Whilst almost all industry awards shows are a race to the bottom, The GRAMMYs are impressively terrible. In order to make sense of it all, I’ve looked into two key questions: why is hip hop so consistently maligned, and what are the hallmarks of a GRAMMY winning album?

Tyler The Creator's fourth album, Scum Fuck Flower Boy, has cemented him as one of hip hop's most engaging emcees. I look at his long come-up, from reviled edge-rap poster boy to disarmingly introspective emcee.

The Roots' tenth studio record, Undun, is a triumphant concept album exploring the tragedy of urban poverty and the role of opportunity in inner-city crime. I look at the acclaimed LP and the forces that influenced it, including The Roots' already long and prosperous career and their then-new gig on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

I reflect on the short-but-sweet career of piano-rock group Jack's Mannequin, the trials that shaped them and the heartfelt music they left behind.

Leaks: a fact of life and the bane of the music industry. Internet-era artists must contend with the unpredictable and high-stakes reality of unauthorised leaks, an ever-present threat that costs them time and money... but who actually leaks music? From unscrupulous hackers to devious colleagues and untrustworthy critics, here's a look at how unreleased tracks emerge.

Toro y Moi might have emerged from the 2010 Chillwave movement, but a spate of fantastic records have proven Chaz Bundick's versatility. Though he's long been an indie darling, are we taking him for granted? Here's a primer on Toro y Moi's bumper career.

Donald Glover and Daniel Dumile are the creators behind two of hip hop's foremost alter-egos. Their different approaches to their aliases helps illuminate the strange intersection of music and theatre, a seldom discussed aspect of popular music.

Texas-by-LA boyband Brockhampton have had a hell of a year, crafting the Saturation trilogy and dabbling in writing, film and multimedia. We look back at 2017, the year of Brockhampton.

At the turn of the century, rap supergroup Deltron 3030 crafted one of hip hop's finest concept albums. I break down the rise of the members — Del The Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala — and look back at their seminal LP.

Why is one of the most visionary and critically revered rappers of our age still without an album? I chart the long and winding road to Jay Electronica's ever-impending debut.

In one of my first ever pieces, penned for Lucifer’s Monocle, I looked back at Kanye’s ‘Graduation,’ and the way that 2007 record paved the way for his indellible new-wave game-changer, 2008’s ‘808s and Heartbreak.’