The hazy orange sky of the last days of summer serves as a backdrop for our quick photo shoot with Jessie Reyez. As we spot a few spaces on the Midtown streets of New York, two regally aged women spot her striking a pose. “It’s Jessie!” one of the women say with glee as her pal smiles at the Canadian-Colombian songstress. At first, they hesitate to stop, but Reyez’s warm aura allows them to...

Out of all of the acts sprouted from the golden age of hip-hop, no group has a cultural presence in 2018 quite like Wu-Tang Clan. Collectively, the members have remained out of the box when it comes to their brand alliances like GZA's Liquid Science series on Netflix, RZA crafting beats with Chipotle and now, Ghostface Killah traveling to space with Impossible Burgers and White Castle. The limited...

Tamia has always believed in love. Before "being in your feelings" was considered a handicap, Tamia told us she was "So Into You." Before bae started acting brand new, Tamia warned us there's a "Stranger In My House," and before scrolling through old text messages became a coping mechanism for a breakup, Tamia said she was "Officially Missing You." Tamia's love has always been stronger than her pride...

When you think of rappers who are still relevant and esteemed, few have had careers more turbulent than Lil Wayne. Whether it has been well-publicized substance abuse struggles, jail time or a fight for label freedom against Birdman (who played the greatest role in his career's sprouted wings), he’s been forced to learn the art of resilience through suffering. Through it all, music has taken Wayne...

The mother, author and activist talks to VIBE about her fourth-annual Slutwalk and how she teaches her son consent It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Captain Save A Ho! At least, so says Amber Rose. During the day, Rose is just your mild-mannered mother to a cutie patootie 5-year-old. But at night she dons her highest heels, figure-flattering jeans (maybe Fendi, probably Fashionnova) and a cleavage-bearing...

It’s the last weekend of summer, but Megan Thee Stallion has no time to relax. When the 23-year-old rapper calls from her native Houston on a late August Saturday, she is fresh from a radio interview, with a photo shoot immediately after. Most importantly, she will head back to school at Texas Southern University on Monday, resuming her studies toward a health administration degree. It’s a testament...

Lil Wayne finally did it. Freed at last from red tape, industry woes, and the whims of Cash Money Records’ mercurial co-founder Birdman, Tha Carter V dropped this past Friday to the delight of the New Orleans native’s long-suffering fanbase. With 23 songs and features by Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, and Travis Scott, among others, the fifth volume in Weezy’s beloved and respected series of full-lengths...

Raphael Saadiq is virtually immortal, and we’re not only talking about his youthful features either. At 52, the producer/singer/songwriter graces stages and delivers God-tier musicianship to fans all over the world. His 2018 Pitchfork Music Festival set was a performance full of finesse, poise, and soul, as he treated fans to many of his solo songs from his last few albums. In addition to also performing...

Young Dolph is taking over the gap left by Gucci Mane, with a relentless output and standing on a national scale that towers over nearly everyone in the 1017 extended family.

To his rap peers, Mac Miller was a friend who provided light in and out of the booth. At the time of his sudden passing earlier this month, countless members of the hip-hop community eulogized the creative on social media, including Big Sean. The two might’ve collaborated on one song–”Hundred Dollar Bill Skyscraper” in 2012–but Sean says they developed a friendship he won’t forget. “I...

Nehanda Isoke Abiodun, née Cheri Laverne Dalton, was just 10 years old when she joined the picket lines. Columbia University in the '60s was taking over her neighborhood park to build a gym for alumni and students. “Those of us who lived in the community had no access to the gym,” she said. “I wasn’t going to have a place to play anymore, so I protested with organizers unbeknown to my own...

“A drug habit like Philip Hoffman will probably put me in a coffin.” With those chilling, ominous lyrics from “What Do You Do,” a song from his 2014 album Faces, Mac Miller sadly foreshadowed his own death. The Pittsburgh rapper/producer/singer died at age 26 last week (Sept. 7) from an apparent overdose. But Mac is part of a harrowing reality: hip-hop is losing rising icons every day to the...

The rap game ain’t based on sympathy, and Joe Budden knows this firsthand. Despite his eponymous 2003 debut album spurring the hit song “Pump It Up,” label politics ended up getting with his sophomore Def Jam LP shelved. He’s beefed with the likes of 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Prodigy, and The Game. And Slaughterhouse, his supergroup with Royce Da 5’9”, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz, was relatively short-lived...

JT and Yung Miami talk to VIBE about Drake, growing up in Miami and their cult following.

Drake’s latest foray into bounce music is just one small way the beloved city is reclaiming its cultural spotlight. My Lyft driver is silent when she picks me up from the steps of my hotel. Aside from a polite “Hello, how you doin’?” drenched in N'awlins drawl when I open the car door, she says nothing as we set out on the 12-minute drive from the Hurricanes and Hand Grenades of the French...