• I study popular music culture and this sort of understanding is pretty well known. There's a reason why when Rock music came on the scene it was perceived as "noise," just as many other musical styles have been. It takes a matter of getting accustomed to the noise before it starts to make sense as music. Think about a die-hard metalhead vs. your grandma who listens to smooth jazz. The metalhead can catch all the subtleties and nuances in a death metal track and your grandma can't even past the screaming. Likewise the other way around (minus the screaming). Think about great albums like Kid A and Yeezus - did they sound great at first, or did it take a bit of getting used to?

  • First heard Thugger back on "Danny Glover" a few years ago. His only release I've listened to a lot is Slime Season 3, which I think is really great. I also love how normalized the fact he's a gay rapper is, like there's no need to make a big deal out of it. Surprised he hasn't hit mainstream yet with a feature.