Baby New Year has done his due diligence and over here at The FADER, we're ringing in ’06 the only way we know how, heating up the wintry months with some blazing new hot hot: Issue #35, the NOW issue.
This month's cover stars, Lupe Fiasco and Jenny Lewis, are our poster children for some of the best of what's next. You first heard Lupe on Kanye’s “Touch The Sky” and his Chi-town skateboard anthem, “Kick, Push”. But after getting an advance listen to his new solo album, Food & Liquor, we were sold on the hip-hop whiz kid. Likewise, you know we’ve always been suckers for heartwarming heartbreak, and after the first spin of Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis’s breakout, standout solo album Rabbit Fur Coat, Miss Lonelyhearts had us for life. Between the sheets, we've got a particularly heady sampling of the things we’ve been intrigued with/intoxicated by for the last coupla months: a survey on the state of New York City rap, some damn fine reporting on Bloomington, Indiana and why the indie kids have one of the most vibrant rock scenes around, a Who’s Who of our favorite sweaty, gritty rock remixers, and a profile on the sleeping genius of Tropicalista legend Tom Zé.
As always, keeping hitting refresh on yer browser button, because you know were gonna upload all sortsa exclusive interweb-only tidbits to keep ’06—and the fader.com!—popping. In the meantime, Lupe has uploaded some of his mixtapes for your listening enjoyment, and Jenny's label Team Love has posted jams from Rabbit Fur Coat over here.