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In many ways, Mike Huckaby was the glue that bound Detroit’s electronic music scenes together.

On HBO’s Westworld, Tessa Thompson plays Charlotte Hale, a cutthroat executive who oversees a dystopic Wild West amusement park populated by lifelike robots. Turns out, even violent androids need Spotify: as Thompson explains by phone, she makes private playlists to explore the show’s world and characters each season.

In late April, audio clips surfaced that appeared to capture JAY-Z rapping several unexpected texts. Did you ever imagine you’d hear JAY-Z do Shakespeare’s “To Be, Or Not to Be” soliloquy from Hamlet? How about Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” or a decade-old 4chan meme? All of these unlikely recitations were, of course, fake: “entirely computer-generated using a text-to-speech model trained on the speech patterns of JAY-Z,” according to a YouTube description.

The first time I truly understood the kinetic, roof-raising meaning of the phrase “rock’n’roll” was when I attended a Little Richard concert in the summer of 2012. The bouffant-haired icon was 79 then.

Pitchfork’s weekly rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, dances, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches our attention in the world of hip-hop.

If you’ve listened to rap in the last few years, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the work of a loopmaker. With artists recording at a dizzying pace, the demand for beats is at an all-time high, so producers have begun outsourcing to a network of musicians who provide them with instrumental hooks for their tracks.

Kraftwerk was supposed to be the man machine, the ultimate fusion of culture and technology. The band’s use of electronic instruments in pop-song form paved the way for those that followed, an influence felt from Detroit techno to London grime, from Kanye to Coldplay.

In our new weekly series, we’re revisiting some of our favorite music movies—from artist docs and concert films to biopics and fictional fantasies—that are available to stream or rent digitally. Spoilers ahead.

Like so many other businesses in the pandemic, record stores have had to move online. This isn’t necessarily a new move: Discogs, eBay, and other sites have been hubs for vinyl for years.

On April 23, more than 12 million players of the battle-royale video game Fortnite put down their guns to watch a digital avatar of Travis Scott teleport around a beach, tower against a blood-red sky, and launch audience members into outer space. It was all part of a 10-minute virtual concert, the game’s biggest event ever, according to Fortnite maker Epic Games.

Invisible Hits is a column in which Tyler Wilcox scours the internet for the best (and strangest) bootlegs, rarities, outtakes, and live clips.

It’s difficult to exaggerate the scale of Tony Allen’s talent and influence. The Nigerian drummer joined Fela Kuti’s band when the soon-to-be-legendary performer was still impersonating James Brown. Allen introduced the iconic polyrhythms that would define Afrobeat music as much as Fela’s saxophone or outsized personality. He died suddenly from an aneurysm yesterday in Paris, leaving behind a legacy that spans decades, genres, and continents.

Last Friday night, I walked in on my roommate furiously typing on their laptop, in an attempt to revive an old Minecraft account. Our favorite experimental pop weirdos, 100 Gecs, were throwing a music festival inside the video game, called Square Garden.

Pitchfork’s weekly rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, dances, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches our attention in the world of hip-hop.

Each month, we’ll be running down memorable clips and celebrating artists who are breaking new ground with their visuals or choreography. In April’s edition, Rina Sawayama bittersweetly reminds us of the joys of karaoke sessions with friends; SiR reimagines Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, and TDE’s Black Hippy crew as King of the Hill characters; and Arca sets fire to the gender binary with a CGI blowtorch. Check out the best of the best below.

We all knew new Drake music was coming. All the warning signs were there: months of teases, SoundCloud leaks, and a trickle of singles and videos, which culminated last night in the release of a new project called Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Though it’s a standalone work—his first new full-length since 2018’s Scorpion—the new tape is also meant to be a teaser for Drake’s sixth studio album, which he has promised will be released this summer.

In our new weekly series, we’re revisiting some of our favorite music movies—from artist docs and concert films to biopics and fictional fantasies—that are available to stream or rent digitally. Spoilers ahead.

Every month, Philip Sherburne listens to a whole lot of mixes so you only have to listen to the best ones.

Pitchfork Book Club highlights today’s best new music books.

Last week, new Taylor Swift music appeared on streaming services, an event that typically comes with much fanfare. Live From Clear Channel Stripped 2008, a recording of a radio performance, captures an 18-year-old Swift around the release of Fearless, the record that guided her transition from country underdog to girl-next-door pop star.

You can’t have a conversation about the best rap producers of the last few years without mentioning Pi’erre Bourne. Following in the footsteps of hitmakers like Lex Luger, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Metro Boomin, Bourne has made his name cranking out beats that pair airy video-game melodies with classic trap drums.

Few labels maintain a coherent sonic identity across a roster of artists after a full decade of existence, but Tri Angle Records did just that. From 2010 to 2020, Robin Carolan was founder and head A&R of a deeply influential and uncompromising bastion of independent musicians.

Pitchfork’s weekly rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, dances, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches our attention in the world of hip-hop.

Bob the Drag Queen is best known as the season-eight winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but soon she’ll become an HBO fixture. In the network’s new docuseries We’re Here, Bob and fellow Drag Race stars Eureka O’Hara and Shangela hit conservative American towns in the hopes of building bridges to acceptance.

In our new weekly series, we’re revisiting some of our favorite music movies—from artist docs and concert films to biopics and fictional fantasies—that are available to stream or rent digitally. Spoilers ahead.

Pitchfork Book Club highlights today’s best new music books.

ANOHNI possesses one of music’s most powerful voices, particularly when it comes to protecting the environment. In late 2015, the UK-born, New York City-based artist addressed the climate crisis head-on with “4 Degrees,” a paradoxically joyful synth-pop single from her debut solo album, HOPELESSNESS.

Post Malone is a big Nirvana fan. He’s covered “All Apologies” and “Lithium” and has indicated that his “Stay Away” face tattoo is in reference to the Nirvana song of the same name. Now, Post has announced a Nirvana tribute livestream that takes place this Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m. Eastern. Check out the announcement video below.

Like so many others, DJs everywhere have suddenly been left with no work and no income because of restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. With some health officials and politicians now predicting that large public gatherings may not return until the fall of 2021—or at least until there’s both herd immunity and a vaccine—it’s unlikely that DJs will be getting back into the booth anytime soon.

Nick Hakim has performed a home concert for NPR, whose “Tiny Desk Concert” series is now set in the artists’ homes. Set up in his home studio with assorted instruments and technology, Hakim debuted a new song, “GODS DIRTY WORK,” and played recent singles “CRUMPY”—whose recorded version features Mac DeMarco—and “QADIR.” Check out the set below.