Emma Madden is a freelance music journalist in Brighton, UK. Her writing has appeared in Pitchfork, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, among many others. She likes music and dogs.
Julia Michaels landed her first major songwriting gig at just 18 years old. Fresh out of school, she’d cold pitched a little company named Walt Disney with a song she thought would suit an upcoming series. That song went on to soundtrack a popular Disney Channel show called "Austin & Ally." Michaels quickly developed a reputation for her quick work…
Vic Mensa's musical output has altered radically and suddenly in recent years, evolving from a craft based in self-destruction to an art of healing. The Chicago rapper's life — which had been dogged by depression, violence and unrestrained chaos — came to an abrupt crash several years ago. Mensa tells GRAMMY.com that he fell asleep at the wheel while driving…
6lack enters our Zoom call wearing a forest green beanie and hoodie. It’s St. Patrick’s Day; for someone so given to superstition — his stage name is both a testament to Atlanta’s Zone 6, where he grew up, and his penchant for numerology — it’s unsurprising that the rapper and musician is dressed head-to-toe in green. For 6lack, the universe…
GRAMMY U Chicago Representative Kegan Grace contributed to this story. Another iconic year of South by Southwest has come and gone. And while the dust has settled in Austin, there's still much to reminisce about — from unforgettable live shows, to panels and behind the scenes interviews. The Recording Academy’s GRAMMY U team had their boots on the ground during…
On Oct. 9 and 10, the Recording Academy hosted the HBCU Love Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, the second installment of the newly launched series. A collaborative initiative presented by GRAMMY U, the Recording Academy’s college program fostering the professional growth of future music industry leaders, and the Black Music Collective (BMC), an advisory group within the Recording Academy working to…
If the songwriter’s job is to explain life as he sees and feels it, then understanding, and making peace with death, is an essential part of that task. Bill Callahan, who’s been releasing music for 30 plus years—first under the moniker of Smog, then with his own name—has achieved just that. While his earlier work may have been death-driven, more…
Kelly Lee Owens' music sounds like ego death. Lulling you into a universe where differences and divisions no longer exist, where nothing is distinct or identifiable, where the voice blears into the background, the background into the voice—she shows you sound without subjectivity. The self dissipated. A terrifying state to be in, for some, ego death. But in Owens' hands, you are…
Victoria Monét didn’t realize her connection to the jaguar until after she recorded the titular song for her new project. A powerful, rosetted cat, the jaguar camouflages itself well. And, although it’s a present, integral part of the jungle, it’s seldom seen or registered. Monét, who's been a requisite part of the music industry for the past decade, having worked…
In the past, Katie Crutchfield has used music as a "vehicle to heal." From singing musical theater songs alongside her twin sister Allison in their childhood Alabama home to mixing with Philadelphia’s punk and D.I.Y. scene, and emerging as the lo-fi leaning Waxahatchee in 2012, she’s looked to music to resound her truth. With Saint Cloud, her fifth album (out on March…
