Benciolo

📢 AN ANTI-MAINSTREAM MANIFESTO

El-P stands as a figure of major importance in the history of hip-hop. It all begins with his former group, Company Flow, itself a cornerstone in defining late-’90s hardcore underground hip-hop. But that underground seed is not the only crucial element here.

Equally important is the kind of anti-mainstream manifesto El-P preached, first with his group, and later as a solo artist. In a scene where the mainstream was dominated by figures like Eminem and ... read more

🕳️ SCRAPING THE BOTTOM

Where were we left off? In 2020, the year Lil Baby released My Turn, attempting to take that long-needed step forward in his career. A step that, however, never truly arrived. If anything, My Turn felt like a project that pushed Lil Baby toward a kind of creative resignation, away from innovation and from distancing himself from his influences in order to carve out a definitive identity of his own.

This is because, at first, Lil Baby seemed different from the vast ... read more

🎉 THE END OF THE PARTY BOY?

Mac Miller, during the rapid rise of his musical career, kept himself busy releasing quite a handful of projects. Starting from K.I.D.S in 2010, arguably the tape that first put him “on the map”, all the way to Macadelic in 2012, he managed to drop five projects in just three years. Along the way came others like Best Day Ever, and even his debut studio album, Blue Slide Park.

But quantity and quality don’t always walk hand in hand. In fact, ... read more

🎭 MADMAN DUO

When it comes to artists like JPEGMAFIA or Danny Brown, nothing remotely generic comes to mind. These are figures who naturally gravitate toward the extreme, whether it's Danny's relentless thematic dive into drug abuse, sharpened by his pen, or Peggy's boundary-breaking production style. Peggy is a fully rounded artist: he produces, raps, sings, he does it all.

Both had already cemented their place in the genre, each boasting pivotal projects in their ... read more