Al Shipley

Essays

Rich Gang's 'Tha Tour Part 1' Heralded Hip-Hop's Future

Birdman's supergroup established Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug as pioneers and defined the sound of half a decade of rap.
Al Shipley
10.2.19
Premieres

If You Found $300,000, What Would You Do?

Baltimore rapper Starrz delivers the new visual for his track "Get Right" featuring SlickboySupe and a lot of cash.
Al Shipley
10.22.18
Essays

'Tha Carter V' Is Good, But Is It Good Enough?

Lil Wayne’s long-awaited comeback album goes into overtime. Does the Greatest Rapper Alive deliver?
Al Shipley
10.1.18
Remix Report Card

Gucci Gang Gucci Gang Gucci Gang Gucci Mane, and Also Three 6 Mafia

On this installment of the remix report card, Gucci Mane jumps on “Gucci Gang,” Will Smith remixes his son’s breakthrough hit, and someone else sampled Three 6 Mafia.
Al Shipley
6.21.18
Remix Report Card

Get These Mainstream White Rapper Dickholes' Remixes Out of My Life

Gucci Mane escorts us into a cold winter with a highly unnecessary Jake Paul remix, Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" gets a reboot, and Lil Yachty hops on Creek Boyz "With My Team" in this installment of the Remix Report Card.
Al Shipley
2.12.18
The Unstreamables

Def Leppard’s 'Hysteria' Has Rocked for 30 Years but You Still Can't Stream It

On the heels of their hit album 'Pyromania,' plagued by setbacks, the band set out to make an album with seven hit singles—and succeeded.
Al Shipley
8.4.17
Remix Report Card

Thank Kendrick and Missy Elliott for Keeping the Summer Event Remix Alive

Plus, Gucci Mane runs the remix circuit and Young Thug cosigns Sahbabii in this edition of the Remix Report Card.
Al Shipley
7.20.17
The Unstreamables

Before He Met JAY-Z, No I.D. Made His Own ‘Black Album’

The Chicago producer's 1997 album 'Accept Your Own & Be Yourself (The Black Album)' isn't on streaming services, but it's a window into his
Al Shipley
7.13.17
The Unstreamables

The Geraldine Fibbers’ Debut Was a Country Feedback Masterpiece

A recent re-release of 'Lost Somewhere Between The Earth And My Home' gives the semi-forgotten 1995 critical darling a new sheen.
Al Shipley
6.1.17
Remix Report Card

The Winter Remix Report Card

Remy Ma teams up with another Nicki Minaj foe, Katy Perry works with Lil Yachty, and Lil Bibby gets the Kevin Gates verse of the year.
Al Shipley
4.27.17
The Unstreamables

The Busy, Nasty Racket of Skeleton Key’s ‘Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon’ 20 Years Later

The 1997 album was one of the most wired and willfully perverse major label debuts of its time, but it remains out of reach on streaming services
Al Shipley
4.6.17
The Unstreamables

Aaliyah's 'One in a Million' Invented the Sound of the Future

It's the sound of three of pop's biggest innovators—Aaliyah, Timbaland, and Missy Elliott—bringing funk forward, but you can't stream it online.
Al Shipley
3.16.17
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