Adam Wray is still waiting. I’m not ready to pass judgment on Yeezus. Its early appraisers no doubt feel they’ve got a handle on it, and I’ve surely read some thoughtful, nuanced takes, but I have a hard time making a quick reckoning with works so polarizing. I’m too skeptical of my own ears and […]

If you aren’t from Chicago, chances are slim you’d ever heard of footwork before Planet Mu introduced it to the world with its Bangs & Works compilations. The hyperspeed strain of ghetto house has a long history, though, dating back to the late 1990s. RP Boo, sometimes Arpebu, is credited as the creator of the […]

Adam Wray has never even been to Mount Vesuvius. I have this memory that’s triggered any time I hear Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun”: I’m blasting down the Pacific Coast Highway in a white convertible, carving corners a little too fast, and golden hour sunshine is glinting off a calm ocean. It feels hyperreal, […]

Adam Wray also likes Coney. Detroit’s Kyle Hall may only be 21, but the mix he’s assembled for Resident Advisor’s podcast is veteran’s work. No surprise for heads who’ve been paying attention – Hall was 16 when his first 12″ was released on Omar-S’ FXHE imprint. Since then, Hall’s put out a steady stream of […]

Adam Wray is buying cheese and records on his lunch break. Just like every baseball nut is an armchair GM, every music nerd is an executive producer in their own mind. We’d all love to Rick Rubin our favorite act’s next project, to push them in the direction we feel they should be headed. Such […]

You’d be hard-pressed to find an artist whose catalogue is as universally beloved as Marvin Gaye’s. From his immortal duets with Tammi Terrell, to the smooth, meditative song cycle of What’s Going On, to his arsenal of beloved slow jams, Marvin’s tunes are more than pop music – they’re an indelible part of our culture. […]

Adam Wray wrote this inside the Viper Room bathroom, circa 1993. There’s no rapper working today that’s earned his hype as much as Danny Brown. Since XXX blew up he’s been getting it like he’s lived, crushing each and every track he’s hopped on and leaving a trail of smoked mics, blunts, and groupies in […]

Adam Wray calls it how he wants to call it. Having spent nearly two months with “Suit & Tie,” I’d given up on it growing on me. I’d chalked up my initial disappointment to unfair expectations, but the truth is: it’s a junk tune. It’s heartless mall-funk, simultaneously limp and uptight, overstuffed and empty. It’s […]

Adam Wray needs you at least 73.7 percent. Listen to music long enough and you realize it moves in circles. What was popular twenty years ago will be discovered by kids on the come up, and bits of that old sound will become new again. Right now, the sounds of early house are catching their […]

Adam Wray wrote that Onion headline. I work in a boring office, spending 40ish hours per week sitting at a boring desk, staring at boring spreadsheets. I complain about my job a lot, but beyond paying a decent wage, it gives me total freedom to listen to music all damn day. At a time when […]