You cannot write without reading. Study your craft.
I read the kind of things that i want to write, so there's a heavy hip-hop focus here but no one's surprised by that. Obviously this list could continue endlessly because Internet -- but these are articles that stuck out, that I remember geeking out about on twitter, that I bookmarked to reread, etc.
Thank you for all for inspiring me and helping me to better my craft.
MY FAVORITE MUSIC WRITING OF 2015:
The Day Kanye West Killed Gangsta Rap by Noah Callahan-Bever for Complex
Drake: Rapper, Actor, Meme by Jon Caramanica for the New York Times
Op-Ed: I’m Breaking Up With Drake by Meaghan Garvey for The Pitch
J. Cole Is A Super Star, Deal With It by Khari Nixon for The Source
On a SlutWalk of No Shame with Amber Rose by Lauren Nostro for Complex
Kendrick Lamar Meets Quincy Jones by Robert Marshall for Hypetrak
Missy Elliott Exclusive: Rap’s Returning Queen Sounds Off On ‘WTF’ by Hattie Collins for i-D
Can I Live? The Rap Writer’s Essential Question by Jeff D. for Above Average Hip Hop
Thinking Out Loud: Something Borrowed - Short Fiction by Jeff D. via Shiny Glass Houses
Vintage Kanye West Pre-College Dropout by Dread Solo for RESPECT. Mag
Chelsea Reject: The Most Refreshing and Self Aware Female Voice in Hip-Hop by Dread Solo for RESPECT. Mag
Dear Taylor Swift, News Flash: Nicki Minaj's VMAs Gripe Has Nothing To Do With You by Iyana Robertson for VIBE
We Talked To Rick Ross About Losing 100 lbs and Finding True Love by Kathy Iandoli for Maxim
How ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Predicted Our Adult Personalities by Kathy Iandoli for Noisey
How Beyoncé Found Her Style In Her 30s by Kathy Iandoli for i-D
We Mean What We Say: An Interview With TLC by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for Rookie Mag
Unpopular Opinion: Why Tyler The Creator Is The Low Key MVP of 2015 by Ashley Monaé for VIBE
Meet The Voice's Siahna Im, Your New Favorite Wildly Talented 15-Year-Old by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd (As well as - I Am Wasting My Life Watching The Voice from 2014) for The Muse
Why “Bonita Applebum” Is The Best Rap Love Song Of All Time (Excerpt) by Shea Serrano via FADER
Mac Miller Finds The Way by Rembert Browne for Grantland
Bonus:
The best hip hop journalism book I read: The Next Next Level by Leon Neyfakh
My favorite movie (obvz) : N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton
My favorite documentary: Adult Rappers
My favorite culture/photography blog: Jordan Keyser
My favorite music-related artwork this year (3-way tie): Dread Solo, Dean Krupka, Chris B. Murray
My favorite year-end list - again, by Kathy Iandoli for Idolator
My favorite sneakers I should own by now but don't: Nike Air Force 1 High "Wheat"
My favorite musicians to share an apartment with in 2015: Young Planet
My favorite person to be Facebook friends with who needs to blog more: Masai Andrews