R&B can gain texture from the exchange, but only if its ambassadors treat the genre as an equal partner rather than a commodity. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/can-r-and-b-…

Three 6 built a local language so vivid that the outside world eventually learned to speak it. Every triplet stanza snapped off by a chart-topping rapper, and the influence is foundational. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-understa…

No list will ever satisfy everyone, of course. R&B is a sprawling genre spanning many eras and styles, narrowing it down to a ranked 75 is an exercise guaranteed to spark debate. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/billboard-pl…

After nine acts and countless moments of magic, NPR’s Black Music Month showcase proved to be more than just a nostalgia exercise. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/reviewing-20…

The Combs verdict reveals a system that still struggles to hold the powerful accountable, and a culture that still struggles to believe and protect those they harm. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/what-the-sea…

Hip-hop thrives when agism crumbles, fostering a future where creators endure beyond trends. Veterans pave paths for longevity, proving that maturity fuels innovation. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/clipse-and-d…

We analyzed the rollout strategies of some 2025 rap and R&B albums, grading each on creativity, pre-album singles, music videos, fan reception, and overall effectiveness. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/decoding-202…

Some LPs and CDs are shipped without key songs to drive future purchases, inflating album sales. This bait-and-switch blurs the line between collector culture and con artistry. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/how-labelsar…

Joey is big enough that fans expect seamless rollouts, but not so big to overrule the machine. The episode reminds us that leverage is less about volume of protest than performance consistency. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/joey-bada-an…

We talk about “protecting Black spaces” as if it’s a defensive act. But protection without investment is just preservation of an empty room. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/bet-hits-pau…

With that one hyperbolic statement, will.i.am reignited an old impulse in rap discourse, the barbershop urge to rank and compare, pitting two of the culture’s most revered MCs against each other. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-misguide…

What the cancelled EmpowHER Music Festival event reveals about empowerment branding and festival culture. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/how-a-promis…

This trilogy traces not just the arc of Abel Tesfaye’s vices and redemptions, but dramatizes the darkness of self-destruction and ego to a tentative light of acceptance and humility. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-weeknds-…

Wideman’s unresolved novel and Armand Hammer’s album are masterworks of this practice. They do not offer the official, definitive story of the MOVE bombing or of Black life under systemic pressure. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-counter-…

Major labels’ pivot in 2023 set the stage for a misinterpreted “hip-hop decline.” Lamar is not to blame for any lull; rather, industry strategy-driven narratives created a false idea of a dying genre. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/its-not-kend…

If audiences shrug and embrace AI voices for their sonic beauty, the industry has a green light to replicate and scale this model. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/xania-monets…

Shakur’s life exemplifies an unfinished journey toward freedom—one that continues to inform and challenge current generations to confront systemic racism, sexism, and the meaning of resistance. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/assata-shaku…

The “voice of the streets” may no longer be the sole authority, but it hasn’t vanished. Instead, it has been amplified, remixed, and contested by a multitude of voices. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-voice-of…

Both artists, across eras, translate collapse into communion. They show that when utopias fall apart, music can offer refuge; when slogans lose their power, groove can carry the weight of protest. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-quiet-re…