1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
Her seventh solo release is a multilevel achievement: an effortless excursion into half a dozen permutations of dance music, a seamless playlist, and a loud reminder that Black auteurs and their experiences are the soil from which the art form grew. It's equally a face-melting display of vocal excellence, full of flawless runs and perfectly placed harmonies. Every beat delivers a musicology lesson. And while its technical dexterity will be studied, so should Beyoncé's ease in honoring Black queer history while singing about heterosexual monogamy in marriage.
2. Vince Staples, Ramona Park Broke My Heart
An album that embraces regionality, diving into the musical and sociopolitical history of Southern California, it's a worthy scion of the gangsta-rap tradition. The writing is vivid and achingly tired but steadfast, never more so than on "When Sparks Fly," which anthropomorphizes a gun better than Nas's "I Gave You Power."
3. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti
The Puerto Rican superstar keeps global streaming charts in a choke hold not just as an emissary of the intercontinental of reggaeton but as a prodigious writer of love songs and a restless musical aesthete. Here, he spends nearly two dozen tracks having fun, showing off, and drilling it into your head that he understands both the breadth of his intersecting audiences and the generations of developments that make his career possible.
4. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
This story is from the December 19, 2022 - January 01, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 19, 2022 - January 01, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Unmasking Diddy
The rap mogul shook off decades of rumored bad behavior with wholesome PR revamps. Now the allegations against him are his legacy.
Staging Sufjan
How playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury turned a classic indie-rock album into a Justin Peck-choreographed dance piece that's now Broadway bound.
Justin Kuritzkes Serves an Ace
With his first movie script for the erotic tennis drama Challengers, he has gone from struggling playwright to in-demand screenwriter.
To Brooklyn, by Way of Paris and Rome
A whirlwind week with Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri as she stages the brand's first New York runway show in a decade.
A Burlesque Family at Home
Showbiz couple Angie Pontani and Brian Newman’s high-spirited Marine Park house.
A Bistro With Shish Barak
Huda impressively balances its many influences.
THE 'DEBATE ME BRO
Mehdi Hasan's aggressive interviewing style landed him a Sunday show on MSNBC. Until he started talking about Palestine.
THE MAN WHO GOSSIPED TOO MUCH
For almost two decades, JOHN NELSON anonymously published blind items skewering the Hollywood elite on the blog CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS. Then his identity was revealed in the midst of a messy affair.
TODD BLANCHE IS A SURPRISINGLY COMPETENT LAWYER. AND HE'S ON TRACK TO KEEP HIS CLIENT OUT OF JAIL UNTIL THE ELECTION. IN DEFENSE OF TRUMP
TODD BLANCHE WAS looking for his man. Or it could be a woman, but probably not.
Self: Emma Alpern
In Outer Space Why do so many women believe their bodies are controlled by the moon?