2025: Highlights From The Worlds Of Music & Culture Journalism

Complex UK takes a look back at some of the best music and culture writing of the year.

Image via Complex Original/Artwork by Willkay

Everything everywhere is on fire: institutions are being upended, AI is calling everything into question, and nothing in the future is certain. It’s in times like these that people tend to extol the value of culture—and they’re right—but tethering art to the times is just as valuable, and that’s where us journalists come in.

As the internet continues to speed things up and overload our brains with news, music, politics, art, and general noise, sometimes connecting to the past and digging into what came before can become a challenge. Old heads love to criticise the younger generations every time they’re unaware of a classic piece of music or an event, but it’s only with diligent and thorough storytelling that we preserve those connections. But above all, the value of taking in different perspectives cannot be underestimated.

A good cultural storyteller can give you the inside track and underscore the value of albums, songs, performances, TV shows, films, or whatever it is by giving you the story behind it all. Among the big music topics to be broken down this year, there was the blockbuster return of rap-brother duo Clipse; the whitewashing of Afro-house came out in the rinse, while Max B’s return home turned New York upside down. On the cultural front, Ryan Coogler’s horror flick, Sinners, became an instant hit, with think-pieces coming in thick and fast; one article about boyfriends being “embarrassing” shut down the ‘net for an entire month (tbh, it’s still going), while Hollywood can’t get enough of the British Rye Lane actor, David Jonsson.

With the rise of Substack, people are reading more and more these days—which can only be a good thing in this age of video-led content. And while some music and culture journalism has been called out for not being critical enough, there was still a lot of great reads over the course of the year. Here’s the best of what the Complex UK crew (and extended family) have been reading and rating in 2025.

Son Raw, Contributor

Curren$y Is Keeping His Inner Child Alive
Thomas Hobbs, Stereogum
May 6, 2025

Introspekt x Blackdown
Martin Clark, Blackdown
July 1, 2025

The Burial Of Black Genius (A.K.A. D’Angelo Lives!)
Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Rolling Stone
Oct. 30, 2025

Trap Lore Ross Has Overstepped The Mark
Yemi Abiade, TRENCH Magazine
Nov. 12, 2025

Tone Glow 199: billy woods
Minsoo Kim, Substack
Nov. 19, 2025

Niall Smith, Contributor

MIKE Knows A Thing Or Two About Showbiz
Mano Sundaresan, Pitchfork
Jan. 15, 2025

The Underground Artists Leading The UK’s Rap Revolution
Ezra Olaoya, Dazed
Feb. 28, 2025

‘Ear ‘Em, Scare ‘Em’: Why MC Ears Deserves More Flowers
Yemi Abiade, TRENCH Magazine
May 2, 2025

Luci Pina: How The Illustrator Created The Artwork For Kokoroko’s New Album
Alix-Rose Cowie, WePresent
July 14, 2025

Burial’s Last Interview
Dan Hancox, Substack
Sept. 25, 2025

2025: Highlights From The Worlds Of Music & Culture Journalism

Complex UK takes a look back at some of the best music and culture writing of the year.

Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, EIC

James Keith, Contributing Editor

Cee Valentina, Head of Social

Chantelle Fiddy, Contributor

Yemi Abiade, Contributor

Son Raw, Contributor

Niall Smith, Contributor

BEST OF COMPLEX