Speaking about music, 2016 was a beautiful, bountiful year. It's not often that you have almost every titan in pop music let loose full-length projects, and watch so many new promising rookies emerge. So, logic would suggest that 2017 would have to be quiet. But, if anything, things have ramped up.
There are a few possible reasons for this. Some of this year's excellence is the result of the streaming economy, which is still coming into its own and undeniably quickening the metabolism of the music industry. (See: Calvin Harris, who has tried to take advantage of this.) Some are personal, like Drake's return to form in the wake of the record-breaking but artistically disappointing leviathan that was Views. Or Future's calculated run of dominance following his thrilling double release. Some are just timing, like the return of Kendrick Lamar, who was right on schedule for a new album—an album that just happens to be the best of the year.
Now, at the midpoint of the year, we're looking at the biggest music stories of 2017. Here's what's been happening.
Speaking about music, 2016 was a beautiful, bountiful year. It's not often that you have almost every titan in pop music let loose full-length projects, and watch so many new promising rookies emerge. So, logic would suggest that 2017 would have to be quiet. But, if anything, things have ramped up.
There are a few possible reasons for this. Some of this year's excellence is the result of the streaming economy, which is still coming into its own and undeniably quickening the metabolism of the music industry. (See: Calvin Harris, who has tried to take advantage of this.) Some are personal, like Drake's return to form in the wake of the record-breaking but artistically disappointing leviathan that was Views. Or Future's calculated run of dominance following his thrilling double release. Some are just timing, like the return of Kendrick Lamar, who was right on schedule for a new album—an album that just happens to be the best of the year.
Now, at the midpoint of the year, we're looking at the biggest music stories of 2017. Here's what's been happening.
Migos Move 'Culture'
2017, for a few months anyway, was the year of the Migos. The Atlanta trio entered the hearts and minds of Americans across the country, thanks to a well-deserved shoutout from Donald Glover at the Golden Globes, in January, and the chart-topping single “Bad and Boujee,” and next thing you know, they're at the Met Gala.
Of course, the year hasn’t been without its hiccups. In a Rolling Stone profile of the group, they made homophobic comments about iloveMakonnen, who recently came out. Their attempts to clarify the statements did not pass woke muster; in an interview with Billboard, Quavo offered, “I got a record with Frank Ocean. That closes my case.” It’s the “I’ve got gay friends” argument...for an artist who has never openly claimed that label. Still, “Bad and Boujee” will ring off for the remainder of the year, alongside “T-Shirt” and “Kelly Price” and “Out Yo Way”—all great songs from Culture, the concise, elegant album they put out at the end of January. —Ross Scarano
Beyoncé's Iconic Duo
Beyoncé does a lot of things better than anyone else: singing, songwriting, dancing, music videos. To that incomplete list we can now definitively add: pregnancy announcements and photo shoots.
In February, Beyoncé announced she and Jay Z were dropping an album having twins, with all the fanfare of one of her surprise music releases. It came via a treasure trove of elaborate photos that were the polar opposite of Kendrick Lamar's Damn cover—several fits, what looked like thousands of dollars of perfect roses, Beyoncé with perfect hair and makeup and seemingly breathing underwater, and lots of blatant goddess references, from Aphrodite to Virgin Mary.
It's the last part that really stuck with us. Beyoncé's notoriously devoted fans (it us) had already promoted her from queen to goddess, one whom you better not forsake—or at least not unless you have your Twitter notifications turned off. The pregnancy photo shoot knowingly winked at and confirmed her fans' worship, and just days after she turned up the theme a notch with her stunning, FKA Twigs-ish Grammy performance, filled with imagery that nodded to Yoruba deity Oshun and Hindu goddess Durga. (It took a Coachella cancellation a few weeks later to remind us that Beyonce was indeed mortal.)
Is it problematic to anoint yourself like this? Not for Beyoncé—in fact, her constant self-empowerment is one of the reasons she's become an icon for her fans, and particularly for black women. Sometimes you have to crown yourself—which became even more clear on a night in which Beyoncé's instant-classic Lemonade was snubbed in all major Grammy categories. —Alex Gale
The Artist Currently Known as Future
If you’re asking, Future has my favorite album of the year. The crystallized growth and sense of artistry evident on Hndrxx, the care in the songwriting and the ambitious, vocal-stretching production, asks you to reconsider Future’s entire career. And the conclusion former Complex music editor Damien Scott and I have come to is that Future is some sort of mastermind. (Pair it with the unrepentant and coarse self-titled album, and you have an emotional epic of a double disc.)
Hndrxx joins the ranks of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and The Love Below on the shortlist of hip-hop albums concerned exclusively with love, and the results are unmistakably Future. He's not trying for pop success, like he did on Honest. It’s a bitter, soul-baring experience that captures the lows of betrayal and heartache without neglecting the soaring heights of love and infatuation. It feels like taking Vicodin tonight. It sounds incredible. —Ross Scarano
Sheeran Gonna Sheeran
2017 was the year you either gave up on your Ed Sheeran hate, or doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on it. "Shape of You" is the year's most inescapable hit—12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, thank you very much. And also it's most unlikely: A dancehall-inspired song about really really loving your body, written by Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, the guy who last made noise in the late '90s with beats for Destiny's Child that blatantly bit Timbaland? And Ed Sheeran is the guy singing it? 2017 is weird, and it's also Ed Sheeran's.
The other single "Castle on the Hill" is set to be another huge hit from his album, ÷, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies while simultaneously making writers everywhere furious because none of us knew how to type a division sign. Now we know, and like it or not, we better get used to it. —Alex Gale
Frank Ocean Didn't Disappear (Again)
As I wrote in April, "the most surprising thing about Frank Ocean’s return is that it hasn’t ended." Thanks to his radio show with Beats 1, we've had more new Frank Ocean songs than in all the years that passed between Channel Orange and Endless put together. Three of the songs—"Chanel," "Biking," and "Lens"—are essential. The other, a posse cut about fashion called "Raf," not so much. But regardless, it feels like we can relax and get used to something like regular access to Frank's creativity.
But this doesn't mean you'll get to see him in person, necessarily. He's canceled more live dates than he's performed this year, though hopefully his recent appearance in Denmark is a definitive change in that trend. We can't bear to watch you walk out the door again, Frank. —Ross Scarano
Calvin Harris Is Cool Now
In just a few months, Calvin Harris has achieved the unexpected: he became cool.
While never a true punching bag, the Scottish producer, singer, and songwriter has remained good-naturedly corny—making festival EDM and moonlighting as a pop architect. He has massive hits and, apart from his high profile relationship with Taylor Swift and a few modeling campaigns here and there, has flown largely under the radar as a public figure. He’s always been wildly competent, serving a large fanbase with hooks and drops, but now he’s doing something a little different.
At the top the year, Harris planned to release ten singles—no album—in an attempt to capitalize on the streaming economy and also, apparently, brighten everyone’s spirits every six weeks. Then his plan changed, and now he's in full album-rollout mode, in preparation for Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, which arrives on June 30. It's less innovative but the music still sounds hot. Just watch this parrot. —Brendan Klinkenberg
Rick Ross Is Disappointed
Whenever Rick Ross has an issue with someone, we all win. His beef with 50 Cent has been dormant for years and yet we're still eating off amazing quotes in interviews from not too long ago. No one communicates sentiments of distaste quite like Ross, from the phrasing to the delivery. So hearing him clutch his chest upon realizing Birdman's watch was fake, alongside lines like "You took them boys publishing and bought a foreclosure," is a true highlight on a thoroughly great album.
Rather You Than Me marked a mostly full return to form for Renzel, it's only right that in his comeback he feel emboldened to take on a new opponent as well. This is deeper than rap beef on wax—who among us is actually anticipating response bars from Birdman?—it's Ross anointing himself as the person big enough to call attention to the fuckshit all of his peers have been witness to. The initiative to take a hit and talk that shit for the greater good? Real boss shit. A fitting return from the Biggest. —Frazier Tharpe
Nicki Minaj vs. Remy Ma
Beef is beautiful. Hip-hop is a contact sport, and the expectation that such competition will eventually boil over into conflict is baked into the genre's DNA. It's a thrill to watch, provided it stays in the booth. Rap fans are the most bloodthirsty of any music genre, which can make this era of rampant passive-aggression so damn frustrating. Fuck a thinly veiled sub, name names amirite? God bless Remy Ma for shifting gears from her menacing turns on songs like Phresher's "Wait a Minute" and launching a full-on assault on Nicki Minaj for 7-minutes so viciously that she single-handedly inspired an update to The Best Diss Songs of All Time.
Unfortunately, misguided attempts to ape the "Back to Back" approach tripped up both MCs. Remy tried to go for a 1-2 punch with a horrible song; Nicki did everything to make sure her response would bang in the clubs except make sure it was, you know, a memorable record. "No Frauds" came and went, and with it, the interest in this beef. Then it reignited this month, with Nicki accusing Papoose of ghostwriting "Shether," and then Remy Ma celebrating multiple generations of women in hip-hop at Summer Jam—a nod to the criticism that Nicki hasn't embraced her female peers. We'll see what's next. —Frazier Tharpe
Drake Returns to Form
The pressure was on. Drake, disappointed with the critical maligning of Views—his most commercially successful project to date—wanted another hit. Another album that would own the charts, yes, but also reaffirm that he's not just the most marketable, but also in conversation for the best doing it. So, he announced a "playlist," called More Life. Then he delayed it. And delayed it again. And again.
By the time 2017 rolled around, the anticipation had curdled into a sort of morbid fascination—the rumors coming out were vague at best, unpromising at worst. Delays are never a good sign. Then, on his OVO Sound show on Beats 1 in March, Drake unleashed More Life.
The result is a sprawling epic of an album (sorry, playlist). Equal parts gorgeous and menacing, Drake pulled sounds and styles from around the globe to make a collection of music that isn't cohesive in any way, shape, or form, but does prove that Drake is a chameleon; no matter what he tries his hand at, he's more likely than anyone else in the world to succeed at it. On "Do Not Disturb," Drake gets personal, then lets us in on his plans—the 6 God is taking a break (thought not one that involves sitting out the upcoming DJ Khaled album). He'll likely own the year with this record, but we won't be getting more music out of him. See you in 2018. —Brendan Klinkenberg
The Ruler's Back
On March 2, the Australian Queen of the Teens gave us the green light to reacquaint ourselves with those adolescent exuberances. (I’m old now.) After a four-year hiatus, the singer-songwriter who topped the charts with “Royals” in 2013, is returning with a new album, Melodrama (out now). (The great painting of Lorde that serves as the artwork is from Brooklyn artist Sam McKinnis; he’s rad.) For this LP, she’s working with Jack Antonoff, of fun. and bleachers, and they’re drawing energy from adult contemporary god Don Henley. I’m in. —Ross Scarano
Kendrick, the GOAT?
Kendrick teased us with an album release date in a song where he went for Big Sean’s neck (and maybe threw some subs Drake’s way), effectively shifting the conversation from More Life to Lamar’s then-forthcoming album. We were supposed to get it on April 7, or at least that’s when Kenny told us to get our shit together by. Then he dropped the lead single “Humble,” attached to one of the most creative videos in recent memory, bringing the anticipation to a fever pitch. The album didn’t arrive then, though, just a preorder link. No title. No album art. No tracklist.
When Lamar released the tracklist, album art, and title, it led to much speculation. Damn delivered on all counts; it's the best album of the year, not to mention the second-best release in Kendrick's overall body of work. Now the conversation is, where does Kendrick rank among the best to ever do it? —Angel Diaz
Chance the Philanthropist
Back in March, Chicago native Chance the Rapper donated $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools system. The donation was in response to the city's ongoing budget crisis, and followed a less-than-productive meeting with Illionois Governor Bruce Rauner. Chance has since donated to support the city public schools’ arts and after-school education programming; he himself benefited from the programs growing up. Chance’s March donation went towards “The New Chance Arts & Literature Fund” that hopes to ensure that “more students have access to arts and enrichment education.” He hoped that the donation would incite action among Chicago city officials to work harder to come up with solutions while easing a little bit of the city’s deficit.
Complex's David Drake was on the scene for Chance's first donation, and wrote:
What was most interesting about Chance's stunt wasn't the money he put forward—as many have pointed out, plenty of celebrities have donated money to various causes in the past in an effort to help Chicago kids—but the way he did it. Chance is, I have long maintained, a canny political operator, despite his performance of relative naïveté. For an artist whose father works in politics, and whose origins in Chicago's activist poetry scene draw directly upon principles from grassroots organizers like Saul Alinsky, the actual money he's donating isn't the point, nor is it merely measurable in PR value. The money is there to back up his wider purpose. He's putting his full weight behind the issue in an effort to genuinely make a difference in a political morass—and to enjoin others to put up as well.
Charitable Chance didn’t stop there; in April, Chano celebrated his birthday by throwing a huge benefit party. The rapper rang in his 24th by raising $100,000 for his charity, SocialWorks. SocialWorks was established in order to empower youth through, "the arts, education, and civic engagement."
Out of all of Chance’s endearing qualities, his dedication to giving back to his community is most admirable. He recognizes that his situation could have likely been a very different one were it not for some of the after-school programs and poetry workshops he participated in as a teen. Because of this, he has chosen to use his current platform to ensure that the community that raised him continues to uplift and support the children in the Chicago Public School system. When the praises go up, the blessings come down. —Nora-Grayce Orosz
Generation SoundCloud
In recent years—and it’s become especially apparent in 2017—SoundCloud’s place in hip-hop has become nearly indispensable. It’s now a place to launch entire careers. The rise of the platform has created its own scene, and the opinions that matter there skew young and irresponsible (or, at best, indifferent). It’s an alternative universe, spawning artists like Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid into legitimate success, and where the opinions of Ian Connor and No Jumper matter more than writers or radio personalities. The democratic nature of the platform has made it a chaotic proving ground, and a remarkably accurate predictor of future success; what makes it on SoundCloud, especially in rap, has become what ends up bubbling through to Spotify and YouTube, then to radio and clubs and car speakers. The platform has become the de facto venue for discovering new hip-hop, and its highest profile successes are beginning to hail from an insular community that thumbs their noses at cultural gatekeepers and institutions (though they’ll still take a label check when it inevitably comes their way).
Which brings us to XXXTentacion, SoundCloud’s most attention-grabbing and controversial star. There is somehow nothing to say about XXXTentacion and a lot to say. For individual listeners, it’s easy to conclude that the 19-year-old Florida rapper’s music does not warrant further investigation because of his violent, cowardly behavior. The story of XXXTentacion, the artist, can begin and end with the rap sheet for Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy.
When an outlet chooses to cover him, it isn’t without moral hazard. But XXXTentacion has a rabid fanbase and Complex’s readers want to know more about him and his music. His sound, and the sound of his SoundCloud peers—Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, and Suicide Boys, among others—has a pop-punk earnestness, a juvenile fixation on angst and death and loneliness. And this music is working for a not insignificant amount of listeners—young listeners, at that. The music grabs them. Hits them in the chest in the way that results in an organic following.
These artists aren’t going away. And so what does that mean? Finding the edges of this movement could result in important work, but it requires wading into, in XXXTentacion’s case, an ethical sinkhole. Move at your own risk. —Ross Scarano and Brendan Klinkenberg
Fyre Fest Is 2017's Biggest Disaster
Yikes, where to begin with this one. Fyre Festival, was marketed as a luxury music festival that was to take place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma over two weekends in April and May. What occurred on its first weekend was far from luxurious.
The festival-goers that could actually make it to the island (many were stranded in Miami) expecting villas and gourmet meals were instead treated to FEMA-esque tents and now much-ridiculed cheese sandwiches. The grounds lacked every basic amenity, and the conditions were close to dangerous.
It quickly came to light that the festival was organized by Fyre Media founder Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule (who knows), and promoted on Instagram by social media influencers and models like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. On the surface, Fyre Fest looked like a frat bro’s dream vacation. In reality, it was a disaster, and the organizers will paying for it. In the wake of Fyre Fest a new lawsuit seems to arrive weekly, each variations on the same question: was this a con gone bad, or the most incompetently executed festival ever to exist? —Nora-Grayce Orosz
L.A. Reid Is Out
As of May, L.A. Reid, long a potent force in R&B and hip-hop, responsible for putting on groups like OutKast and TLC, is looking for work. In what is feeling like a trend of powerful older men being exposed for abusing that power, a la Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly at Fox News, L.A. Reid was ousted from his position as chairman and CEO of Epic Records amidst allegations of sexual harassment. A 60-year-old married man, Reid was accused of making "inappropriate physical advances"; it's just one of multiple claims. He has a strong track record in the game, but in the face of these accusations, that matters for little. Good riddance. —Ross Scarano
Lil Yachty's Disappointing Debut
Last year was Lil Yachty's. The red-locked teen from Atlanta rocketed to stardom, becoming the face at the front of hip-hop's new vanguard, his happy-go-lucky charisma making him an avatar for a new generation of rappers. With attention came controversy as Yachty was labeled the primary offender of "mumble rap," and with that accusation came greater fame, and cultural import. Yachty, for his part, played things perfectly. He parlayed the fame into a genuine branding exercise in which music was only a peripheral concern. Ad money, from Sprite and Target and Nautica, began rolling in. He became a celebrity.
All this, of course, before his first album. Yachty has a two strong(ish) mixtapes to his name, and one serious hit, but all the branding and controversy and simple name recognition had eclipsed the ostensible purpose for his being here. However, with a major label deal on the table and a debut album on the way, Yachty was poised to justify his self-bestowed title of King of the Teens. A few weeks removed from its release date, it's safe to say that Teenage Emotions was not a lasting statement of a creative visionary. It's like the album never happened.
The sales numbers reflect that. For someone as talked about as much as Yachty, the response to the album was muted, clocking in at just 46,000 units in its first week. With his response to the disappointing numbers, Yachty earned his place as, if not the biggest young rapper (that's looking more and more like Lil Uzi Vert), than the most self-aware. In a letter to fans, he admitted "I understand first week numbers didn't do what most people expected," and noting "I feel like my brand is so big and blew up so big, it blew up bigger than my actual music." He's right, but it many ways it doesn't matter. Yachty has reached a level of fame it's hard to walk back from. While Teenage Emotions wasn't a good project, it was largely inoffensive, too—I'll still listen to his next project to see what he's got, and so will everyone else paying attention to hip-hop. —Brendan Klinkenberg
Miley Is Country
Miley Cyrus is having a crisis. In an interview with Billboard, she explained why she's retreating from the black signifiers she adopted to transgress and grow up, to return to a more folky creative place. She said, "That's what pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little. It was too much 'Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock'—I am so not that." Hmm.
Once again a white artist scapegoats black music. Miley used hip-hop to get some street cred to appeal to a different audience, but it didn’t work out how she wanted and so now she’s back to being a wholesome country white girl who’s drug free and doesn’t twerk. Got it. We don't need it. —Angel Diaz
Ariana Grande and Manchester
On May 22nd, Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester, England erupted into chaos when a large bang was heard from inside the arena. What began as an innocent night of fun for all turned into a gruesome nightmare in an instant. The bang that was heard turned out to be a bomb that was set off in a premeditated act of terrorism. The bomb was detonated in the foyer of the massive arena in order to target large crowds exiting the stadium. Twenty-two concert-goers lost their lives and 59 were critically injured from the blast, including young children.
In the aftermath of the horrific attack, the people of Manchester came together in inspiring ways to help the victims and those left stranded at the arena. Cab drivers offered free rides to families and teens seeking refuge from the site, nearby hotels offered displaced children a place to stay until they could locate their guardians, and even strangers online utilized social media to reach out in offering help using hashtags. Ariana Grande sent her thoughts via Twitter after most of the commotion had died down, revealing that she was “heartbroken,” and, “at a loss for words.”
Grande’s management revealed shortly after that she would be suspending the remainder of her tour--she was scheduled to perform at the O2 Arena in London on the 25th, but would be holding a free benefit concert for the city of Manchester to help the victims and families devastated by the bombing. The benefit, “One Love Manchester” took place on June 3rd and acted as both a healing experience and an act of defiance. Fellow friends and high-profile musicians Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Coldplay and Pharrell Williams performed, and the benefit united a city in mourning. In the wake of tragedy, attendees showed that they would not let this senseless act of violence dictate how they lived their lives. They would not be broken, they would continue to enjoy the music that made them feel alive. —Nora-Grayce Orosz
Witness Katy Perry Imploding
Katy Perry has made questionable decisions when it comes to, among other things, cultural appropriation. She dressed up like an ancient Egyptian for her “Dark Horse” video, tried to act “ghetto” in her “This Is How We Do” video, dressed up like a geisha for her “Unconditionally” performance at the 2013 AMA’s. Then there's the story about her using the n-word and a bad Obama joke. All of this history came roaring back when she awkwardly tried to be hip-hop while attempting to play hypeman to Migos during a “Bon Appetit” performance on Saturday Night Live. She then tried to clear the air with political activist DeRay McKesson and seemingly made a bad situation worse. And somehow this constitutes the rollout for her allegedly socially conscious album, Witness. Katy may never be the same. And it’s all for a good cause, because white people be trippin’. —Angel Diaz
What's Jay Z Doing?
Leave it to the Jigga Man to take rumors of a new album from 0-100 real quick. We went from parsing Swizz Beatz Instagrams and Zaytoven quotes to a full-on minimalist, DONDA-esque ad campaign that quickly expanded from New York, to nationwide, to international, with a NBA Finals commercial for good measure. Jay still tweets like the dad he is, but he does understand the internet enough to know it'll do the work for you. All the forums needed was a source code to deduce that Tidal was behind the ad buys and we were off to the races. And make no mistake, no other artist on the streaming service's roster commands billboards in New Zealand.
Do you really think this is *just* a movie, starring two of the most poppin Black actors out but with no listed director? Yeah, no, this has visual album written all over it—the god just realized the bombast marketing of say, MCHG, isn't the wave anymore. The theories and conspiracies we've twisted ourselves into is all the rollout whatever project this is, be it Hov solo or Jay & B duet—the number 4 means so much to them, after all—needs. And as much as you all love to project cynicism at the idea of new Jay, the rate at which this blitz gathered speed makes me think y'all protest too much. —Frazier Tharpe