21 Savage and Metro Boomin in Atlanta in 2019. The duo recently released Savage Mode II, which feels like a big-budget revenge thriller. Prince Williams/WireImage hide caption
Music Reviews Music reviews of new albums in pop, rock, folk, jazz, blues, classical, world, and hip-hop.
Music Reviews
Mariah Carey performs during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. In 2020, she celebrated 30 years of releasing music, dubbed "MC30." Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp hide caption
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider's Mass for the Endangered is a prayer for the wildlife on our planet. Anja Schutz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Sufjan Stevens, onstage during the Academy Awards on March 4, 2018 in Los Angeles. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption
Ruston Kelly's never been one to shy from harsh realism and ugly truth. Within Shape & Destroy's sparse settings, he embraces a heart-on-sleeve sentimentalism. Alexa King/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Every now and again, a young jazz musician turns up out of nowhere to take the whole scene by surprise, and then by storm. That's exactly what we're seeing right now from Micah Thomas. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Beyoncé performs in "Mood 4 Eva" from the visual album Black Is King released on July 31 on Disney+. Disney hide caption
Beyoncé, at the premiere of Disney's The Lion King on July 09, 2019 in LA. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images hide caption
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann, with pianist Helmut Deutsch, in recital at a Baroque abbey in Bavaria. The performance was part of the Metropolitan Opera's new live streaming series. Metropolitan Opera hide caption
Taylor Swift surprised fans with her eighth studio album, Folklore, released on July 24. Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Maria Schneider. Briene Lermitte/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Asher Gamedze was first heard on Angel Bat Dawid's 15-minute "Capetown" from 2019. Dialectic Soul is his debut album as a bandleader. Elijah Ndoumbe/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
From its brash title track to a denouement that begs to be set free, Gaslighter — The Chicks' first album in 14 years — is a story of painful awakening. Betsy Whitney/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Arthur Jafa, photographed in Milan, Italy on Jan. 14, 2020. Daniele Venturelli/Daniele Venturelli / Getty Image hide caption
The rapper Pop Smoke, whose posthumous debut album was released July 3, 2020. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Leslie Odom Jr. originated the role of Aaron Burr on Broadway in Hamilton. Like the rest of the original cast, he's available to watch at home in the film, which arrives Friday on Disney+. Disney+ hide caption
A drawing of composer William Dawson in 1935 by Aaron Douglas. Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, long neglected, has received a new recording. Aaron Douglas/Tuskegee University Archives hide caption
Chloe x Halle, performing on April 11, 2019 in New York. Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for DVF Awards hide caption
SAULT's UNTITLED digs into the everyday aspects of Black existence, and celebrates who we are privately, not when we're donning the cape and saving humanity from itself — again. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Moving through themes of isolation and recovery in real time, Gia Margaret reshapes her world around her circumstances on her latest album, Mia Gargaret. Rachel Winslow/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
RMR. Mark Peaced/Courtesy of Warner Records hide caption
Freddie Gibbs (right) seems born to spit over The Alchemist's productions. Their new album, Alfredo, is a delicious portmanteau of their names. Nick Walker/Courtesy of the artist hide caption