It's that time of year when music journos arm themselves to the teeth with their opinions and spend the best part of a month shouting down their colleagues and thrusting their assessments on to their readers.
Naturally, we cover stuff like best songs of the year and pick out a list of acts we think will conquer the year ahead, but we also thought it would be interesting to look back on the year in music journalism. As all good journalists should, we get our music news and info from many different sources. From TRENCH and Pitchfork to CRACK and The FADER, there's a lot of stuff out there that we may not get to cover ourselves—perhaps touching on topics outside of Complex's usual realm—and it's only right that we give it some props.
What was our favourite review? Which artist do we think gave the most interesting and enlightening interview? And, most importantly, which writer managed to spin a solid feature out of an uncomfortable semi-confrontation with an act who just didn't like their face? Well, Complex UK's music staff (and extended family) have answered these questions and more by each picking five of their favourite music features from 2019.
Tuck in below.
It's that time of year when music journos arm themselves to the teeth with their opinions and spend the best part of a month shouting down their colleagues and thrusting their assessments on to their readers.
Naturally, we cover stuff like best songs of the year and pick out a list of acts we think will conquer the year ahead, but we also thought it would be interesting to look back on the year in music journalism. As all good journalists should, we get our music news and info from many different sources. From TRENCH and Pitchfork to CRACK and The FADER, there's a lot of stuff out there that we may not get to cover ourselves—perhaps touching on topics outside of Complex's usual realm—and it's only right that we give it some props.
What was our favourite review? Which artist do we think gave the most interesting and enlightening interview? And, most importantly, which writer managed to spin a solid feature out of an uncomfortable semi-confrontation with an act who just didn't like their face? Well, Complex UK's music staff (and extended family) have answered these questions and more by each picking five of their favourite music features from 2019.
Tuck in below.
Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, Senior Editor
Sunday Review: Aaliyah, Aaliyah
by Rawiya Kameir, Pitchfork
July 14, 2019
Cover Story: Kano - Time Will Tell
by Musa Okwonga, CRACK Magazine
Oct. 7, 2019
Klashnekoff's New Beginning...
by Jesse Bernard, TRENCH Magazine
Oct. 10, 2019
Kanye West Pledges His Life To A Higher Power On 'Jesus Is King' Album
by Adelle Platon, Billboard
Oct. 29, 2019
Brooklyn Bad Boyz: The Night I Was Shot
by Michael Gonzales, Crime Reads
Nov. 13, 2019
James Keith, Staff Writer
Octavian Flexes His Musical Prowess On New Mixtape 'Endorphins'
by Felicity Martin, DUMMY
June 13, 2019
West African Music Is Much More Than Just Afrobeats
by Aanu Adeoye, Noisey
July 22, 2019
by Kitty Richardson, The Line Of Best Fit
Nov. 6, 2019
Jme Remains Grime's True Fighting Spirit
by Yemi Abiade, TRENCH Magazine
Nov. 18, 2019
Rival Dreamer: Burial's Tunes, 2011 To 2019
by Adam Lehrer, The Quietus
Dec. 5, 2019
Tobi Oke, Staff Writer
by Samuel Adegunle, A Nation Of Billions
Jan. 31, 2019
by Toye Sokunbi, The NATIVE Mag
April 27, 2019
by Jordan Darville, The FADER
Aug. 21, 2019
The Controversial Use Of Rap Lyrics As Evidence
by Briana Younger, The New Yorker
Sept. 20, 2019
by Reni Eddo-Lodge, TIME
Oct. 10, 2019
Chantelle Fiddy, Contributor
Don't Censor Drill Music, Listen To What It's Trying To Tell Us
by Ciaran Thapar, The Guardian
Feb. 6, 2019
The Rave Gap: How UK Nightlife Still Struggles With Ageism
by Kamila Rymajdo, VICE
Feb. 6, 2019
Dance Like Nobody's Paying? Spotify Isn't
by David Poe, Music Tech Policy
July 15, 2019
'I've Been Through Hell': J Balvin On Breakdowns, Escobar And Beyoncé
by Hattie Collins, The Guardian
July 27, 2019
Ask The Music Industry 2019 Edition: "If I Was An Emerging Artist And I Had £1,000 To Spend..."
by Simon Pursehouse (and co.), Sentric Music
Oct. 17, 2019
Jesse Bernard, Contributor
Cover Story: The Age Of Thee Stallion
by Lawrence Burney, The FADER
May 20, 2019
The Essential Guide To Dancehall
by Sharine Taylor, RBMA
July 10, 2019
Stabbing, Lies, And A Twisted Detective: Inside The Murder Trial Of Drakeo The Ruler
by Jeff Weiss, The FADER
July 11, 2019
Whose Master's Voice? Why Artists Need To Take Ownership In The Age Of Independence
by Will Pritchard, CRACK Magazine
Aug. 14, 2019
How J Hus Became The Voice Of Young Black Britain
by Aniefiok Ekpoudom, The Guardian
Nov. 26, 2019
Aniefiok Ekpoudom, Contributor
Cover Story: The Miseducation Of Slowthai
by Joe Zadah, CRACK Magazine
Feb. 7, 2019
Koffee: 'I'm Conscious But I Still Bruk Out'
by Kieran Yates, WePresent
April 11, 2019
by Jesse Bernard, Red Bull
June 11, 2019
How Brit-Born Africans, Caribbeans Are Coming Together In The Name Of Greatness
by Chanté Joseph, Complex
Sept. 2, 2019
Kano, Interviewed By Caleb Femi
by Caleb Femi, Another Man
Nov. 15, 2019