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Thrashed
Willy Staley, The California Sunday Magazine
A really sick profile of Jake Phelps, the editor of legendary skateboarding magazine Thrasher. "It’s Vogue, but for degenerates," Staley writes of Thrasher, "and Phelps is skateboarding’s Anna Wintour." He's "an unreconstructed punk rocker in a city [San Francisco] that has little need or space for them anymore," he "barks at strangers," and "sails through lights with an unearned confidence." Beautiful portraits in this one, too.
How House of Balloons Changed R&B
Anupa Mistry, Rawiya Kameir, and Sam Hockley-Smith, The FADER
On the fifth anniversary of the mysterious release of The Weeknd's House Of Balloons, FADER staffers Anupa Mistry and Rawiya Kameir and FADER contributor Sam Hockley-Smith discuss how Abel Tesfaye's debut album shifted pop and R&B forever.
Runs In The Family
Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker
This article shares new findings about schizophrenia that rekindle old questions about genes and identity, told through the story of one family's struggles with hereditary mental illness. My dad sent this one to me, writing that he found it "riveting and immensely beautiful, both sorrowful and hopeful." And it is. Mukherjee shares his family's history—"Two of my father’s four brothers suffered from various unravellings of the mind. Madness has been among the Mukherjees for generations," he writes—with graceful intimacy.
8 New Female Producers On Why They Finally Decided To Get Behind The Boards
Aimee Cliff, The FADER
London producer E.M.M.A. and Radar Radio recently hosted a workshop for young women looking to get into music production, providing access to the workings of the male-dominated (what isn't, really?) electronic music world. Afterward, eight of the students each revealed what stopped them from trying their hand at producing until now. Inspiration to not let fear of inferiority stop you from putting yourself out there.
We're Changing the Climate at an 'Unprecedented' Rate
Elaisha Stokes, VICE News
Just a little reminder to take that global warming blindfold off every now and again. Yeah, we're getting springtime earlier but we're also speeding toward the earth's total meltdown at a rate we didn't anticipate. Get your Day After Tomorrow kits ready, please.
The Powerful Legacy Of Phife Dawg, Rap's Consummate Team Player
Kris Ex, The FADER
A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg passed away this week at the too-young age of 43. In memoriam, Kris Ex delves into the musician's lasting influence.
Real Talk With RuPaul
E. Alex Jung, Vulture
Among RuPaul's insights on the straight mainstream's ripping off of gay culture (when asked about Jimmy Fallon's recurring "Lip Sync Battle" skit—a blatant aping of a segment on RuPaul's Drag Race) are tidbits like "The only person who interests me in pop culture right now is Judge Judy," and "I'd rather have an enema than have an Emmy." Real Talk. With RuPaul. For Real. 🙏🏻