too old?’”
Listen to “Past Lives” above. Below, find the Belong cover art and tracklist, as well as Jay Som’s upcoming tour dates.
Jay Som’s Belong Album Cover Artwork
Polyvinyl
Jay Som’s Belong Tracklist
1. “Cards On The Table”
2. “Float” Feat. Jim Adkins
3. “What You Need”
4. “Appointments”
5. “Drop A”
6. “Past Lives” Feat. Hayley Williams
7. “D.H.”
8. “Casino Stars”
9. “Meander/Sprouting Wings”
10. “A Million Reasons Why”
11. “Want It All”
Jay Som’s 2025 Tour Dates
10/31-11/01 — Amsterdam, NE @ London Calling @ Paradiso
11/03 — Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
11/06 — Brussels, BE @ Botanique, Rotonde
11/05 — Paris, France @ Pitchfork Paris @ Le Trabendo
11/08 — London, UK @ Pitchfork London
11/23 — Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
12/02 — Austin, TX @ The Parish
12/03 — Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
12/05 — Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
12/08 — Washington, DC @ Atlantis
12/09 — Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry
12/11 — New York, NY @ Warsaw
12/12 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
12/13 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
12/14 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Belong is out 10/10 via Polyvinyl. Find more information here.
Dolly Parton is facing a bump in the road at the moment, as the 79-year-old music icon is having some health troubles. Her sister Freida went as far as to take to Facebook to ask for some prayers, but the situation apparently isn’t as serious as that outreach made it seem.
In an initial post shared yesterday (October 7) afternoon, Freida wrote:
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you! [heart emoji].”
The post was filled with comments from concerned supporters, so later in the day, Freida made another post, clarifying:
“I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly. She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.”
Notably, this comes days after Dolly postponed some upcoming concerts due to “health challenges.” At the time, Dolly wrote in a statement:
“I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts. As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures. As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon! In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you. While I’ll still be able to work on all of my projects from here in Nashville, I just need a little time to get show ready, as they say. And don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet. But, I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so l can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. I love you and thank you for understanding.”
Earlier this year, Dolly dealt with the death of Carl Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years.
Alex Farrar was doing sound for local shows in Asheville, North Carolina when the pandemic shutdown gave him a surprising new career path.
“Everyone was at home and they were creating a lot,” the 33-year-old tells me during a recent phone call. “I just got bizarrely busy recording during the pandemic. A lot of people were just trying to make records, and I took a chance on it being a full-time thing and I’ve just been doing that ever since.”
If the name “Alex Farrar” sounds familiar, there’s a good chance you’ve been studying the liner notes of some of the best and most popular indie records of recent years. In 2025 alone, Farrar has produced or mixed Wednesday’s Bleeds, Hotline TNT’s Raspberry Moon, and Fust’s Big Ugly, all albums I expect to appear on my year-end list. In 2024, he manned the boards for MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks after previously producing that album’s beloved 2022 predecessor, Boat Songs. All told, Farrar has contributed to acclaimed releases by Snail Mail, Indigo De Souza, Wild Pink, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and Plains, among others.
If you know those records, you can probably pinpoint some common sonic touchstones — Farrar’s specialty is country-ish rock with muscular guitar tones that can pivot in the direction of ’90s-style alternative. That sound has become foundational for indie acts this decade, and I was curious to talk to one of the behind-the-scenes architects. So, Farrar guided me through some of his highest-profile collaborations.
Snail Mail
I did a bunch of records working for Brad Cook and that was one of them.
You engineered and mixed her 2021 album Valentine, along with other Cook-produced LPs from around the same time, including Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Life On Earth and Plains’ self-titled debut. Those are really your first “breakout” indie-rock records. Can you break down the difference between producing a record and mixing one?
As a producer, I look at it as the artist comes and they’re like, “I want to make this record, and these are my goals.” And then you determine all the things that need to happen to make this their favorite record, and how I’m going to facilitate all these things happening. And sometimes that’s like, “All right, we need to figure out how the song is going to sound.” Or it’s like, “You have a clear vision, and I need to just make sure it’s easy for you to get out there and do your thing.”
With mixing, it can kind of be similar. There’s some records I’ve mixed where the artist recorded stuff at home and they’re like, “I love the song and the vibe, but I’m not really sure that these are the right sounds. So, go nuts and add stuff.” And then sometimes you get something that’s just incredibly captured and you need to just give it that extra 10 percent.
Did it feel at the time that working with Snail Mail was a turning point for your career, in terms of getting noticed by the press and other bands?
I don’t know. I guess I’m not sure about that part of it. I will say I played a bunch of guitar on that record, and the vibe and the sessions were just awesome. I had a very easy time getting into the music, and the working relationship with Lindsey [Jordan] and Brad. It just seemed so natural.
Hotline TNT
You mixed the last two Hotline TNT records, Cartwheel (2023) and Raspberry Moon (2025). How involved were you in shaping the sound of those records?
Cartwheel is a more heavy-headed example. When Will [Anderson] and I started talking, he sent the tracks over and it was like drum machines and DI guitars. And that’s awesome. But I think we were both interested in making it as huge-sounding as possible. The before and after, I guess, was pretty stark.
My core formative music taste is heavy music. I wanted to play guitar after seeing Green Day music videos as a kid. And from there I was just obsessed with Metallica, Pantera, any kind of shredder metal stuff I could get my hands on. And I think that naturally finds its way into what I’m working on, even if it’s a delicate singer-songwriter thing.
Was it similar with Raspberry Moon?
Yeah, it was similar. The interesting thing with that record is they tracked as a live band for the first time. But Will is always looking to push things as far as they can go. So very similarly, it was like, “All right, let’s see if we just put the gas all the way down and really fry it as hard as we can.”
What does that mean, mixing-wise?
It’s a lot of technical stuff like distorting things or compressing them. But I just mean the impact. When you hit play, does it sound like it’s really trying to fight its way out of the speaker, or is it something you can casually listen to? With Will’s music, you want to hit play and be like, “Whoa, this is a force coming at me.” So it was about figuring out how to process all the sounds to where they add up to be this really, really grand thing.
Wild Pink
I feel like there’s something similar going on with the most recent Wild Pink album, 2024’s Dulling The Horns, which sounds bigger and louder than their other records.
John [Ross] hit me up and he was like, “I am in the middle of mixing this. I’m not sure about about the mixes, and I’m just curious if you would want to try a song.” I listened back through their record, and I was like, “I’m just going to do what I want to hear.” And, similarly, the thing I did was very big guitar music, because what he sent me, it sounded a little constrained. I just was craving to hear it more wide, big, intense.
That “big, wide, intense” vibe is instantly apparent.
I definitely was chasing that sound, but I think it was more like, “Man, these songs want to be big. And have an intensity that his vocal and his writing needs to all add up and feel like this one big powerhouse.”
Fust
This band is lesser known than some of their others, but I really like the records you’ve made with them, particularly Big Ugly.
I knew a lot of those guys from when we went to college together, and we were good buds. Aaron [Dowdy, the band’s singer-songwriter] and I were always friends, but we ran in different circles. He’s such an interesting mind. I feel like we push each other in very different ways. Aaron’s got this sort of fine-tooth song radar. He’s always listening for these very little nuances, whether it’s his lyrics or arrangement things. And sonically, I feel like I am pushing things in a way that maybe weren’t on his radar before.
It’s probably the most straight-up country-sounding music you’ve worked on.
The aesthetic presentation definitely has that. But his lyrics are what makes the band to me. His writing is just so good. I could just read the lyrics and be content. I love the records, obviously, but I feel like what makes Fust so special is Aaron’s writing.
Wednesday
Karly [Hartzman] and Zandy [Chelmis] both worked at this music venue called The Mothlight, and I did sound there. And I knew Jake [Lenderman] from his solo project, which was already active way back then, and I did sound for him a few times. Right when the pandemic happened, they had plans to go to Philadelphia to record Twin Plagues, but then they had to shift their plans. The owner of The Mothlight was like, “Hey, there’s this studio, Drop Of Sun, you should do your record there.”
We really got close through that process. If the band had gone to Philly and made that Twin Plagues record, who knows? But we hunkered down in the summer of 2020 and made that record in probably, I don’t know, a week and a half. And we’ve been super close buds ever since. Very shortly after that, I worked with Jake on Boat Songs, and we just all continued to work together since.
It occurs to me that Wednesday, sonically, is this natural meeting point of the southern rock thing you’re known for, and the “heavy” music influences of your youth.
Totally, yeah. My heavy music inclination, and obsession with guitar sounds, they definitely like that about working together. They like that I’m trying out seven distortion pedals and super down to layer the guitars and make it really big and hectic sounding.
You mixed Twin Plagues, and then you were credited as producer on Rat Saw God and Bleeds. How did that relationship evolve?
It has just been a natural thing. With Twin Plagues, we didn’t really know each other super well. But quickly we were like, “Oh yeah, we have super complementary tastes and interests.” Every time we work together, we get closer and try new stuff. Karly’s writing continues to just evolve and get so much better, and she’s very interested in writing different sort of kinds of songs. So “Elderberry Wine,” for example, is pretty outside of the Wednesday wheelhouse, until now.
MJ Lenderman
He’s such a talented musician. He just hops around. I’ll typically set up drum kits, a couple of different guitar rigs, a bass set up, and a bunch of keyboards. And he just jumps from one instrument to another and layers stuff. He has guests in, too, but he builds tracks out largely by himself.
The transition, sonically, from Boat Songs to Manning Fireworks is significant.
With Manning Fireworks, the idea was to make it a bit more natural-sounding, as opposed to Boat Songs, which is a little more lo-fi and kind of grungy. And that production didn’t quite match where his writing was headed. So, walking into Manning Fireworks, we wanted to try to make it a little more timeless.
You mentioned how Lenderman tracks a lot by himself. But Manning Fireworks also has spacier, jammier songs like “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In” and “Bark At The Moon.”
Those are two of the more collaborative songs on the record, with Jake and I and other musicians. “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In,” for example, I actually played drums on that and he played guitar and then this guy, Landon George, played stand-up bass and we tracked that as a trio. And then “Bark At The Moon”, that whole outro section, it was comprised of two or three tracks of Jake plus one or two other people playing drones. It was a little bit more spontaneous that way. It wasn’t as part by part.
Whereas a song like “She’s Leaving You,” that seems pretty composed.
I think that’s right. Yeah, that was definitely a “part by part” one.
When you’re working on a record, do you have a mood board of music that you’re trying to emulate, just from a “feel” standpoint? Like, “We want it to sound like this”?
Not really. Honestly. I think that can get in the way a lot of the time. I just think that the song asserts itself the more you work on it and the more you get to know it. I try to just follow intuition rather than drawing directions from other artists. I mean, obviously, we’re all a composite of things that we like. But I’m not listening to Neil Young in between takes or something.
The Wednesday and MJ Lenderman albums are some of the most acclaimed and beloved indie releases of the decade. Are artists reaching out to you like, “We want to do something that sounds like that, or has that quality”? I would assume that’s become common for you.
Well, I don’t know. That’s not typically how the creative conversation starts. I’ve definitely met a lot of people. After making those records, I’m really lucky to have a lot of awesome conversations with new artists. I think it’s amazing that those records have broken through. But a funny part of living in Asheville is it’s a small place. I’m not a super “plugged in on the internet” kind of person, either. I remember somebody sending me a message like, “Yo, really digging Boat Songs out here in Colorado.” I’m like, “Oh, whoa, shit, Colorado, that’s awesome.” My sense of the reach of these records is kind of not great, but it’s amazing when somebody does hit me up and they’re from a completely different scene or place and they’re really digging it. I’m just so happy to hear that music is speaking to them.
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