About Us

SUPER EMPTY. has been many things over the years — a no-budget, narrowly focused personal blog on the Triangle rap scene in 2015, a monthly digital magazine and 21-episode podcast in collaboration with RUNAWAY (RIP) in 2018, and for a good chunk of 2024, a statewide outlet focused on presenting, every week, the best writing on North Carolina hip-hop — including the story of how the Little Brother documentary came together, an exploration of J. Cole's sometimes-unsteady role as a bridge between generations, a profile on the return of Charlotte rapper Well$ under the name leroy, Q&A's with polymathic rapper Mez and Vince Staples Show cinematographer Ayinde Anderson, and more.

In 2025, SE is once again in a period of evolution. Having learned the hard way about the bruising realities of the journalism business, we've shed the ambitions of being a highly refined, longform digital media outlet (we didn't have a chance, but it was fun to try), and once again embracing the scrappy, spontaneous and DIY spirit that brought Super Empty to life in the first place. That means making the site/blog a less precious, less art-directed, more frequently updated space, focusing our most polished work into one or two print editions per year, and if we're lucky, making some videos and throwing events with friends too, because that just sounds like a good time. Through all these changes, and others that will inevitably come, the mission remains the same as ever: honoring and celebrating NC hip-hop by giving it the thoughtful, considered coverage it deserves.

Founder/Editor: Ryan Cocca

Contributing Writers: Dash Lewis, Yoh Phillips, Tyler Bunzey, Fola Onifade, Eric Tullis, BrassiousMonk (and more)

Thank you to our "Partner"-level supporters ($100/yr): Holland Gallagher, Dina Allen, Linda Fussell, Adrian Fussell, Sarah Edwards, The Yonda Project, Brian Kidd, Phonte Coleman, Alex Yllanes.