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Super Empty's Best Of 2024, Pt. 1 (Albums)
Features

Super Empty's Best Of 2024, Pt. 1 (Albums)

Top albums from an emotive, soulful year of North Carolina hip-hop and R&B.
13 Dec 2024 21 min read
Album Review: shadowbox, by MAVI
New Music

Album Review: shadowbox, by MAVI

The precocious Charlotte rapper delivers a heartbreaking but hopeful album that's more concerned with survival than prosperity.
13 Dec 2024 3 min read
Album Review: the villain wins, by MESSIAH!
New Music

Album Review: the villain wins, by MESSIAH!

On his first album in two years, Charlotte’s MESSIAH! balances light and shadow, and an identity as savior or villain.
14 Aug 2024 4 min read
Mez's Story is Still Loading
Q&A

Mez's Story is Still Loading

Balancing a solo rap career with being a creative right hand to legends — writing songs for Dr. Dre and Ye, directing videos for J. Cole — has left the Raleigh native hard to pin down. He's (mostly) OK with that.
06 Aug 2024 20 min read
Genius Bars
The Scene

Genius Bars

The 24th edition of the stalwart RDU hip-hop event "The Genius Party" gets everyone involved — from producers, to vocalists, to attendees themselves.
04 Aug 2024 5 min read
Dispatch From Wilmington: Bridge to Forever
The Scene

Dispatch From Wilmington: Bridge to Forever

At Waterline Brewing, a night of wide-ranging music — from Georgia to New York, and from the 90s to the present day — along the Cape Fear River.
03 Aug 2024 3 min read
Appalachia Gets a Good Rap
Features

Appalachia Gets a Good Rap

On the upcoming compilation album No Options, more than a dozen Appalachian hip-hop artists present a different side to an often misunderstood, oversimplified region.
30 Jul 2024 6 min read
Leroy Is Ready to Be Himself
Features

Leroy Is Ready to Be Himself

The Charlotte rapper, formerly known as WELL$, is back in his hometown and embarking on his most personal and mature work yet — starting with the reclamation of his childhood name.
24 Jul 2024 9 min read
The Rest Is History
Song Of The Week

The Rest Is History

"End Times," courtesy of Angelo Mota, leroy and Mez, is a somber reckoning with our overwhelming reality — and a late-2010s NC hip-hop family reunion.
20 Jul 2024 4 min read
Dispatch From Charlotte: Sudd, The Curator
The Scene

Dispatch From Charlotte: Sudd, The Curator

With its overflowing roster of talent from the Carolinas and beyond, No Stress Fest reflects the enduring role of the DJ — and specifically, the pull and influence of High Point native E.Sudd.
10 Jul 2024 4 min read
The Foreign Exchange Are Still On Their Own Time
Song Of The Week

The Foreign Exchange Are Still On Their Own Time

“The Grey” propels us into the uncertainty of space through the coordinates of hip-hop’s sonic past.
27 Jun 2024 3 min read
The Restless Yet Unhurried Ambition of Ayinde Anderson
Q&A

The Restless Yet Unhurried Ambition of Ayinde Anderson

The Los Angeles-based cinematographer talks about growing up in Raleigh, working with Vince Staples, honoring his love of music through film, and the self-imposed pressures that keep him growing.
19 Jun 2024 14 min read
Godric Pops Out In Pink
Song Of The Week

Godric Pops Out In Pink

"Tiffany Mink" embodies the confidence and sophisticated extravagance that sets the Durham-based artist apart.
14 Jun 2024 4 min read
Illustration: a green-tinted J. Cole peers through a hole in a wall, surrounded by objects like a tablet, clock and rose.

J. Cole's Middle Child Syndrome

Maligned by critics and fans alike, "Grippy" is the greatest test yet to the 39-year-old's self-defined role as a bridge between generations.
05 Jun 2024 6 min read
The Gospel According to Cheeno Ghee
Song Of The Week

The Gospel According to Cheeno Ghee

"God Don't" is a showcase of the Charlotte rapper's versatility and precision — and her unflinching sense of self-confidence.
31 May 2024 4 min read
Album Review: Please Don't Cry, by Rapsody
New Music

Album Review: Please Don't Cry, by Rapsody

Rapsody's first album in five years is a tender, expansive look at the distorting mirror of self-image.
29 May 2024 4 min read
With "For You," NANCE Focuses on His Most Important Audience: Himself
Song Of The Week

With "For You," NANCE Focuses on His Most Important Audience: Himself

Prioritizing personal fulfillment over external validation, the Raleigh rapper sounds sharper than ever, and genuinely at peace.
26 May 2024 6 min read
Erick Lottary Wants to Remind You That He Raps, Too
Q&A

Erick Lottary Wants to Remind You That He Raps, Too

Heading into his first major release since becoming a social media golf sensation, the Charlotte rapper talks celebrity friendships, authenticity, and trusting his vision.
17 May 2024 16 min read
Suzi Analogue and Blu's "Best 16" Sounds Like The End of the World
Song Of The Week

Suzi Analogue and Blu's "Best 16" Sounds Like The End of the World

A UNC professor and a West Coast rap legend combine to make a fitting soundtrack for unnerving times.
17 May 2024 3 min read
Beats N Bars 2024, Through the Lens of Tommy Coyote
The Scene

Beats N Bars 2024, Through the Lens of Tommy Coyote

A hip-hop holdover from Durham's mid-2010's festival era stubbornly refuses to go away.
16 May 2024 5 min read
On “One,” JSWISS Models Self-Belief Over Cynicism
Song Of The Week

On “One,” JSWISS Models Self-Belief Over Cynicism

The NC-schooled, NY-based rapper continues his stellar string of jazz/experimental collaborations, this time with saxophonist/producer Marcus Strickland.
05 May 2024 6 min read
A light that can never be extinguished

A light that can never be extinguished

Remembering Joshua "J. Rowdy" Rowsey
19 Apr 2024 4 min read
Bury Me At The Casa Bacardí
Features

Bury Me At The Casa Bacardí

Super Empty goes to Dreamville Festival 2024
17 Apr 2024 8 min read
A Tale of 2 Cameraz: Scenes From Dreamville Fest '24
Features

A Tale of 2 Cameraz: Scenes From Dreamville Fest '24

Two days, two shooters and a ton of images.
17 Apr 2024 4 min read
Did J. Cole Do The Right Thing?
Q&A

Did J. Cole Do The Right Thing?

A baker's dozen of NC hip-hop artists and media personalities react to "The Apology."
14 Apr 2024 8 min read
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