It’s Yeezy season again. In the circus that is Kanye West’s universe, it’s easy to forget that he remains one of the most important and active hip-hop artists of our times. Bully is his 12th studio album and shows a man  comfortable in his quirky sonic space and fully open to artistic experimentation

Ari Lennox’s Vacancy arrives as her third studio album, following 2022’s age.sex.location—a project I genuinely loved for its confidence, humour, and emotional honesty.

I selected the five best R&B albums of 2025, as part of Echoes Magazine’s yearly round-up of the best albums of the year in black music. End of year lists tend to get people all worked up - but hey, it’s a game of opinions

In 2025, hip-hop has taken a pretty hefty hit to its reputation (and chart presence). Nas and DJ Premier have served up a welcome antidote to the trap overdose with Light-Years.