The Listening: J. Cole, Mya, Wiz Khalifa, Dave East & Joyner Lucas, Terrace Martin and More This week’s new music Friday also features E-40, Thundercat, Alchemist, Kelly Rowland and Tems. entertainment January 30, 2026
J. Cole Wants ‘The Fall-Off’ to Be His Best Album. Here’s How He Can Do It With his seventh and final album on the horizon, J. Cole has the opportunity to cap off his legendary career with his greatest work yet. Here’s how he can make 'The Fall-Off' the masterpiece fans deserve. featured January 30, 2026
Do Grammys Still Matter? Artists Tell Okayplayer Why They Do As conversations around the Grammys continue, artists like Rapsody and Terrace Martin reflect on what the recognition still represents at this point in their careers. entertainment January 30, 2026
If 2026 Is the New 2016, Rihanna’s 'ANTI' Was the Blueprint A decade later, Rihanna’s most unapologetic album still shapes music, fashion and culture. entertainment January 29, 2026
How Drake, Jay-Z and the NBA Speak the Same Language From locker rooms and warmups to highlight reels and All-Star Weekend, here's how music became basketball’s unofficial language. featured January 28, 2026
5 J. Cole ‘Birthday Blizzard '26’ Lyrics That Will Make You Sorry for Hating The North Carolina spitter unloaded a surprise new project just ahead of his birthday, and Okayplayer breaks down the best bars. entertainment January 28, 2026
On 'Vacancy,' Ari Lennox Sinks Smoothly Into Hard-Earned Freedom Ari Lennox’s latest album is her first since she departed Dreamville Records last year. entertainment January 28, 2026
J. Cole Drops Surprise New Mixtape, 'Birthday Blizzard '26' The DJ-Clue hosted mixtape arrives ahead of his new album, ‘The Fall Off,’ which is supposed to drop next week. entertainment January 28, 2026
Regina Hall to Star in Netflix Series With Adam Driver Thriller series ‘Rabbit, Rabbit’ got a straight-to-series order from the streaming giant back in October. news January 27, 2026
Roc Marciano’s ‘656’ Is Another Minimalist Masterpiece Roc Marciano’s entirely self-produced album only reinforces his legend. entertainment January 26, 2026
‘The Vince Staples Show’ Wasn’t Perfect, But it Was Too Good For Netflix Anyway The streaming platform canceled Staples’ show after just 11 episodes, before its strange world could blossom into something beautiful entertainment January 26, 2026
Delroy Lindo’s First Oscar Nomination is Beautiful — But Also Decades Late The 73-year-old is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Delta Slim in Ryan Coogler’s 2025 hit ‘Sinners.’ entertainment January 26, 2026
The Listening: Roc Marciano, Ari Lennox, T.I., Juvenile, DaBaby and More This week’s new music Friday also features Flo Milli, Denzel Curry, Nija, Wiz Khalifa and Roc Marciano. entertainment January 23, 2026
‘Sinners’ Scores Most Oscar Nominations in History Ryan Coogler’s hit leads all films with 16 nominations, including Best Picture. entertainment January 22, 2026
A$AP Rocky’s ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ Is a Convoluted, But Rewarding Blockbuster A$AP Rocky’s latest album can be a bit sprawling for its own good, but his superhuman cool holds the vista together. entertainment January 20, 2026
Roc Marciano Drops His New Album, ‘656,’ This Friday This week, Roc Marciano is dropping off a new LP that’s largely self-produced. entertainment January 20, 2026
The Listening: J. Cole, A$AP Rocky, Ella Mai, Fivio Foreign and More This week’s new music Friday also features Wiz Khalifa, Lexa Gates, Charlie XCX, NBA Youngboy and Gunna. entertainment January 16, 2026
Check Out IDK’s New Single “Life 4 A Life” With Pusha T The new single examines the psychological toll of crime and incarceration and what so many youth lose to the system. entertainment January 12, 2026
5 Takeaways From Max B & French Montana’s ‘Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos’ Max B & French Montana’s latest proves the two are nearly as wavy as ever. entertainment January 12, 2026
The Listening: Ari Lennox, Bruno Mars, Max B & French Montana, A$AP Rocky and More This week’s new music Friday also features Jill Scott, Kodak Black, Pusha T and Danny Brown. entertainment January 9, 2026
Albums We’re Excited For in January From A$AP Rocky to Ari Lennox, here are the month’s hottest releases. entertainment January 9, 2026
Jill Scott Announces New Album ‘To Whom This May Concern,’ Featuring Ab-Soul, Thierra Whack, J.I.D. and More This will be the first new album in 10 years from the Grammy-winning soul singer. entertainment January 2, 2026
The Listening: Doechii, SZA, YFN Lucci, Chief Keef, Jill Scott and More This week’s new music Friday also features Rod Wave, Lil Tony Official and Kareen Lomax. entertainment January 2, 2026
The Listening: Tyler, The Creator, Snoop Dogg, Lil Uzi Vert, Sexyy Red and More This week’s new music Friday also features Chance the Rapper, Cash Cobain, $uicideboy$ and Vic Spencer. entertainment December 26, 2025
Okayplayer’s Most Slept-On Albums of 2025 Too many releases. Not enough time. Here are some albums that deserved more love. featured December 22, 2025
The Listening: Benny The Butcher, YFN Lucci, Polo G, Sevyn Streeter, Dave East and More This week’s new music Friday also features Smokepurpp, DaBaby, Brandy Haze and EST-Gee. entertainment December 19, 2025
2025 Was the Year Hip-Hop Hit the Reset Button From Clipse to Nas, and from the underground to the global stage, hip-hop returned to its foundation — prioritizing culture, intention and longevity over virality. featured December 18, 2025
Here’s Why Eminem Turned Down Nas Collaboration In a recent interview, Nas revealed he’d asked Eminem to guest on 2007’s “Daughters.” entertainment December 18, 2025
The Listening: Nas & DJ Premier, 21 Savage, Conway The Machine, Samara Cyn, and More This week’s new music Friday also features 21 Savage, Joyner Lucas, DaBaby, Yasiin Bey and Dee-1. featured December 12, 2025
Okayplayer's Top Artists of 2025 These artists were the ones who carried the torch throughout the year. featured December 11, 2025
Clipse Drops Video for “P.O.V.” With Tyler, The Creator "P.O.V." is the fifth video Clipse has dropped from their Grammy-nominated comeback, 'Let God Sort Em Out.' entertainment December 10, 2025
Earl Sweatshirt Showed Terminal 5 How to ‘Live Laugh Love’ Earl tore it down in Manhattan last week for the latest stop of his tour. featured December 8, 2025
Okayplayer’s Top 25 Songs of 2025 As 2025 comes to a close, Okayplayer shares our top songs of the year. featured December 8, 2025
The Listening: Erick Sermon, Lil Baby, GloRilla, Polo G with G Herbo and More This week’s new music Friday also features Ice Spice, The Game, Logic and Wiz Khalifa, Big K.R.I.T. and Kevin Gates. entertainment December 5, 2025
The 14 Best Black Sitcoms and TV Shows From the ’90s That Still Influence TV Today Black sitcoms from the '90s served as a healing measure for an entire diaspora. From 'Moesha' to 'Living Single,' these are the best '90s Black sitcoms still shaping culture and style in 2025. entertainment December 2, 2025
The 20 Best 'Chappelle's Show' Sketches Everyone’s Talking About in 2025 The funniest and most memorable 'Chappelle's Show' sketches of all time, from Clayton Bigsby to Charlie Murphy’s iconic stories still cracking laughs in 2025. film tv December 1, 2025
The Listening: Lil Baby, Max B, Mavi, Ferg and More This week’s new music Friday also features Esham, Spree Wilson, Lil Baby, Central Cee and 9th Wonder. entertainment November 28, 2025
Monte Booker Defines His Own ‘Noise’ Speaking to Okayplayer, Monte Booker breaks down his new album and more. news November 21, 2025
The Listening: De La Soul, Tems, BigXThaPlug, Ransom & Conductor Williams and More This week’s new music Friday also features Ne-Yo, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Polo G, A$AP Ferg, and Rico Nasty entertainment November 21, 2025
Nicki Minaj Faces Serious Backlash After United Nations Speech The rapper spoke at a Trump-backed U.N. panel on violence in Nigeria and the backlash was swift. entertainment November 20, 2025
How Justin Andrews Expands His Grandfather’s Legacy With the Otis Redding Foundation Speaking to Okayplayer, Otis Redding’s grandson, Justin Andrews, discusses his role in the Otis Redding Foundation. featured November 19, 2025
The Listening: Wale, Summer Walker, Boldy James, Ice Spice, FKA twigs and More This week’s new music Friday also features Van Hunt, Mario, OMB Peezy, and Valerie June. entertainment November 14, 2025
Questlove Says Posthumous D’Angelo Music is on the Way The Roots drummer talked about fallen icons D’Angelo and Sly Stone during a recent interview. entertainment November 13, 2025
Jay-Z, Beyoncé Named to Billboard’s Top Songwriters of the 21st Century List The Weeknd, Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri are all also featured on Billboard’s Top Songwriters list. news November 12, 2025
Five Best Moments From the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony OutKast, Salt-N-Pepa, Cyndi Lauper, Thom Bell and more were among this year’s inductees. entertainment November 10, 2025
The Six Biggest Snubs for the 2026 Grammy Nominations The 68th Annual Grammy Awards take place on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. entertainment November 10, 2025
How The Golden Era of Black Media Made R&B Mainstream In the ‘90s, musical crossover with hip-hop and prominence in media pushed R&B into the mainstream featured November 10, 2025
The Listening: De La Soul, Danny Brown, Kehlani, Erick Sermon, G Herbo, Quavo and More This week’s new music Friday also features A$AP Ferg, PJ Morton, Jim Jones, and Mavis Staples. entertainment November 7, 2025
