lil yachty braids 2023

Lil Yachty Hair: Are His Braids Real Or Does He Wear A Wig?

Lil Yachty hair has consistently been a subject of fascination and discussion within the entertainment industry, symbolizing his unique style.

Lil Yachty, born Miles Parks McCollum on August 23, 1997, is a versatile American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

He rose to prominence in 2015 through the internet with his hits “One Night” and “Minnesota,” featuring Quavo, Skippa Da Flippa, and Young Thug.

Upon releasing his debut mixtape, “Lil Boat,” in 2016, Lil Yachty made waves in the music industry. His music has reached significant success on the Billboard charts, with Lil Boat 2 peaking at number 2.

Yachty’s unique hairstyle, positive persona, and notable features on hit songs like “Broccoli” and “ISpy” have solidified his position as a Grammy-nominated artist.

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Lil Yachty Hair:  Are His Braids Real, Or Does He Wear A Wig?

Lil Yachty’s braids have become integral to his unique image as a rapper. Fans have been captivated not only by his music but also by his distinct hairstyle.

One might wonder if Lil Yachty’s braids are natural or if he wears a wig.

The truth is that his braids are indeed natural. He has embraced this hairstyle as his signature look and has stuck with it throughout his rise to mainstream popularity.

While Lil Yachty’s braids have remained consistent, he has managed to infuse some creativity and individuality into his hairstyle.

Though he hasn’t experimented extensively, he has tried several braid styles that have garnered attention and appreciation.

Each of Lil Yachty’s hairstyles featuring braids has been met with acclaim, much like his music. He brings his unique twists and touches to his braids, making them stand out from the crowd.

Whether it’s the length, the colors, or the intricate patterns, Lil Yachty’s braids always exude a sense of personality and flair. So, it’s clear that Lil Yachty’s braids are not a wig but his natural hair.

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Lil Yachty Musical Style Explored

Lil Yachty’s musical taste can be described as a unique fusion of genres and influences that defy traditional categorization.

He has coined his style as “bubblegum trap,” a term that encapsulates his music’s catchy and playful nature.

Yachty’s songs often incorporate samples from various sources, including reflective elements like sounds from Mario Bros., Charlie Brown, and the theme from Rugrats. 

Themes in Lil Yachty’s works range from whimsical and lighthearted subjects such as clouds, cotton candy, and scenes from Pixar films to nostalgic references like the Super Nintendo.

His friend and collaborator, TheGoodPerry, plays a significant role in producing his songs, contributing to his music’s distinct sound and aesthetic.

Critics have often referred to Lil Yachty’s style as mumble rap, characterized by its laid-back and melodic delivery.

Rolling Stone described his tunes as intentionally dinky-sounding, combining off-color boasts with an amateurish singsong approach.

The Guardian labeled his music as fun, hook-first pop rap that pays little attention to traditional songcraft and structure.

Yachty’s music is known for its carefree and lighthearted nature, not taking itself too seriously while showcasing a lack of interest in conforming to rap’s established canon.

Overall, Lil Yachty’s musical taste is a playful and unconventional blend of influences, incorporating elements from pop, trap, and nostalgic references that create a distinct and refreshing sound in hip-hop.

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Learn More About Lil Yachty Early Life

Miles McCollum, known as Lil Yachty, was born in Mableton, Georgia. Following his high school graduation, Lil Yachty pursued higher education and enrolled at Alabama State University in 2015.

However, his unwavering passion for music quickly drew him away from academia, prompting him to drop out and wholeheartedly embark on his career within the music industry.

Determined to make his mark, Lil Yachty adopted his stage name and boldly relocated from Atlanta to New York City.

In the Big Apple, he immersed himself in the vibrant music scene, networked with influential street fashion personalities, and cultivated a devoted following on Instagram.

During this time, Lil Yachty faced many aspiring artists’ challenges. He took a job at McDonald’s to supplement his income and support his musical aspirations.

Through his relentless networking efforts and the organic growth of his online presence, Lil Yachty started gaining recognition and building momentum in the music industry.

His unique style, captivating personality, and infectious energy began to resonate with a growing fan base, propelling him toward the success he enjoys today.

Lil Yachty’s early life showcases his willingness to take risks and pursue his passion with unwavering determination. 

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Lil Yachty Brings the Hits, and His Psychedelic Rock Adventure, to Central Park: Concert Review

By Jordan Moreau

Jordan Moreau

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Lil Yachty ‘s latest album, “Let’s Start Here,” did just that: It gave the rapper’s career a new starting point by setting aside his hip-hop origins and rebooting into psychedelic rock. Yachty 2.0 stopped by Central Park’s SummerStage and showed off his new sound, while also giving original fans a healthy dose of his classic bangers.

He started last year with “Poland,” a simple, yet massively viral rap hit that put him back on everybody’s radar. With his new album, though, Yachty defied expectations and released a completely non -rap record that had more in common with the classic psychedelia of Pink Floyd and Funkadelic (or more recent iterations like Tame Impala) than anything in his previous discography.

The new chapter of Yachty had begun with this surreal, spacey production, and fans flooded into New York’s Central Park on Friday night to see it for themselves. Yachty’s band and singers appeared on stage first, all dressed in white, while trippy, dream-like visuals projected onto a huge screen behind them. The funky tunes of “drive ME crazy!” opened the show, with Yachty gliding in singing the soft vocals of “the ride” and “pRETTy.”

The typical 808s and bass of a normal rap concert wouldn’t be heard for a few more songs, as the band played an electric guitar-assisted rendition of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” before Yachty transitioned into the hip-hop portion of the night. It was as if the concert was divided into Act I and II, and finally the old Yachty came out to play some of his bangers. After the indie rock start, fans opened up the crowd to mosh along with “Yacht Club,” “Flex Up” and “Coffin.” Strobe lights and lasers illuminated the stage as Yachty jumped around screaming his lyrics as his braids and beads danced wildly in the air.

After the release of “Let’s Start Here,” Yachty got a shoutout from Questlove for “pushing the envelope” and being an example of “music’s future,” beyond just the rap genre. Whatever may come next, (he’s supposedly developing an action movie based on Uno — yes, the card game ) fans will want to keep an eye on where Yachty sails to next.

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Lil Yachty Braids: The Complete Guide for This Rapper’s Hairstyles

Lil Yachty braids are as unique and individualistic as the rapper himself. Since the day he arrived on the hip-hop scene with songs like “One Night”, “Minnesota”, and “Broccoli”, people have been impressed with his braids.

After achieving mainstream popularity, he has not gone for any style other than braids. Just think about him and you would find that you can’t imagine Lil Yachty without braids.

Even with his braids, he has not experimented too many times. However, there are a couple of braids styles that he has tried out.

Each one of these Lil Yachty hairstyles has been absolute bangers, just like his music. He brings some interesting twists on his braids that make them stand apart from the rest.

In this article, we will break down these amazing styles and talk about them in detail. So, read till the end to learn about the best braids styles of Lil Yachty.

Table of Contents

Lil Yachty Red Braids

Red braids with beads, lil yachty black braids, braids with bandana, french braids, braided pigtails, tied beads on the sides, loose top knot, multi-colored beads, frequently asked questions, final words, 9 exciting lil yachty braids styles you should try.

We have picked and compiled 9 of the most stunning braids styles of Lil Yachty for you. Go through this list to find out which style you vibe with the most.

Red braids have been the signature Lil Yachty hairstyle throughout his career. Even before he became a rapper or even had braids, he used to dye his hair red as a young man.

This red color has been a constant companion in his journey. Maybe that’s why for a long period of time we haven’t seen him with any other hair color. However, if I were you, I wouldn’t necessarily dye my hair red and would choose another color that’s more meaningful to me.

As for braiding your hair, you can go for simple box braids. I’d also recommend the two strand twist or three strand twist styles if your hair is still too short for braids.

This one is the Lil Yachty braids style. Without a doubt, this is his most widely recognized hairstyle. It’s probably the one Lil Yachty hairstyle you were aware of even before you started reading this article.

You should dye your hair before you start braiding if you want to keep it colored for a long time. If it’s a short-term commitment, then you can first braid your hair and then use a temporary hair color spray.

Lil Yachty also keeps his braids thin and has a good number of them. So, you have to divide your hair into many sections. When you are done braiding all the sections, you can attach the beads. Lil Yachty usually prefers transparent beads.

The Lil Yachty black braids style surprised a lot of people when he first appeared with it. They were just shocked that he had finally ditched the red color and went with his natural hair color.

He again surprised his fans when he attached diamond beads to his black braids. I am very much aware that it’s not a viable option for most people. You can just attach white beads if you want as that would create a cool contrast.

Lil Yachty also went for thicker braids this time. They were lesser in number as well. So, you won’t have to create that many sections for this one.

Lil Yachty seems to be a huge fan of bandanas. Back when he had red braids and even now, he seems to wear a bandana pretty frequently. It actually makes sense because wearing a bandana is one of the easiest ways of making your braids more striking.

There are two ways he styles his braids with a bandana. One is when he wears it just over his braids. Then, the braids come out from underneath the bandana.

The other style is when he wears it higher and lets a couple of his braids stick out from the top of the bandana. He has tried beads with both of these styles as well.

If you are looking for Lil Yachty without braids, this style is the closest thing you will find. This is unlike any other Lil Yachty braids styles and he pulls it off really well.

To get this style, you only need to have two long braids. First, you have to create a partition straight down the middle. Then, you need two braids at the front. Both braids will start from the partition, go sideways, go halfway around your head and then fall at the back.

I would also keep my front hairline tidy and crisp for this style. The rest of that hair that’s not braided should be slick and close to the scalp.

This is a unique Lil Yachty hairstyle that he has come up with just by tying up his braids in a certain way. I can’t be entirely sure if he intentionally wanted to create a pigtail-inspired style. But, the style certainly looks like that.

You have to create a middle partition for this style as well. Then, you have to take all the braids from one side and tie them up on that side of your head. Do the same for the other side as well.

There will be a couple of loose braids at the front and the back of your head. Also, this style works better with beads because then it has more texture and character.

You have to attach beads to your braids for this style. Beads are necessary to create this distinct look. Also, make sure that there are 4-5 beads for each braid.

You have to create a middle partition to begin. Then, you have to create scalp braids that go sideways. Just like French braids, these braids will go from the partition to the opposite side of your head.

Finally, you have to take all your braids from one side and tie them together, kind of like the pigtail style. But, you have to tie them in a way so that only the beads are dangling from both sides.

This Lil Yachty braids style is really easy to get. Despite being a simple style, it actually is quite impactful and can give you an attractive look.

It is basically a top knot style where you take all of your hair and tie them right at the top of your head. But, you would not tie all your braids for this style.

Few braids need to be free. Lil Yachty styles it in a way that there are loose braids on the sides and the back. If you want, you can let a few of them fall from the front to your forehead.

This is the last Lil Yachty braids style on my list. This one includes beads as well. For this style, it’s better if you have thin braids and there are a lot of them.

The more braids you have, the better you will look. Also, the braids need to be longer. At the end of each braid, you will attach multiple beads and they will be of different colors.

You can just create a middle partition and let these colorful beads hang down from both sides. Feel free to choose any color you want.

We have already mentioned how popular Lil Yachty braids are. So, it’s not a surprise that there are tons of questions that are frequently asked about his braids. We’ll answer a few of them in this section.

How to get Lil Yachty Braids?

Well, you have seen from the list that there are a couple of Lil Yachty braids styles you can choose from. But, most of them include box braids and attaching beads to your braids. Check out this video to have a basic idea of how to braid your hair and attach beads.

Why did Lil Yachty ditch his red braids?

Lil Yachty has stopped dying his braids red, which he was doing for a long time. He said in an interview that dying his hair frequently was actually damaging his hair a lot. That’s why he stopped doing it before his hair got severely and irreparably damaged.

Through this article, I have shown you the best braided hairstyles of Lil Yachty. It is now up to you to decide which styles you want to adopt.

When you have braids, you have to be extra careful about maintenance. You can’t avoid providing the care that your braids need. I have a few suggestions that you can follow.

You must avoid making your braids too tight. If your braids are too tight, that can seriously damage your hair and might even cause permanent hair loss.

You also have to regularly hydrate and moisturize your scalp. Oiling your scalp is also a very positive practice. However, whatever moisturizer or oil you are using, make sure that those suit your hair and scalp.

Finally, sleep on a silk or satin surface. Also, wear a durag while sleeping to keep your braids fresh. Just follow these recommendations and rock your Lil Yachty inspired braids with confidence.

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Music Features

Lil yachty's delightfully absurd path to 'let's start here'.

Matthew Ramirez

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

Lil Yachty often worked better as an idea than a rapper. The late-decade morass of grifters like Lil Pump, amidst the self-serious reign of Future and Drake (eventual Yachty collaborators, for what it's worth), created a demand for something lighter, someone charismatic, a throwback to a time in the culture when characters like Biz Markie could score a hit or Kool Keith could sustain a career in one hyper-specific lane of rap fandom. Yachty fulfilled the role: His introduction to many was through a comedy skit soundtracked by his viral breakout "1 Night," which tapped into the song's deadpan delivery and was the perfect complement for its sleepy charm. The casual fan knows him best for a pair of collaborations in 2016: as one-half of the zeitgeist-defining single "Broccoli" with oddity D.R.A.M., or "iSpy," a top-five pop hit with backpack rapper Kyle. Yachty embodied the rapper as larger-than-life character — from his candy-colored braids to his winning smile — and while the songs themselves were interesting, you could be forgiven for wondering if there was anything substantial behind the fun, the grounds for the start of a long career.

As if to supplement his résumé, Yachty seemed to emerge as a multimedia star. Perhaps you remember him in a Target commercial; heard him during the credits for the Saved by the Bell reboot; spotted him on a cereal box; saw him co-starring in the ill-fated 2019 sequel to How High . TikTok microcelebrity followed. Then the sentences got more and more absurd: Chef Boyardee jingle with Donny Osmond; nine-minute video cosplaying as Oprah; lead actor in an UNO card game movie. Somewhere in a cross-section of pop-culture detritus and genuine hit-making talent is where Yachty resides. That he didn't fade away immediately is a testament to his charm as a cultural figure; Yachty satisfied a need, and in his refreshingly low-stakes appeal, you could imagine him as an MTV star in an alternate universe. Move the yardstick of cultural cachet from album sales to likes and he emerges as a generation-defining persona, if not musician.

Early success and exposure can threaten anyone's career, none so much as those connected to the precarious phenomenon of SoundCloud rap. Yachty's initial peak perhaps seeded his desire years later to sincerely pursue artistry with Let's Start Here , an album fit for his peculiar trajectory, because throughout the checks from Sprite and scolding Ebro interviews he never stopped releasing music, seemingly to satisfy no one other than himself and the generation of misfits that he seemed to be speaking for.

But to oversell him as a personality belittles his substantial catalog. Early mixtapes like Lil Boat and Summer Songs 2 , which prophetically brought rap tropes and pop sounds into harmony, were sustained by the teenage artist's commitment to selling the vibe of a track as he warbled its memorable hook. It was perhaps his insistence to demonstrate that he could rap, too, that most consistently pockmarked his output during this period. These misses were the necessary growing pains of a kid still finding his footing, and through time and persistence, a perceived weakness became a strength. Where his peers Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti found new ways to express themselves in music, Yachty dug in his heels and became Quality Control's oddball representative, acquitting himself on guest appearances and graduating from punchline rapper to respectable vet culminating in the dense and rewarding Lil Boat 3 from 2020, Yachty's last official album.

Which is why the buzzy, viral "Poland" from the end of 2022 hit different — Yachty tapped back into the same lively tenor of his early breakthroughs. The vibrato was on ten, the beat menaced and hummed like a broken heater, he rapped about taking cough syrup in Poland, it was over in under two minutes and endlessly replayable. Yachty has already lived a full career arc in seven years — from the 2016 king of the teens, to budding superstar, to pitchman, to regional ambassador. But following "Poland" with self-aware attempts at similar virality would be a mistake, and you can't pivot your way to radio stardom after a hit like that, unless you're a marketing genius like Lil Nas X. How does he follow up his improbable second chance to grab the zeitgeist?

#NowPlaying

Lil yachty, 'poland'.

Let's Start Here is Lil Yachty's reinvention, a born-again Artist's Statement with no rapping. It's billed as psychedelic rock but has a decidedly accessible sound — the sun-kissed warmth of an agreeable Tame Impala song, with bounce-house rhythms and woozy guitars in the mode of Magdalena Bay and Mac DeMarco (both of whom guest on the album) — something that's not quite challenging but satisfying nonetheless. Contrast with 2021's Michigan Boy Boat , where Yachty performed as tour guide through Michigan rap: His presence was auxiliary by function on that tape, as he ceded the floor to Babyface Ray, Sada Baby and Rio Da Yung OG; it was tantalizing curation, if not a work of his own personal artistry. It's tempting to cast Let's Start Here as another act of roleplay, but what holds this album together is Yachty's magnetic pull. Whether or not you're someone who voluntarily listens to the Urban Outfitters-approved slate of artists he's drawing upon, his star presence is what keeps you engaged here.

Yachty has been in the studio recording this album since 2021, and the effort is tangible. He didn't chase "Poland" with more goofy novelties, but he also didn't spit this record out in a month. Opener (and highlight) "The Black Seminole" alternates between Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix-lite references. It's definitely a gauntlet thrown even if halfway through you start to wonder where Yachty is. The album's production team mostly consists of Patrick Wemberly (formerly of Chairlift), Jacob Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Jeremiah Raisen (who's produced for Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira and Drake) and Yachty himself, who's established himself as a talented producer since his early days. (MGMT's Ben Goldwasser also contributed.) The group does a formidable job composing music that is dense and layered enough to register as formally unconventional, if not exactly boundary-pushing. Yachty frequently reaches for his "Poland"-inspired uber-vibrato, which adds a bewitching texture to the songs, placing him in the center of the track. Other moments that work: the spoken-word interlude "Failure," thanks to contemplative strumming from Alex G, and "The Ride," a warm slow-burn that coasts on a Jam City beat, giving the album a lustrous Night Slugs moment. "I've Officially Lost Vision" thrashes like Yves Tumor.

Yet the best songs on Let's Start Here push Yachty's knack for hooks and snaking melodies to the fore and rely less on studio fireworks — the laid-back groove of "Running Out of Time," the mournful post-punk of "Should I B?" and the slow burn of "Pretty," which features a bombastic turn from vocalist Foushee. That Yachty's vaunted indie collaborators were able to work in simpatico with him proves his left-of-center bonafides. It's a reminder that he's often lined his projects with successful non-rap songs, curios like "Love Me Forever" from Lil Boat 2 and "Worth It" from Nuthin' 2 Prove . That renders Let's Start Here a less startling turn than it may appear at first glance, and also underlines his recurring talent for making off-kilter pop music, a gift no matter the perceived genre.

At a listening event for the record, Yachty stated: "I created [this] because I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist. Not just some SoundCloud rapper, not some mumble rapper. Not some guy that just made one hit," seemingly aware of the culture war within his own genre and his place along the spectrum of low- to highbrow. To be sure, whether conscious of it or not, this kind of mentality is dismissive of rap music as an artform, and also undermines the good music Yachty has made in the past. Holing up in the studio to make digestibly "weird" indie-rock with a cast of talented white people isn't intrinsically more artistic or valid than viral hits or a one-off like "Poland." But this statement scans less as self-loathing and more as a renewed confidence, a tribute to the album's collective vision. And people like Joe Budden have been saying "I don't think Yachty is hip-hop " since he started. So what if he wants to break rank now?

Lil Yachty entered the cultural stage at 18, and has grown up in public. It adds up that, now 25, he would internalize all the scrutiny he's received and wish to cement his artistry after a few thankless years rewriting the rules for young, emerging rappers. Let's Start Here may not be the transcendent psychedelic rock album that he seeks, but it is reflective of an era of genreless "vibes" music. Many young listeners likely embraced Yachty and Tame Impala simultaneously; it tracks he would want to bring these sounds together in a genuine attempt to reach a wider audience. Nothing about this album is cynical, but it is opportunistic, a creation in line with both a shameless mixed-media existence and his everchanging pop alchemy. The "genre" tag in streaming metadata means less than it ever has. Credit to Yachty for putting that knowledge to use.

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Lil Yachty Schedules ‘The Field Trip’ North American Tour for Fall 2023

By Larisha Paul

Larisha Paul

Let’s Start Here , the latest studio album from Lil Yachty , will get the proper live treatment on the rapper’s newly announced The Field Trip tour . Kicking off later this year, the 39-date world tour will include 23 stops in North America.

The Field Trip tour will begin on September 21 in Washington D.C. and conclude its North American leg on November 5 in Detroit. Lil Yachty will also make stops in New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto, Charlotte, New Orleans, San Diego, Portland, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and more.

General sale for the tour will launch on Friday, May 12 at 10 a.m. local time.

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Lil Yachty 2023 North American Tour Dates Sept. 21 — Washington, D.C. @ Echostage Sept. 22 — New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park Sept. 24 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Sept. 25 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz Sept. 27 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS Sept. 29 — Wallingford, CT @ The Dome at Oakdale Oct. 1 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre Oct. 2 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY Oct. 4 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte Oct. 8 — Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Oct. 9 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works Oct. 11 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore Oct. 15 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre Oct. 17 — San Diego, CA @ SOMA Oct. 21 — Vancouver, BC @ UBC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre Oct. 22 — Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Oct. 26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas Oct. 27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex Oct. 29 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium Oct. 31 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant Nov. 2 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Nov. 4 — Madison, WI @ The Sylvee Nov. 5 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore

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The Best Dressed Rappers Of 2023, Ranked

Is Lil Uzi Vert flyer than ASAP Rocky? Here, we rank the best dressed rappers of 2023 and determine who was the most stylish one this year.

What a year it has been for hip-hop style. As hip-hop turned 50 this year, our favorite rappers only proved that this genre is still pushing the needle and defining what contemporary fashion is today. Whether it’s through music videos, Instagram fit pics, or paparazzi shots, these rappers are not only shaping the look of this era of hip-hop, but influencing how plenty of people get dressed every day.

There was a lot of music to be excited about this year. Travis Scott finally released Utopia, and Lil Yachty shifted gears with his genre-bending album Let’s Start Here . While we certainly appreciate these great hip-hop albums, that’s for another list. What we’re here to speak about is who was truly the best-dressed rapper this year. 

The rappers on this list have all found ways to separate themselves from the pack. They’re not just blindly following trends or showing up in whatever the hottest brands of the moment are. To be clear, there are many stylish rappers who aren’t highlighted here. That doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t think they’re stylish. These individuals just did it a bit better.

Here’s our ranking of the best-dressed rappers of 2023.

10. Travis Scott

Travis Scott perfectly blends high fashion with casual streetwear styling. And with the release of his long-anticipated album Utopia this year, he maintained his own unique style while leaning into gothic designers for subdued-yet-classy fits. This year, La Flame seemingly only wore Rick Owens cargo pants alongside pieces by Balenciaga, Greg Ross, or Courtney MC. Scott hasn’t leaned into these dystopic labels to the point of becoming a designer vampire like Playboi Carti—note, just because Carti isn’t on this list doesn’t mean we don’t love King Vamp. Instead, Scott has stuck to a wardrobe that’s still casual enough that the masses can continue following his stylistic choices while also sourcing clothes that fit Utopia ’s brooding atmosphere. What that makes is two Scotts. One’s still dressing calm enough to continue being America’s most approachable hip-hop pitchman—pedaling everything from Nike Mac Attacks to Audemars Piguet–embellished streetwear. The other Scott is found onstage, wearing custom Inuit shades in Mad Max -esque fits that look like they were pulled off raiders in Fallout video games. If Travis leaned more into these distinctive tour looks, perhaps he would be bumped higher on this list. Yet his style is still setting trends, and he hasn’t lost his Midas touch with selling nearly anything he cosigns. That alone continues to make him one of the best-dressed rappers today. — Lei Takanashi

Dressing like Michael Jackson without looking like you’re wearing a costume is no easy feat, but Offset pulls it off. Throughout 2023, he’s taken inspiration from the King of Pop, wearing close copies of his uniform: gloves, slim trousers or jeans, structured military jackets, socks , and loafers. Somehow, Offset makes the looks feel current and new. That’s probably because he’s established his own sense of style that aligns with the MJ outfits. Offset understands silhouettes well. He can pull off more slim-fitting outfits, like a black moto jacket , jeans, and moto boots. He has no problem wearing baggier looks, like a T-shirt with Chrome Hearts jeans . He’s also good with color, like mixing different shades of green , or rocking this full hot pink look . And we have to mention his Denim Tears collaboration (Offset Tears), which became a strong uniform during the press run for his solo album Set It Off . Offset also got more adventurous with his hair in 2023 by playing with different clips, barrettes, and accessories . He understands what looks good on him and puts together outfits that feel cool and fresh, but are still classic.— Aria Hughes 

Smino has fun with his looks. He understands color, shape, and pairing pieces together in an unconventional way without looking clownish, which is a skill. That came through during his Paris tour stop , when he wore a colorblocked satin jacket, polka dot scarf tied around his head, and baggy cargo jeans. Or how about when he donned a multicolored striped sweater with a pair of jeans covered in colorful patches? But even when he’s not playing with color and going for something more subdued, the looks still hit. Like when he wore a striped T-shirt, leather jacket, and baggy jeans with a studded belt and green scrunchie as a bracelet, or when he put on a basic black shirt and olive green shorts but amped it up with a furry newsboy cap .There is something very Midwestern about his sensibilities (he hails from St. Louis) that feels reminiscent of St. Lunatics' style from the 2000s . But Smino makes every look his own, not relying on luxury designers to make a statement. We’d be remiss to not mention his best accessory—his hair. He styles it in a variety of ways (twistouts, Afro, braids) and usually accentuates it with barettes and accessories. Some even say he influenced Drake and Rocky, who have both leaned into hair accessories more in 2023. Smino’s name might not be as widely recognized as others on this list, but he deserves a spot for his dedication to interesting looks that feel distinctly him. — Aria Hughes

Aminé isn’t just one of the most underrated rappers in the game. He’s also a bit slept on when it comes to his personal style. What makes the Portland native’s style so great is how true it feels to him. Some artists, as good as the results may be, feel like they’re just wearing what their stylist put on a rack for them. Aminé is wearing what he genuinely likes. Sometimes that’s a clean Arc’teryx jacket to fend off the rainy conditions (anyone from the Pacific Northwest knows you need to keep a rain jacket in the rotation). Sometimes he’s repping under the radar brands like Clints . The biggest flex of all—sometimes it’s his own brand, Club Banana. Aminé isn’t just dressing well. He’s designing pieces so that all of his fans can too. And don’t forget about the two amazing New Balance projects that he got to release in 2023. With the backing of a big brand like that (and designers like Jacquemus making sure he’s front row for every show), Aminé’s profile in the style world will only continue to rise. And he deserves the praise. — Mike DeStefano

6. Kendrick Lamar

Ever since Kendrick Lamar crowned himself “best dressed” on “The Hillbillies,” he’s been doing his best to live up to the title. A lot of the time, that means he’s draped in the latest wares from Martine Rose and Wales Bonner. Kendrick was basically an unofficial model for the former designer throughout 2023. Who could forget the custom look from Rose’s Fall 2023 collection that he wore to the Grammys? The partnership’s most recent wrinkle was an official merch collab that debuted at Camp Flog Gnaw. And when he isn’t rocking Martine Rose from head to toe, he’s even making fake Air Jordan 12s look good or hitting the streets of Paris in elegant Chanel looks. While we don’t necessarily agree with K-Dot’s “best dressed” proclamation, there’s no denying that he’s leveled up his style and deserves his flowers. But when he’s channeling a style icon like Taz Arnold , I guess we shouldn’t have expected anything less. – Mike DeStefano

5. Pharrell

Pharrell’s style has probably influenced everyone on this list, and while he could easily rest on his laurels—at 50 years old his title as a style icon is more than solidified—but he continues to express himself through fashion and wear clothes really well. The year started with his surprising appointment as the creative director at Louis Vuitton Men’s. From there, he wore touches of Louis Vuitton like an LV logo newsboy hat designed by Nigo, a monogram motorcycle jacket, and slightly flared jeans that perfectly hugged his bulky LV Trainer Snow Boots. Pharrell understands what works for him, but still tries out new things. For his Something In The Water music festival in Virginia Beach, he gave more hints at his Louis Vuitton era like a bold multicolored moto jacket covered in crystallized logos. And the bandage he was rocking on his chin for a few weeks best represented Pharrell’s way with garments and accessories. On someone else, you would have guessed they had a scar that needed covering up. But on Pharrell, it looked like a fashion statement, even if it wasn’t. After debuting his first collection for Louis Vuitton in June, he spent the remainder of men’s Fashion Week in Paris attending other shows and acting as a walking billboard for his designs, whether he was toting the collapsible yellow Speedy bag or sipping from an LV coffee cup. We appreciate that Pharrell still maintains a touch of novelty with his looks. And we can always sense his true love for clothes. Right now, he’s really into a pair of black aviators with an orange lens. Some might argue he should be number one on this list based on his impact and years in the game, but his predecessors like Rocky, Yachty, and Tyler have more influence on the younger generation right now. — Aria Hughes

4. Lil Uzi Vert

There’s a fearlessness to Lil Uzi Vert’s style that is unmatched in comparison to their contemporaries. Uzi still upholds the tenets of hip-hop flyness by wearing designer clothes from head to toe with a ridiculous amount of jewelry —of course they hit Eliantte to ice out their flash drive . But their personal style truly flourishes when they lean into their outlandish personality. That Balenciaga look they wore in the Gibson Hazard–directed trailer for the release of Pink Tape this year could have slid into any rapper’s wardrobe. But how Uzi wears it with a mullet while sparring with ancient samurais gives the look a sense of identity that’s more aligned with anime or Japanese RPGs than hip-hop music videos. It’s these quirky choices that makes Uzi a style icon. That Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards red carpet fit? A master class in tastefully riffing off the nerd and punk archetypes one would find in those same Nicktoons. And on the red carpet of the MTV VMAs this year, Uzi showed they might be the only rapper who could cheekily make Balenciaga look like an elevated pajama set they rolled off a tour bus with. 

Uzi’s natural ability to make any look pop is likely why Pharrell sent him a full fit from Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection— 22 hours after it hit the runway —so that Uzi could wear it to the BET Awards. At times, it does feel like Uzi really just puts on the most expensive luxury garments money could buy without really thinking about the overall look. But it’s clear that when Uzi taps into his weirdness, his style is untouchable. — Lei Takanashi

3. Tyler The Creator

A pastel-colored knit sweater or cardigan. A perfectly pressed pair of chinos that sits just above the ankle. A crispy white pair of socks. Some tasseled loafers. A New Era fitted. This is Tyler, the Creator’s uniform. And the 32-year-old has perfected it, so much so that he’s designing it himself now. Remember those amazing looks we saw in the videos for “Wharf Talk” and “Heaven to Me” ? His wardrobe is rooted in classic preppy style, but he makes it his own through his expert use of color. It’s something he’s been good at since the early days of his career when he was exclusively wearing vibrant striped T-shirts and ripped jean shorts. Now he’s just recontextualized it for a new aesthetic. As traditional as his wardrobe is, Tyler still makes sure to flex a statement piece every now and then. He was the first person we saw toting the red Speedy bag from Pharrell’s debut collection with Louis Vuitton. And his work with Alex Moss, like a pearl belt buckle and bell hop chain , is some of the best custom jewelry we’ve seen since Pharrell and Jacob the Jeweler’s linkups in the 2000s. 

Tyler, the Creator has made it known that he’s meticulous when it comes to his creative process. He’s waxed poetic about being nerdy about the things you truly love. With a mindset like that, his excellent personal style and the attention to detail he exhibits really shouldn’t be so surprising. — Mike DeStefano

2. ASAP Rocky

ASAP Rocky’s style has always felt intentional, yet effortless. He’s a rapper who’s fly enough to continue being an ambassador for a luxury house like Gucci or release an F1-inspired collaboration with Puma. Yet he’s still able to build outfits that aren’t crutched by luxury logos. While Rocky is committed to certain looks or brands like his contemporaries, it never feels like he’s trying too hard to wear anything he puts on (no wonder his kids are so fly). Whether it’s Boro pieces from the emerging Japanese label Proleta Re Art or his many Bottega Veneta fits this year, Rocky just naturally knows how to put an outfit together without prescribing to a uniform. Although it was recently revealed that Rocky was wearing a lot of Bottega this year so that paparazzi could capture him in the label’s Pre-Spring 2024 collection for an official campaign , it never looked like Rocky was forced to wear the label’s clothes for an ad. Instead, he turned the luxury label’s apparel into statement pieces, effortlessly stepping out with Bottega’s boxy suits and leather Intrecciato bags with a swagger that only he has. This is likely the reason Bottega opted to use paparazzi shots of Rocky instead of a traditional stylized campaign. 

Truthfully, a lot of garments look good on Pretty Flacko because he lives up to his nickname. But what’s distinguishable about Rocky’s style is that it still feels true to his own tastes, even when his outfits are referential. For example, his looks in the “Riot (Rowdy Pipe’n)” music video paid homage to the kilt-clad WWE wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. But Rocky didn’t cosplay him. Instead, he used Piper’s style as the foundation, wearing a plaid kilt with archival Issey Miyake bomber jackets and grenade-shaped chains by Alex Moss. What’s also admirable about Rocky’s style is that he has a clear reverence for hip-hop fashion of the past, but brings it back in a tasteful way. In “Riot” he channels Juelz Santana’s American flag “Dipset Anthem” outfit through an air-brushed leather piece by the British designer Gerrit Jacob—and don’t forget that beautiful Pelle Pelle he pulled out earlier this year. Granted that a Puma collaboration isn’t as hot as Nike, there’s a reason why Rocky was picked to bridge F1 with fashion. It’s because he’s a rapper whose personal style is formulated to make you pay attention. — Lei Takanashi

1. Lil Yachty

Has any rapper had as great of a 2023 as Lil Yachty has? Not only did he step out of his comfort zone to drop the experimental album Let’s Start Here and rack up production credits with Drake on For All the Dogs , he also cemented himself as the best-dressed rapper in the game right now. Just look at the “Tesla” video if you need further proof. What makes Yachty’s style so great isn’t just his versatility, it’s that it’s not hard to replicate. If one of his outfits inspired you enough to recreate it, you certainly can. Some people on TikTok have already tried.  

In 2023, Yachty’s go-to was vintage sports gear (if you follow him, you know he always asks his followers the best vintage spots to check out whenever he pulls up to a new city) from retro hockey jerseys to rare Starter jackets. He also mixed in his fair share of designer pieces like Bode crochet shirts or Balenciaga coats covered in paint splatters . More notable than all of the designer pieces are all of the items from up-and-coming brands that we see him pull out. He’s clearly staying on the pulse of what’s new and exciting in fashion, and isn’t afraid to give it a platform. Aris Tatalovich and The Filthy Project are just a few of the many young brands he’s championed in the last calendar year. As easy as most of Yachty’s outfits are to riff on, he makes sure to add that extra detail to set them apart, like $1 million diamond teeth or a pair of Cactus Plant Flea Market’s Nike Air Flea 2s before they’ve even been released to the public. But most importantly, no matter what he puts on, he wears it well. That’s not something everyone can say. Considering the various aesthetics that Yachty’s outfits pull from, his ability to pull off whatever he throws on is that much more impressive. – Mike DeStefano

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Thanks to Nautica, Lil Yachty Has Officially Sailed Into the Fashion Game

There’s a kooky new kid on the fashion block and he goes by the name of Lil Yachty. The 19-year-old Georgia-born rapper, of “King Boat” and the crew called Sailing Team, first gained fame back in 2015 with his EP Summer Songs , the music of which he himself once dubbed “ bubblegum trap ” (he’s sampled sounds from Rugrats and Super Mario Bros.). His major entrée into style however came last year, when the sartorial world took notice of his beaded red braids, hot pink shirts, and preppy plaid vests. He also modeled for Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden and was a face of Nautica’s exclusive line for Urban Outfitters.

Now, Lil Yachty is continuing the relationship with his all-time favorite American sportswear brand, as it was announced today that he has signed on to be Nautica’s creative designer. In this new position he will release capsule collections throughout the year and model for ad campaigns. Along with the big news, fans were also treated to a sneak peek of what’s to come with the reveal of a limited-edition collection of logo-bedecked items curated by the lyricist.

Lil Yachty’s eccentric, playfully naïve swag is just the sort of attribute that makes this celebrity fashion mash-up stand out from all the rest. And it’s true of his everyday style game too. If you didn’t know, now you know: King Boat has just sailed into the new year as a fashion force to be reckoned with.

As proof, take a look at some of the well-dressed wild child’s brightest ensembles.

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Lil Yachty Announces 2023 North American Tour

He'll also make stops throughout Europe in support of his psychedelic rock album, Let’s Start Here.

Lil Yachty has announced a Fall 2023 tour across North America in support of his psychedelic rock album, Let’s Start Here , which he’ll immediately follow with a European run.

“The Field Trip Tour” kicks off on September 21st in Washington, DC, and will also make stops in New York City, Montreal, Toronto, Nashville, Denver, and more before wrapping in Detroit on November 5th. After that, Yachty will head to Europe and hit cities like Berlin, London, and Paris. See the full itinerary below.

Tickets are available via StubHub , where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Earlier this year, Yachty took an unexpected left turn with his Pink Floyd-influenced LP, Let’s  Start Here. . In April, he made his debut on  Saturday Night Live as a musical guest, performing “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” with a live band.

Get Lil Yachty Tickets Here

Lil Yachty 2023 Tour Dates: 08/05 — Montreal, CA @ Osheaga Festival 08/06 — Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza 08/13 — San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands 08/26 — Port Townsend, Washington @ THING Music & Arts Festival 09/21 — Washington, DC @ Echostage 09/22 — New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park 09/24 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore 09/25 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz 09/27 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS 09/29 — Wallingford, CT @ The Dome at Oakdale 09/30 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues 10/01 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre 10/02 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY 10/04 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte 10/08 — Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre 10/09 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works 10/11 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore 10/15 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre 10/17 — San Diego, CA @ SOMA 10/21 — Vancouver, BC @ UBC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre 10/22 — Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom 10/26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas 10/27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex 10/29 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium 10/31 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant 11/02 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore 11/03 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom 11/04 — Madison, WI @ The Sylvee 11/05 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore 11/08 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy 11/22 — Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene 11/24 — Stockholm, SE @ Fryhuset 11/25 — Copenhagen, DK @ KB Hallen 11/27 — Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle 11/28 — Cologne, DE @ Palladium 11/30 — Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse 12/01 — London, UK @ OVO Wembley Arena 12/03 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy 12/04 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 12/06 — Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel 12/08 — Tilburg, NL @ Poppodium013 12/10 — Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique 12/12 — Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 12/14 — Milan, IT @ Fabrique 12/16 — Zurich, CH @ Komplex 457 12/17 — Vienna, AT @ Gasometer

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Barber Stylist Breaks Down 9 Iconic Celebrity Braid Styles

Released on 07/07/2023

What's up GQ?

I'm Lisa Torres.

I'm a barber stylist and hair expert

and today we're gonna break down

some of the most iconic celebrity braid hairstyles.

[upbeat music]

A$AP Rocky is very well known for having box braids.

It's a style that was very popular in the nineties

and it's extremely relevant today.

A box braid essentially is known for having a square parting

and the hair is braided directly off of it.

A lot of people like to wear it in a ponytail.

They like to wear it in their face.

Very, very popular amongst men and women.

Depending on the amount of braids you want and the size,

they can be anywhere from an hour to like eight hours.

I think this style on A$AP, it looks really good.

It's very stylish, a phenomenal hairstyle for most people

and it looks great on him.

It's funny how I feel like not everyone can pull off

wearing letters in their hair,

but I feel like the way he does this, that he makes sure

that he brings the culture of the streets into fashion.

I think I like the G in the back of his head better

just because since it's bigger, it makes it easier

for the the braider to create the actual shape.

When it's small, it's a little trickier.

I think that he has a great face and head shape

if he ever decided to not have braids,

but I don't think anybody in the world

could imagine him without braids.

So Travis Scott, who is also very well known

for having box braids, he wears them a little different.

He has the hairline taper

which is essentially that you take the hair

that would make up the front hairline

and it's shaved off to match the hair on the side

with a small island of long hair where it's braided.

And he likes to wear big box braids.

So that's more like jumbo box braids.

So, this haircut suits him really well

because he loves to wear his braids in his face

and it's really easy for him to move around,

like the rock star that he is.

I'm team all-black, but that might be a little bit of a bias

because styles come and go.

So right now, I think I'm leaning more

towards the natural hairstyle, natural hair color.

Lil Yachty is very well known

for having these bright red, small box braids with the beads

and I think it was a really cool hairstyle.

It was a really cool way to bring it back

to the younger demographic.

So, to put these beads on the braids,

you have to use a special tool.

It kinda looks like a giant needle.

You kinda fill it up with the beads

and then the opening, you put the braid in

and then you slide the beads up into the braid.

Now that it's been a couple years,

I feel like this style has aged well.

I feel like when he did it, it was more simple.

So nowadays, the beads tend to be more intricate,

more colorful, but it held the test of time

and people are still getting beads on their hair.

So for the hairstyle that's on the right,

she has jumbo box braids.

And then for the style on the left,

she has small box braids.

They're not considered micro, but they're pretty small.

There's a lot of them there.

But for the jumbo box braids,

this is like a super easy hairstyle.

It looked like she could have some extensions,

but as you can see it's harder to tell.

It blends in very well with her natural hair.

It's a cute, more like, natural look.

I feel like it's definitely doable to wear braids,

straight backs, extensions, all of that

with a beautiful gown.

This one is super beautiful.

The one thing about braids that most people

who aren't in the hair world or may not be as exposed to

is to understand how beautiful and elegant braids can be.

So Nipsey Hussle is very well known

for his simple four braid straight backs.

They're considered like a variation of a straight back.

The lines and the partings are essentially straight back,

but the braid in the front,

instead of starting in the middle, starts at a point.

And this is why this specific style is called

the Nipsey braids because they have that specific element.

Cornrows and straight backs tend to come off

as the same thing,

but a straight back is essentially

the braid is starting from the front of the head

and it's going only straight back to the back of the head,

whereas a cornrow could either be starting in the middle,

coming off to the side

or even a design can be considered a cornrow.

It's just the hair being braided on the head.

He definitely popularized it because he was so consistent.

And I don't even think, other than two braids,

I've ever seen him wear any other hairstyle.

I think that when Drake got braids, it shocked the world,

but I think that he did it the best way.

He has a phenomenal braider

and he also kept his braids very simple.

And I think that testing the waters when you're not sure

if braids are gonna look good on you,

always start with something simple

and work your way up to more complicated, intricate styles.

The two braids on Drake looks the most stylish.

The four and six braids tend to blend in

and look a little normal on him, but the two braids...

Because he specifically got them,

like on the crown of his head

and the super sleek sleekness of it is different.

Like people aren't doing that right now.

It's like the Snoop Dogg braids,

but nobody's thinking Snoop Dogg.

They're thinking Drake, like, Wow, they look great on you

with two braids.

I think it goes further for him.

So Pop Smoke has cornrows

and he popularized the starting from the middle,

bringing it to the side and off the head.

Some people don't know if they should call this a box braid

which is often a question,

but this is a cornrow for sure.

This hairstyle looks really good on him

because he also kinda has, like a small face.

So to bring the braids down,

it kinda creates like a face frame a little bit

and, like, elongates his face.

It's just designed to work for him

and the popularity behind it made it iconic.

Most people when they think of Rihanna's braids,

they think of the Fulani braids

which is the hair being braided on the scalp,

cornrowed essentially up to like about half the head,

and then the hair in the back is box braids

which are off the head.

So most people like her braids

when it comes to the Fulani style

just because they're more wearable

and not too many people actually rock it

in the celebrity world.

So who doesn't know Iverson braids?

He's very famous for having designs.

Designs that specifically have many braids in them.

The zigzag braids, the fishbone braids.

He was beyond iconic for his style

and everything that he's done is relevant today

and I think will be relevant tomorrow.

All right guys, well that's all we have for today,

and if there's anyone that we missed,

make sure that you put it in the comments below

and maybe we'll get to them next time.

[gentle upbeat music]

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Drake Braids Son Adonis’ Hair, Claps Back at Lil Yachty Over Jab: “Your Son Said You Ain’t Hit Him in 6 Months”

Cop a gander at Drake .

The Hip-Hop heavyweight may be in the midst of a mega-selling tour , but he’s not letting that impede his Father-Son time with his child Adonis. 

Full story below…

Having shared the shot of himself seemingly braiding his 5-year-old’s hair, Drake was hit with the following response from fellow MC Lil Yachty :

“It’s no way your sitting here acting like your braiding his hair for the internet.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('primis_TGJ_1x1_Desk'); if (pubwise.enabled === true) { pwpbjs.que.push(function () { pwRegisterLazyLoad(gptadslots['primis_TGJ_1x1_Desk'], 2, [250,0,250,0], 0, 768, 2); }); }else{ googletag.pubads().refresh([gptadslots['primis_TGJ_1x1_Desk']]); } });

Clapping back, Drizzy who shares Adonis with former model Sophie Brussaux , hissed:

“@lilyachty I was unbraiding it b*tch your son said you ain’t hit him in 6 months on his finsta he said he need some Jordans and a backpack for school.”

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All these rappers are gay so do their kids.

Here is a perfect example how do Black people raising their kids like…. Smh… No parenting at all. They treat their kids like some ran away m:onkey from zoo💅🏾

SAM approves this comment 👏

🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 @ Drake

Drake wants his son to be blk so bad shouldn’t knocked up that ugly white p0rñstarr

No…He doesn’t want his son to be black; only to have black culture.

What culture? 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Yatchy is mad Drake wasn’t playing in his hair.

LMFAOOOOO ITS THE ABSENT FATHER OLYMPICS 🥇

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Canadian hitmaker PartyNextDoor has released his first single of 2024: ‘Real Woman.’ 

While music superstars Bad Bunny and Karol G are no strangers to seeing their names in front of the fray of artists competing for Latin award shows, the Latin American Music Awards is shaking the table with a slew of surprises for its 2024 roster.

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Lil Yachty Shuts Down Playboi Carti Sound Comparisons

Earlier this week, Kai Cenat previewed an unreleased song from Lil Yachty during his livestream. After fans accused the “A Cold Sunday” artist of copying Playboi Carti’s cadence, he decided to respond on Twitter yesterday (March 20) evening.

“Biting him? How did I bite him? The beat? If that’s the case, I [have] been workin’ with Cardo since 2019 or 2020 on record. Y’all fans be smoking the strongest d**k,” Yachty quote-tweeted a social media user’s shade. The original post that he responded to read, “Carti can’t try one new sound without rappers immediately biting him. He’s generational.”

Cardo, who’s known for producing songs for Drake, Travis Scott, and Kendrick Lamar, has worked on several of Carti’s recent releases. The Grammy-winning beatmaker is responsible for “H00DBYAIR,” “KETAMINE,” “ EVILJ0RDAN ,” and “BACKR00MS,” all of which are expected to appear on the musician’s next album.

Unfortunately for Yachty, people pointed out more alleged similarities than just the beat. One account wrote, “The song is terrible. The beat is a ‘H00DBYAIR’-type beat. Your flow is an obvious attempt at a Carti flow, and you used a ‘what’ ad-lib in the same cadence [that] Carti uses.”

biting him? how did i bite him? the beat? if that’s the case i been workin with cardo since 2019-2020 on record yall fans be smoking the strongest dick https://t.co/rlcaSRsoP7 — CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) March 21, 2024

The song is terrible, the beat is a hoodbyair type beat, your flow is a obvious attempt at a carti flow and you used a ‘what’ adlib in the same cadence carti uses. This is a terrible attempt at copying him and you’re pretending you’re not biting — igor. (@hadmyback) March 21, 2024

Yachty also dismissed accusations of him copying Carti last year. In July 2023, DJ Akademiks claimed the Whole Lotta Red artist “made him change his entire sound” during a livestream . The music commentator further alleged that records like “Poland” and “Strike (Holster)” drew influence from the Georgia native.

However, Yachty quickly pointed out, “[You are] so insane. I didn’t tell [you] this at all. Stop drinking, bro. I said [Tyler, The Creator] encouraged me to take that route.”

@Akademiks u r so insane, I didn’t tell u this at all. Stop drinking bro. I said tyler encouraged me to take that route. Wtf https://t.co/rxNJnVVjQq — CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) July 10, 2023

In 2023, the QC rapper put out Let’s Start Here. , which featured Justine Skye, Teezo Touchdown, Daniel Caesar, Diana Gordon, and Fousheé. It saw him venturing into psychedelic rock and spawned songs like “​​​drive ME crazy!” and “pRETTy.”

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The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List

The albums that most stood out from an unusually open year in pop.

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When you think of some of the artists who really dominated the airwaves, the culture and the headlines in 2023 — artists like SZA, Beyoncé, The Weeknd and (naturally) Taylor Swift — it’s a little strange to realize how many of them did so without releasing a proper new album this year. Of course, a couple of them released albums towards the tail-end of the 2022 calendar, and some of them found success with revived older material. But the last 12 months generally provided proof that promo cycles don’t need to be based around a new full-length in 2023 — particularly if you’ve got a much-anticipated new tour to serve as your most relevant contemporary body of work.

The result of that was that 2023 felt less dominated by the usual scheduled blockbuster releases than nearly any year in recent memory. Such big-ticket albums were few and far between, and often faced stiffer competition from the massive albums of yesteryear than from their peers’ 2023 drops. (It’s telling that this week’s Billboard 200 chart features no fewer than five albums from Swift — with the only 2023 releases among them being re-recordings of albums from the first half of the 2010s.) And when one of them did really grab hold of the No. 1 spot, it could hold on for as long as 16 weeks, as Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time did throughout the spring and summer.

Consequently, our list of the best albums of 2023 was as wide open as any we’ve ever done. Our list of course includes some of the expected pop stars, but also indie-rock supergroups, cult pop and R&B favorites who’ve yet (or are just starting) to get the crossover success they’ve long deserved, hitmaking rappers warping into the fourth-dimension and singer-songwriters who survived superstardom to become some of our most compelling veteran artists. It’s a list where only a handful of the artists in our top 10 could’ve been predicted before the year started, but one that we find even more satisfying as a result — showing how thrilling the in-between spaces in pop music have become, and giving us a chance to properly reward some of our new and returning favorites without them needing to elbow their way past the usual spate of A-listers.

Here are our 50 favorite albums from a fun, unpredictable and boundless year in pop music.

Drake, For All the Dogs

The  For All The Dogs  buzz was as big as the Super Bowl. There was a rumored blockbuster appearance by Nicki Minaj. Lil Yachty championed Drake’s rapping, deeming it the best of his career. And, of course, the OVO demigod broke the 11th hip-hop commandment and pre-anointed his album a classic. Despite striking out on all three of those pre-release promises, The Boy still reminded us with Dogs why he remains music’s ultimate Goliath when battling half-pint mortals. Uncaged when in his R&B bag, Drake punctures hearts on the SZA-assisted “Slime You Out” while cutting his losses early on “Tried Our Best.” Even when paired with the youth (Yeat, Teezo Touchdown and Yachty), he camouflages himself and plays to his guests’ strengths, making them all standout features. And though signs of the 6 God’s lyrical supremacy are a little sparse on  FATD , he loaded up on bars for the album’s  Scary Hours  deluxe reissue — proving why in the end, he’s still always worth the hype. — CARL LAMARRE

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, Destiny

If the length seems intimidating — 41 songs and nearly four hours, enough to make YoungBoy Never Broke Again shrug “Okayyy, if you say so ” — you’ll be shocked how little it matters once you get lost in the world of DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ’s hero’s journey. Structured like a near-continuous club set, the album’s mix of euphoric house with familiar-feeling pop-rock hooks and tip-of-the-tongue samples that seem more recognizable than they are makes Destiny the perfect soundtrack for any activity without an obvious endpoint. It’s equally adept at holding your attention when given and receding helpfully into the background when needed, and just when you think you’ve got it figured, it smacks you sideways with a perfect pop song like “Figuring It Out.” A decade into the streaming age, Destiny presents a brilliant argument that if an album is truly transportive, you won’t care how long the trip takes. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA, Scaring the Hoes

The best trolls are the self-aware trolls. With Scaring the Hoes – an exquisite encapsulation of the wonders of organized chaos – Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA reign as the two popes of trolling. Both artists know how to make easily digestible, straightforward hip-hop songs, but they also know there’s more fun to be had elsewhere, spending Scaring the Hoes figuring out every possible way to subvert expectations of a contemporary rap record. They open the album with a spoken middle finger to Elon Musk, revel in gospel-backed heathenism on “God Loves You,” and line Diddy’s forever-smooth “I Need a Girl” with sandpaper, making for the addictively gritty “Lean Beef Patty.” In their quest to turn chaos into beauty, the duo craft mind-bending combinations of Y2K pop, trap, classic soul, and horrorcore, coming out of this collaborative album as two of hip-hop’s most fascinating alchemists. — KYLE DENIS

The War & Treaty, Lover's Game

The arguably overdue best new artist nomination The War and Treaty received for the upcoming Grammys has powerfully boosted the profile of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, whose breakthrough fourth album “Lover’s Game,” produced by Dave Cobb, showcases the mighty vocals of this veteran husband-and-wife duo. On “That’s How Love Is Made,” which they performed at this year’s CMA Awards, a piano and organ intro leads into Michael’s wavering soulful opening lines, joined by Tanya’s scorching harmonies. The gospel-inspired combination of their voices, like throughout all of “Lover’s Game,” is simply transcendent. — THOM DUFFY

Laufey, Bewitched

With the aptly titled opening “Dreamer,” it only takes a few seconds of lush harmonies for Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay) to whisk you into the dreamland of her  Bewitched . The starry, pop-tinged sophomore album from TikTok’s favorite new jazz singer-songwriter entrances “From the Start” (the title of its viral bossa nova-inspired lead single) to the finish, telling relatable tales of fate and love, both mutual and unrequited — further punctuated by a timeless voice reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday. Making jazz more accessible to a new generation, we’re still under her spell. — DANIELLE PASCUAL

100 Gecs, 10,000 Gecs

From one angle, 100 Gecs’ second full-length could be absorbed as a series of genre exercises, including intensely committed and impressively convincing riffs on nu metal (“Billy Knows Jamie”) and ska-punk (“I Got My Tooth Removed”); from another, 10,000 Gecs could be taken as a 10-song troll job, with Laura Les and Dylan Brady cashing in their goodwill from music critics to write songs about dancing frogs and Doritos. Yet even the goofiest bits of 10,000 Gecs are defined by the duo’s fierce adoration of pop music and its many forms — and 100 Gecs’ skill as hook savants matches their gonzo ideas at every step. — JASON LIPSHUTZ

Anohni and the Johnsons, My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross

On her first album since 2016 (and first LP with the Johnsons since 2010), the reliably unpredictable Anohni draws on the smoky, hushed vocal tones of Nina Simone and delivers a similarly pessimistic, world-weary take on the state of her mind and the world. The vintage soul, augmented by brush-stroke percussion and strummy cabaret guitars, is a warm, inviting counterpart to the disappointment, frustration and pain that resonates in Anohni’s voice, as she eyes the dim future of earth’s environment and copes with the brutal gut-punch of loss. “I don’t want you to be dead,” she repeats on “Can’t,” and you can only hope that her pain finds a sliver of release in the slow-building jazz-soul catharsis offered by the Johnsons. — JOE LYNCH

Metro Boomin, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Metro Boomin’s music has always felt like it belongs in a movie, with its vivid string arrangements, menacing synths, dramatic drums and classic soul samples. So it was perfect synergy when Sony Pictures Animation tapped him to executive produce the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack. By calling on his web of all-star collaborators – including Don Toliver, Nas, Lil Wayne, Offset, and Swae Lee – the super-producer delivered a lush mix of hip-hop, pop, Latin and Afrobeats that honored the film’s hero Miles Morales’ African American and Puerto Rican heritage and unlocked different dimensions of Metro’s artistry. — HERAN MAMO

Arlo Parks, My Soft Machine

Coming off a debut album (2021’s  Collapsed in Sunbeams ) that received the highly coveted Mercury Prize for the best album of the year, Arlo Parks could have easily stumbled into the sophomore slump with  My Soft Machine . But Parks doesn’t miss a beat: While Machine deviates in sound from its predecessor with tracks like the hard-rocking “Devotion” and the dance floor-ready “Blades,” the singer-songwriter still delivers her poetically complex lyrics on subjects like love, abuse and mental health. In signature Parks fashion, her airy vocals float over minimalist lyrics that deliver the most meaning (“You’re the rainbow in my soap/ You notice beauty in more forms than most”) on tracks like “Impurities.” — TAYLOR MIMS

Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

On her seventh album in 11 years, Mitski turns down the decibels and ditches the retro synths of last year’s Laurel Hell , turning instead to the gentle strength of lush, twangy Nashville productions from the ‘60s. Improbably, this sonic switch gave the singer-songwriter her first top 40 Hot 100 hit, “My Love Is Mine All Mine,” which has topped the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for six weeks so far. An introspective-yet-expansive LP that touches on love, friendships and the way we cognate, it’s less lovelorn and more life-lorn – but Mitski’s unfailing melodicism makes this inhospitable land rather inviting after all. — J. Lynch

Sexyy Red, Hood Hottest Princess

If there’s one thing to take away from the rise of St. Louis native Sexyy Red, it’s that being yourself pays dividends. Hood Hottest Princess features a handful of tracks that each had their own viral moment — including standouts “SkeeYee,” “Hellcats SRTs,” “Looking for the Hoes (Ain’t My Fault),” and a remix of breakout hit “Pound Town” with Nicki Minaj — all of which feel quintessentially Red. Her infectious energy and witty bars mixed with Tay Keith’s classic southern trap production delivered a dose of nostalgia and sheer unbridled fun that hip-hop fans have been searching for since the end of the mixtape era.  — QUINCY GREEN

Davido, Timeless

Before all the accolades — the Grammy nominations, the Headies Awards, the festival slots and the international tours — there was the music, and what Davido achieves on  Timeless  truly lives up to his acclaim. Whether it’s joyous love songs like “In the Garden” with Morravey, amapiano duets like the Asake-assisted “No Competition,” driving dance hits like “Kante” with Fave or Highlife odes to luxury like “Na Money” with The Cavemen and Angélique Kidjo — not to mention the crown jewel of the project, the Musa Keys collab “Unavailable” — Davido delivers one of the best bodies of work from this past year, and certainly the best of his career. Simply put,  Timeless  is a triumph, and a landmark album in the global explosion of Afrobeats. — DAN RYS

PinkPantheress, Heaven Knows

A whole 13 tracks and 34 minutes: Who does PinkPantheress think she is, Billy Corgan? Official debut album Heaven Knows may be slightly more fleshed out than the rapid-fire garage-pop of 2021’s sweetly desperate To Hell With It , but the set proves that Pink can be just as compelling when her songs are given room to expand before dissolving, as when the sighing acoustic pop-rock of “True Romance” kicks into drum-n-bass overdrive or the hip-swaying strut of the conflicted “The Aisle” into a double-time disco frenzy on the chorus. And just in case you forgot, the Ice Spice-featuring “Boys a Liar Pt. 2” is here at the very end, reminding us that Pink can play the conventional pop superstar whenever she’s so inclined as well. — A.U.

Brent Faiyaz, Larger Than Life

After a critically acclaimed debut album and a commercially successful follow-up, Brent Faiyaz could have ostensibly made anything with anyone. For his first mixtape, he decided to gather a few of his close friends and collaborators, pair them with a few of his idols, and create something that pays homage to the era of music he enjoyed during his formative years. So instead of tapping the Neptunes and Timbaland, he had his Sonder co-founder D-Pat cook up beats that would have sounded right at home on early Aaliyah (“Tim’s Intro”) or Justin Timberlake (“Best Time”) albums. And the songwriting features Brent at his raconteur best, spinning toxic tales of lessons not learned (“WY@”) and late night/early morning lustiness (“Moment of Your Life”). It’s an intoxicating, immensely listenable project — which at just 36 minutes, leaves you eager to hear what he does for his next proper album. — DAMIEN SCOTT

Killer Mike, Michael

Through all the phases of his career — his early Grammy-winning work with OutKast; the  Pledge  series that established him as a prominent voice in his own right; the collaborations with El-P that resulted in the widely celebrated Run The Jewels album series — Killer Mike has always stayed true to himself, articulating what’s on his mind in a clearer way than almost any of his contemporaries and generally maintaining his status as a pillar in an ever-changing storm. To that end, the deeply personal and autobiographical Michael  — his first solo album in 11 years — feels like a culmination, a triumph that (with help from beloved veteran producer No I.D.) weaves together all the pieces of his journey into a singular statement. It’s fitting that it has been rewarded with Mike’s highest Billboard 200 ranking in 20 years — as well as a return to the Grammy arena, with the rapper landing a trio of nominations. — D.R.

Janelle Monáe, The Age of Pleasure

A change is often as good as a rest, and Janelle Monáe certainly opted for the former with her luscious fourth studio album  The Age of Pleasure . Gone are the sci-fi parables of society’s injustices that populated 2017’s Dirty Computer , now replaced by a 14-track tour through the thrills of ecstasy. Fusing together Afrobeats and reggae to create a utopian pan-African sound, Monáe celebrates her culture, her success, and most of all her own sexual freedom on this breezy 32-minute ode to unadulterated joy.  — STEPHEN DAW

Raye, My 21st Century Blues

My 21 st  Century Blues  is the album Raye has been working towards her entire life. After years of cutting her teeth as a dance-pop topliner and fighting for freedom from a restrictive major label deal, Raye released her debut LP independently and held nothing back. “After years and fears and smiling through my tears/ All I ask of you is open your ears/ Cause the truth ain’t pretty my dear,” she warns in the opening lines of “Hard Out Here.” before unleashing her unfiltered takes on “white men CEOs,” “lawyers” and later, in confessional ballad “Ice Cream Man,” even predatory producers. Her lyrics are shockingly bare and conversational, sung with a percussive rhythm and a grit that echoes Amy Winehouse, while remaining one of the most singular voices of today. Blues ‘ zenith is the maximalist “Escapism,” about a self-destructive night out — but even when Raye is honest about her missteps, it is clear that  My 21st Century Blues  is first and foremost a story of resiliency. — KRISTIN ROBINSON

Gunna, A Gift and a Curse

Amidst a RICO case that has spanned multiple years and has jeopardized YSL’s footing in modern hip-hop, Gunna has stayed steady as ever, collecting the biggest solo hit of his career with “Fukumean” and calmly bodying a new smattering of zonked-out beats on its host album,  A Gift & a Curse . The follow-up to last year’s commercial breakthrough  DS4Ever  is more contemplative amidst the rapper’s real-life drama — “Bread & Butter” strikes a defensive, downright haunted tone — but Gunna moves nimbly, avoids becoming bogged down with heavy themes and once again dominates within his lane. — J. Lipshutz

Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time

Nearly two hours long,  One Thing at a Time  stretches and sprawls every which way. The highs are high: Take the title track, such a pure bolt of guitar pop that it’s baffling that another song from the album, “Last Night,” became the top 40 hit instead. “You Proof” comes on the same way, with cheerful licks and snapping fingers, but this time it’s a feint, and the chorus transforms into bouncy country rap. “I Wrote the Book” is somehow chest-thumping and chastened at the same time, as a world-class s–t-talker admits he’s got a few failings as well. There are 33 more songs to get through here, and not all of them are as riveting. But  One Thing at a Time  is a formidable demonstration of Wallen’s range and ear. — ELIAS LEIGHT

Sofia Kourtesis, Madres

The debut album from Peru-born, Berlin-based electronic producer Sofia Kourtesis is a collage of sounds from her global travels rendered in cerebral house beats. The depth and meaning embedded in  Madres  is revealed by the people it’s dedicated to: Kourtesis’ mother and neurosurgeon Peter Vajkoczy. Kourtesis reached out to the doctor saying she’d name a track on the album after him in exchange for a consultation with her sick mom. He responded, later performing an operation that saved the elder Kourtesis’ life. The ebullient “Vajkoczy” exists amid 10 other productions that weave delicacy, femininity and introspection together with a brightness and warmth that evokes the richness and beauty of life itself. — KATIE BAIN

Carin Leon, Colmillo de Leche

Carin Leon’s  Colmillo de Leche  is a heartfelt tribute to Mexican singer-songwriter’s love for music and his roots — 95% of the musicians on this record are Sonorans, and those who are not live in Hermosillo Leon, the singer’s hometown — which earned him a Latin Grammy for best norteño music album in November. The set is a testament to his musical versatility, as it smoothly blends genres like soul, flamenco, pop and salsa with more traditional regional Mexican sounds and Carin’s exquisite vocals. Colmillo showcases Leon’s distinctive style of carrying melodies through different sounds as he effortlessly conveys a wide range of emotions, from heartbreak and love to joy and longing. — INGRID FAJARDO

Teezo Touchdown, How Do You Sleep at Night?

After a string of major cosigns from the likes of Drake and Tyler, the Creator, the highly anticipated release of Teezo Touchdown’s debut album How Do You Sleep At Night? was a breath of fresh air this year. Touchdown’s deceptively simple lyricism shines in innocent and tender moments like “Sweet” featuring Fousheé as well as the more personal and self-critical moments on “Familiarity” and “Daddy Mama Drama.” The rising artist takes listeners on a sonic journey as he constantly bounces between rock, R&B, and indie-pop sounds with a youthful vibrancy that make his ups-and-downs feel thrillingly raw. — MEGHAN MAHAR

Jelly Roll, Whitsitt Chapel

In this stunning, raw breakthrough LP, newly minted country star Jelly Roll sings of his search for refuge and redemption in a world where there are more sinners than saints and hell often feels a lot closer than heaven. The songs are gritty, raw, gut-wrenching and by turns ugly and brutally beautiful in their honesty, such as when he sings on “Save Me” (with Lainey Wilson), “I’m a lost cause… I’m so damaged beyond repair” or of course when he confesses on the album’s smash hit lead single, “I only talk to God when I need a favor.” — MELINDA NEWMAN

Hozier, Unreal Unearth

An amalgamation of Dante’s  Inferno , critiques on environmental policy and tales of Irish history sounds more like a liberal arts college curriculum than one of the most stunning albums of the year – but this is Hozier we’re talking about. A decade removed from the heart-wrenching wails of “Take Me to Church,” the singer-songwriter mines that track’s seamless conflation of lust, religion and romance for what just might be his strongest album yet. Whether he’s reaching for gospel influences on the transcendent “All Things End” or singing of the lengths he will go to for his love on the rollicking “De Selby, Pt. 2,” Hozier’s malleable voice – he scales the entirety of his sprawling range – is the centerpiece of  Unreal Unearth , completely embodying the rotating cast of characters that anchor his explorations of sin, ultimately placing himself in an epic of his own creation. — K.D.

Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

While “desire” can function as a noun or a verb, Caroline Polachek delivers the word in its most active form on her sophomore solo album. A deep  wanting  — of experience, of solace, of love — is palpable across the project, and particularly on standouts like “Welcome to My Island,” “Crude Drawing of an Angel” and “Blood and Butter.” The tight, 12-track collection plays with various forms of instrumentation — crisp electronics on “Fly to You,” bagpipes on “Blood” — maintaining a cerebral inventiveness and a pristine, shining quality throughout. But nothing here shines brighter (or satisfies more) than Polachek’s own exquisite voice. — K.B.

Romy, Mid Air

Four singles preceded the debut album from The xx vocalist Romy – and each proved increasingly enticing and hype-building for Mid Air . (Each also featured work from Grammy-nominated breakout producer Fred Again…, whose fingerprints are all over the prismatic album.) The full album more than lived up to the anticipation: Steeped in personal storylines, best heard on the tender “Loveher” and sinewy “The Sea,”  Mid Air  captures that stomach-plunge feeling of catching a high while anticipating the unavoidable come-down. Yet, for a blissful 34 minutes, Romy lets listeners exist in that crevice, as if each beat helps them float a little while longer. — LYNDSEY HAVENS

Gracie Abrams, Good Riddance

Gracie Abrams kept fans waiting for years after her 2019 debut singles before she finally released her first proper LP, but ultimately proved that the best things take time when her gorgeous, Aaron Dessner-produced songwriting feat dropped in February. Though the album is highly indie-leaning, contrasting towering revelations about young adulthood with whispered vocals and even softer instrumentation,  Good Riddance  was the project that officially propelled Abrams into the mainstream — as she ends 2023 a best new artist Grammy nominee who’s both close friends and tourmates with Taylor Swift. — HANNAH DAILEY

Eslabon Armado, Desvelado

The Mexican American group scored their sixth Regional Mexican Albums leader with  Desvelado , a stunning guitar-driven production led by Eslabon frontman Pedro Tovar. With power collabs like “Ella Baila Sola” with Peso Pluma (one of the best Latin songs of 2023), the norteña-tinged cumbia “Quédate Conmigo” with Grupo Frontera and the cathartic sad sierreño “Me Decepcionaste” with DannyLux,  the 16-track sierreño set is home to Eslabon’s best songs yet. Desvelado thrives on Tovar’s ability to adapt the legacy genre to Gen Z, with super-modern lyrics about love and heartbreak. — GRISELDA FLORES

Sufjan Stevens, Javelin

Sufjan Stevens’  Javelin  will likely be forever associated with his devastating Instagram post on its release day, in which the singer-songwriter publicly came out and dedicated the album to his “beloved” late partner. The lyrics carry enormous weight within that heartbreaking context — particularly those of the towering “Shit Talk,” in which petty squabbles are squashed with dueling refrains of “Hold me closely” and “I will always love you.” But  Javelin  also doubles as Stevens’ most complete synthesis yet of his hushed folk songwriting with his frequent electro-pop wanderings, the two halves of his artistry interlocking beautifully. — J. Lipshutz

Travis Scott, Utopia

Calling Travis Scott’s  UTOPIA  anticipated would be an understatement: Not only did it mark the follow-up to his critically acclaimed  ASTROWORLD album, but it served as the first project since the tragedy at his Astroworld festival in 2021. Clocking in at 73 minutes, the 19-track project nods to former mentor Kanye West, yet shape-shifts well beyond his psychedelic trap past by delving into ambient pop, cinematic synths and more new sounds for the star rapper-producer. With colossal production and an intentional guest roster (Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and even Scott’s daughter Stormi Webster), the album stays true to Scott’s instincts, while also allowing him to swim in uncharted waters. — JAMES DINH

Various Artists, Barbie the Album

The most brilliantly marketed movie of the 2020s couldn’t have truly maximized its cultural potential without a can’t-miss soundtrack to accompany it. And thanks to an all-star team both behind the scenes (Mark Ronson, George Drakoulias, director Greta Gerwig as executive producer) and on the mic (Dua Lipa, Karol G, Sam Smith, Lizzo), Barbie the Album became a phenomenon in its own right, spawning three top 20 Hot 100 hits and even getting star Ryan Gosling onto the chart for the first time. It works because everyone involved seems inspired by the film to just sound more like themselves: “Speed Drive” feels like a song Charli XCX had kicked around for a decade before finding the missing piece, Billie Eilish has admitted the dollhouse perspective of “What Was I Made For?” lifted her out of a creative rut, and “Barbie World”… kinda shocking Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice hadn’t gotten there already, really. — A.U.

Kelsea Ballerini, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat

This may have been a year filled with sad songs, but with her succinct, six-song set, Kelsea Ballerini released a true salve for the brokenhearted as she chronicled her own complex emotions swirling around the dissolution of her previous marriage. “Just Married” recognizes emotional disconnection, while the piercing “Interlude” takes aim at the intense public scrutiny that comes with celebrity divorces, and closer “Leave Me Again” offers up an empowering, soul-mending reconnection to self. With glossy, warm instrumentation, co-helmed with producer Alysa Vanderheym. Ballerini constructed her strongest song cycle to date. — JESSICA NICHOLSON

Ice Spice, Like...?

Ice Spice’s grand debut into the rap and pop spheres with her set Like.. ? — first released in January as an EP, then fleshed out in subsequent reissues to something closer to an album — marked both an introduction to one of rap’s mot exciting new MCs, and a lesson in new slang (“munch,” “baddie friend”) that was integrated into the pop culture lexicon almost instantly. Spawning hits like “In Ha Mood,” “Princess Diana” and the deluxe edition’s “Deli,” Like..? cements Ice’s “princess of rap” status through her down-to-earth tone, as she effortlessly takes down haters and spits out memorable one-liners that stay with you well past your first listen. — RYLEE JOHNSTON

Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

Rich in themes of pleasure, wealth and the artist’s love for Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny’s  Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana  is a triumphant homecoming. Navigating his ever-growing fame with nonchalance and bold sensuality, Bunny returns to his Latin trap roots over the majority of the set’s 22 tracks, produced by MAG, Tainy and La Paciencia. The haunting elegance of “Nadie Sabe,” with its brooding symphony and otherworldly choruses, sets the album’s introspective tone, while the now-iconic moody violin and piano sample in “Monaco” drawn from from Charles Aznavour’s 1964 song “Hier Encore,” adds depth. Standout “Acho PR,” featuring De La Ghetto, Arcángel, and Ñengo Flow, pays homage to Puerto Rico’s vibrant barrio life. Nadie captures Bunny’s nuanced reflection on fame, intertwined with self-mythology, all delivered with his signature attitude and flair.  — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation

Endless Summer Vacation marked one of the year’s finest pop comebacks, with the bold and sonically striking set becoming Miley Cyrus’ first album to land a Grammy nod for album of the year, and her first since  Bangerz  to spawn a Hot 100-topping single (the instantly viral “Flowers”). Back when she was a teen Disney star, few would have bet on Cyrus to be making this kind of creative and commercial breakthrough in her 30s, but she’s developed a distinctive, throaty vocal style, and has long demonstrated that she has loads of artistic courage. Everybody’s betting on her now. – PAUL GREIN 

Kelela, Raven

Kelela’s sophomore album is largely stocked with club music that already sounds like a distant memory of itself — hazy, dreamlike and at risk of dissolving at any given moment. It’s physical, but not necessarily visceral: Rather, it’s dance music as envisioned by folks who’d otherwise be listening to 4AD records, concerned with texture, atmosphere and feeling over hooks, rhythm and energy. It works both due to the singer-songwriter’s Sade-like mastery of mood and ambiance, and the cohesive production from Kelela and a variety of collaborators (Yo Van Lenz, LSDXOXO Asmara), who keep the sonics warm and enveloping, with just enough thump to keep you from ever drifting off altogether. — A.U.

KAYTRAMINÉ, KAYTRAMINÉ

Powerhouse duo Kaytraminé (beloved producer-DJ Kaytranada and hitmaking rapper Aminé) signaled the start of summer in late May with the release of their self-titled album. Featuring tropical influences and plush, Pharrell-honoring beats, the project offers something for every warm-weather mood, from the slow saunter of “Rebuke” to the dancefloor-ready Afrobeats of “Sossasup.” Kaytranada’s signature production transcends genre barriers, laying the foundation for Aminé’s masterful flows — and if the pair alone isn’t compelling enough for you, the list of featured artists also includes such welcome heavy-hitters as Freddie Gibbs, Amaarae and Snoop Dogg. — M.M.

Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Rising pop hero Chappell Roan’s debut album so deftly delivers a bevy of pulsating, dance-ready tracks from the jump that it’s easy to forget about the number of longtime fan favorite singles (“Pink Pony Club,” “Naked in Manhattan”) that await in the depths of its tracklist. Roan is deeply vulnerable in her storytelling as she details her experiences in the LGBTQ+ community — but with some production help from Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray, Caroline Polachek), she turns it all into a celebration. As  she told  Billboard  earlier this year , “That’s what queerness feels like: It  is  a party.” — JOSH GLICKSMAN

Paramore, This Is Why

Paramore might have shed its pop-punk skin years ago, but the rock trio never lost its ability to make sharp, energetic, hook-laden hits, as shown on the band’s sixth album,  This Is Why . Taylor York’s jittery guitar and Zac Farro’s propulsive drums drive the 10 tracks, while Hayley Williams peers out from her bunker and anxiously assesses the state of the world: “Shut your eyes, but it won’t go away/ Turn on, turn off the news,” she speak-sings on “The News,” while letting her elastic vocal stretch around the words, “Everyone is a bad guy,” on “You First.” Williams shakes her agitation on the wistful “Crave,” allowing herself a moment of nostalgia for times gone by: “What if I told ‘em that now that I’m older/ There isn’t a moment that I’d wanna change?” It’s a big admission from the frontwoman after nearly 20 largely turbulent years. — CHRISTINE WERTHMAN

Peso Pluma, Genesis

Following the global smash hit “Ella Baila Sola,” Peso Pluma was already a household name when he dropped Génesis over the summer. But the set exceeded expectations, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 — the highest rank ever for a música Mexicana album — and placing a historic 25 simultaneous titles on the Hot Latin Songs chart in July, breaking Bad Bunny’s record of 24. The 14-track LP thrives on (and expands) the Mexican singer-songwriter’s core sound, punctuated by a trombone and tololoche, with standout songs such as the dreamy ballad “Lagunas” with Jasiel Nuñez, the braggy corrido “Lady Gaga” with Junior H and Gabito Ballesteros, and the attitude-heavy “Rubicon.” — G.F.

Renée Rapp, Snow Angel

“Don’t have to use your own tears just to grow your own roots,” Reneé Rapp sings in a line on Snow Angel ‘s penultimate track “Willow” that’s arguably the heart of her debut album. The former Broadway star-turned-rising pop sensation invites listeners on a road trip of self-reflection over the course of the breakthrough effort — navigating love, spite, grief and joy in just 12 tracks. Balancing cathartic power ballads (the title track) with musings on her most intrusive thoughts (“Poison Poison”), the 23-year-old showcases her versatility as a songwriter without dulling the powerhouse vocals that initially broke her through. — D.P.

Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

Though the title would go on to inspire many jokes about its lengthiness,  Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd  is a massive creative triumph for one Elizabeth Grant. She and superproducer Jack Antonoff hit their stride as partners on this Grammy AOTY-nominated project, with the alt-pop titan mustering some of her most vulnerable and thoughtful lyrics ever while somehow managing to maintain her trademark campiness throughout (see: that perplexing four-minute spoken interlude from pastor Judah Smith). While her earlier work gives way to more dramatic proclamations and aesthetics,  Ocean Blvd  takes a softer, more introspective approach to Lana’s longtime muse — Americana — that’s achingly feminine, full of yearning, and underscored by clever references to male figureheads such as Leonard Cohen, John Denver and Bob Dylan. — H.D.

Lil Yachty, Let's Start Here

As expansive as his acclaimed, 83-second 2022 loosie “Poland” was brief, Lil Yachty similarly challenged perceptions about his music’s boundaries with his ambitious fifth studio album Let’s Start Here . “I wanted to show people a different side of me – and that I can do anything,” the onetime mumble rapper told Billboard of his hour-long psych-rock tome, which features contributions from Mac DeMarco, Nick Hakim, Alex G and members of MGMT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Chairlift, and sounds like David Gilmour got his hands on Auto-Tune in Pink Floyd’s early ’70s heyday. But don’t let flashy psychedelic statements like epic opener “The Black Seminole” obscure that Yachty’s remarkable melodic sense is also on display here, as captured on tracks like the brilliantly funky “Running Out of Time.” — ERIC RENNER BROWN

Doja Cat, Scarlet

Doja Cat flips back into full-fledged rapper mode for her fourth album Scarlet . Darker in mood than her prior albums,  Scarlet  features a more assured Doja on tracks like the Grammy-nominated “Attention,” where she raps against a ‘90s-vibed track as she frankly addresses the criticism that has marked her career (“Talk your s–t about me/ I can easily disprove it, it’s stupid/ You follow me, but you don’t really care about the music”). Meanwhile, the melodic “Paint the Town Red,” which samples Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By,” became Doja’s first solo song to top the Hot 100. Ever since going viral in 2018 with the comedic “Mooo!,” Doja Cat has made it her mission to prove she’s not a one-trick kitty — and the claws-out Scarlet should persuade anyone who still needs convincing. — GAIL MITCHELL

Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito

Karol G made history by becoming the first woman (and only second artist ever, after Bad Bunny) to top the Billboard 200 with an all-Spanish album with this February’s Mañana Será Bonito . But despite including “TQG,” her much-vaunted collaboration with fellow scorned-ex Shakira, do not for a second think this album is born out of vengeance or heartache. Instead, Mañana (whose title literally translates to “Tomorrow Will Be Pretty”) was a snapshot of Karol G’s self-described “authentic” moment of today — full of smash hits, like 2022’s lilting ode to female freedom, “Provenza,” but also a cadre of surprises, including the beautiful title track, which unexpectedly features the soulful indie pop-rocker Carla Morrison over a gentle reggaetón groove, and the very sexy “X Si Volvemos” with Romeo Santos. Definitely her defining opus to date, Mañana Será Bonito covered the many sides of Karol G with a bold reggaetón and electronic palette and immediately relatable-yet-sophisticated lyrics. — LEILA COBO

Victoria Monét, Jaguar II

A successful sequel should substantially expand the universe of the original while standing as a formidable entity in its own right.  Jaguar II  does just that: Victoria Monét’s Grammy-nominated debut studio album is a lush collection of some of the finest songs contemporary R&B has to offer. Musical mastermind D’Mile assists the acclaimed multi-hyphenate in carefully threading together a cohesive project out of their voyage through reggae (“Party Girls”), ‘00s southern hip-hop (“On My Mama”) and house (“Alright”). Expertly engineered and perfectly sequenced,  Jaguar II  lifts Monét’s world-building to new heights — from a real jaguar growl heralding the close of “Alright” to the sweeping orchestration of “How Does It Make You Feel,” it’s all about the small details, making for an intimate and immersive experience that demands your undivided attention. But it’s not like you have much of a choice anyway when a voice as honeyed as Monét’s is cooing sweet melodies of lustful introspection into your ear. — K.D.

Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan’s follow-up to last year’s acclaimed  American Heartbreak is a reflective, often somber affair that highlights his unflinchingly honest melange of rock, country and folk. Somehow, even when he’s collaborating here, his raspy, unpretentious vocals convey a sense of lonely yearning, especially on “I Remember Everything,” an understated, yet aching tale of destroyed love featuring Kacey Musgraves or on his pairing with The War and Treaty on “Hey Driver.” Happily, he finds some sense of redemption in his lover’s eyes in a lilting duet with Sierra Ferrell on “Holy Roller.” Despite its more unassuming qualities, the self-titled set was rewarded with a blockbuster reception even beyond Bryan’s 2022 breakthrough, including his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and a Grammy nomination for best country album — M.N.

Troye Sivan, Something to Give Each Other

Troye Sivan fans who have long been hungry for the Aussie singer-songwriter to hit the dancefloor with complete abandon got their wish fulfilled (and then some) on Something to Give Each Other . From the intoxicating, thumping blast of house-pop on “Rush” to the “Shooting Stars”-sampling seduction via “Got Me Started,” the album is a sensual, four-on-the-floor feast. But perhaps the truest highlight is the libidinous, woozy “One of Your Girls,” where Sivan puts his heart and body on the line for a bi-curious-on-the-DL Adonis. His gentle yet insistent delivery is sweet, aching and vulnerable, evoking the brief bliss of an intense fling with an expiration date – and not unlike some of those hidden hook-ups, it’s over all too fast in just three minutes. — J. Lynch

Boygenius, The Record

In the opening lines of Boygenius’ first studio album  the record,  the indie-rock supertrio ponders “who would I be without you, without them?” in perfect three-part harmony. It’s a question that comes to define  the record —  an album by close friends Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus – over its proceeding 12 tracks. The LP features incisive lyrics about heartbreak and personal growth, particularly in highlights like “$20” and “Emily I’m Sorry,” but perhaps even more integral to its success,  the record  radiates the trust and kinship the members have with each other. A career high point for three already highly acclaimed singer-songwriters,  the record  is now also one of the most celebrated albums at this year’s Grammys, with six total nominations, including album of the year. — K.R.

Olivia Rodrigo, Guts

Olivia Rodrigo is growing up before our eyes. On her record-breaking, star-making debut album, Sour , Rodrigo captured the naivete that comes with teenage heartbreak — but on Guts , she knows better and, in fact, she’s pissed off about life, love and how she’s been treated. Over crunching ’90s alt-rock guitar (and/or melodramatic ’00s pop/rock piano), the 20-year-old extends a big middle finger to those that use her for clout (“Vampire”), the girl who lives rent-free in her head (“Lacy”), double standards in American culture (“All-American Bitch”) and even her own cringe-worthy moments (“Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”). And while she’s more mature now, she still makes the same mistakes every young person must make – like hooking up with an ex in “Bad Idea Right?” or letting her more lustful and vengeful impulses get the better of her in the retribution/reunion fantasy “Get Him Back!”

As expected, the album skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart upon its release, solidifying Rodrigo’s place as Gen-Z’s premier storyteller. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream,” she laments on the album’s closing ballad, titled after a Katy Perry classic that took a much more idealized view of youth and young love than Guts displays. And while Rodrigo is apologizing for missing the mark on being the picture-perfect model of a teen pop star, she captures what growing up really feels like: Young people are angsty, they’re complicated, they’re emotional, they have an attitude — and despite it all, they have a ton of fun. If that’s not the real teenage dream, we don’t know what is. — RANIA ANIFTOS

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Here's the Summerfest 2024 lineup by date, time and stage for the Milwaukee music festival

They don't call it "The Big Gig" for nothing.

Summerfest is one of America's largest and longest-running music festivals, celebrating 56 years in 2024 and welcoming some 800 acts to Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee's lakefront — including A-listers like Maroon 5, Tyler Childers, Lil Uzi Vert, Kane Brown, Motley Crue, Keith Urban, AJR and Illenium at the 23,000-person-capacity American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Here's who's playing Summerfest 2024, taking place June 20 to 22, June 27 to 29 and July 4 to 6. The lineup is not complete, and artist appearances are subject to change, so be sure to keep checking back through the festival's final day for updates.

Get daily updates on the Packers during the season.

More: When and where the Milwaukee area's summer festivals and fairs are happening in 2024

June 20 | June 21 | June 22

June 27 | June 28 | June 29

July 4 | July 5 | July 6

Thursday, June 20

• Depot Express (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Ask Carol (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Mary Shelley (Generac Power Stage)
• Wyatt Flores (BMO Pavilion)
• Lily Fitts (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Loyal Lobos (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Little River Band (Uline Warehouse)
• Abraham Alexander (BMO Pavilion)
• Better Than Ezra (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Citizen (Generac Power Stage)
• Arath Herce (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Chance Peña (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Sen Morimoto (Aurora Pavilion)
• Jamila Woods (Aurora Pavilion)
• The War & Treaty (BMO Pavilion)
• Kane Brown with Kameron Marlowe and Nightly (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Mindi Abair (Uline Warehouse)
• Winona Fighter (Generac Power Stage)
• Jonah Kagen (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Kevin Kaarl (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Taking Back Sunday (Generac Power Stage)
• Three Dog Night (Uline Warehouse)
• Brittany Howard (BMO Pavilion)
• David Kushner (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Gin Blossoms (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Latin Mafia (Miller Lite Oasis)

Friday, June 21

• Loviet (Generac Power Stage)
• Drowning Pool (BMO Pavilion)
• Huntertones (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Viisi (Generac Power Stage)
• Restless Road (Aurora Pavilion)
• Black Violin (Uline Warehouse)
• Bryce Vine (Generac Power Stage)
• The 502s (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Jesus Jones (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Taylor Bennett (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Lily Rose (Aurora Pavilion)
• Jeffrey Osborne (Uline Warehouse)
• Mötley Crüe with Seether and Buckcherry (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Charlotte Cardin (Generac Power Stage)
• Próxima Parada (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Modern English (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Gloss Up (Miller Lite Oasis)
• MC4D (Aurora Pavilion)
• Chelsea Cutler (Generac Power Stage)
• En Vogue (Uline Warehouse)
• O.A.R. (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Toosii (Miller Lite Oasis)

Saturday, June 22

• Field Guide (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Here Come The Mummies (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Brenda K. Starr (Aurora Pavilion)
• The Producers (Uline Warehouse)
• Shovels & Rope (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Allen Stone (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Little Stranger (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Luis Figueroa (Aurora Pavilion)
• Happy Landing (Generac Power Stage)
• Brothers Elsey (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Hans Williams (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Doom Flamingo (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Goo Goo Dolls (BMO Pavilion)
• Black Pumas (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Dawes (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Umphrey's McGee (Miller Lite Oasis)

Thursday, June 27

• Bassel & the Supernaturals (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Briscoe (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• J Stone (Aurora Pavilion)
• Millyz (Aurora Pavilion)
• Brigitte Calls Me Baby (Uline Warehouse)
• Sawyer (BMO Pavilion)
• Cedric Burnside (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Grouptherapy. (Generac Power Stage)
• Anberlin (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Certified Trapper (Generac Power Stage)
• Illenium (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• K Camp (Aurora Pavilion)
• Maude Latour (BMO Pavilion)
• Tracy Bonham (Uline Warehouse)
• Clip (Generac Power Stage)
• McKinley Dixon (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Hawthorne Heights (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Ian Asher (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Ken Carson (Generac Power Stage)
• Muna (BMO Pavilion)
• Sleater-Kinney (Uline Warehouse)
• Boys Like Girls (UScellular Connection Stage)
• St. Paul & the Broken Bones (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Alison Wonderland (Miller Lite Oasis)

Friday, June 28

• Lovin Kind (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Failure to Launch (BMO Pavilion)
• The Thing (Generac Power Stage)
• Mo Lowda & the Humble (Generac Power Stage)
• Nolan Taylor (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Substitute: Tales From the Who (BMO Pavilion)
• Brent Cobb (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Briston Maroney (Generac Power Stage)
• Matt Hansen (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Hyo (Aurora Pavilion)
• Metric (Uline Warehouse)
• Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman and Adeem the Artist (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Flipturn (Generac Power Stage)
• Ben Chapman (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• MaryJo (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Hippo Campus (Generac Power Stage)
• REO Speedwagon (BMO Pavilion)
• Charles Wesley Godwin (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Jessie Murph (UScellular Connection Stage)

Saturday, June 29

• Kitty Soft Paw (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Hosts (Uline Warehouse)
• Genevieve Hayward (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Austin Williams (BMO Pavilion)
• Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs (Uline Warehouse)
• Cherry Glazerr (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• The Dandy Warhols (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Donavon Frankenreiter (Uline Warehouse)
• Sarah Kinsley (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• The Hold Steady (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Obongjayar (Aurora Pavilion)
• Keith Urban with NEEDTOBREATHE and Alana Springsteen (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• XANA (BMO Pavilion)
• Ziggy Alberts (Uline Warehouse)
• BigXthaPlug (Generac Power Stage)
• The Afghan Whigs (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Amos Lee (Uline Warehouse)
• FLETCHER (BMO Pavilion)
• Key Glock (Generac Power Stage)
• Ethel Cain (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Mario (UScellular Connection Stage)
• The Church (Miller Lite Oasis)

Thursday, July 4

• Almost Monday (Uline Warehouse)
• Timothy Wayne (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Doublecamp (Uline Warehouse)
• Samaria (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Dylan Marlowe (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Del Water Gap (Uline Warehouse)
• Karri (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Sueco (Generac Power Stage)
• Abby Anderson (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Oxymorrons (Miller Lite Oasis)
• AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen and mxmtoon (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Say She She (Aurora Pavilion)
• Colony House (BMO Pavilion)
• Fiji Blue (Uline Warehouse)
• LØLØ (Generac Power Stage)
• Conner Smith (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Set It Off (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Coin (Uline Warehouse)
• JXDN (Generac Power Stage)
• Mt. Joy (BMO Pavilion)
• Brian Kelley (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Mariah The Scientist (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Sleeping With Sirens (Miller Lite Oasis)

Friday, July 5

• The Baseball Project (Uline Warehouse)
• The Box Tops (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Angélica Garcia (Aurora Pavilion)
• Nikki Lane (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Reyna Tropical (Aurora Pavilion)
• Knox (Generac Power Stage)
• DC The Don (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Cimafunk (Aurora Pavilion)
• Maroon 5 (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers (Uline Warehouse)
• Tana (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Colby Acuff (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Bryson Tiller (BMO Pavilion)
• Local Natives (Generac Power Stage)
• The Wallflowers (Uline Warehouse)
• Lil Tecca (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Paul Cauthen (Miller Lite Oasis)

Saturday, July 6

• Dan Lepien (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Fillmore East (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Me Like Bees (Generac Power Stage)
• Hedley's Garage (Miller Lite Oasis)
• Sister Hazel (Generac Power Stage)
• Tim Montana (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• John Morgan (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Giacomo Turra (Uline Warehouse)
• Cracker (Generac Power Stage)
• Living Colour (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Seaforth (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Anne Wilson (Uline Warehouse)
• Lil Uzi Vert with Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty and LIHTZ (American Family Insurance Amphitheater)
• Uprooted with Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root (Generac Power Stage)
• Ashland Craft (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Amy Grant (Uline Warehouse)
• BoDeans (Generac Power Stage)
• Ivan Cornejo (BMO Pavilion)
• Chase Rice (UScellular Connection Stage)
• Extreme (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Cold War Kids (Miller Lite Oasis)

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here's the Summerfest 2024 lineup by date, time and stage for the Milwaukee music festival

Mike Tyson is returning to boxing. But at 58, experts say it’s a bad idea.

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A neuroscientist and a doctor agree: Tyson is at far greater risk of traumatic brain injury at his age, should he decide to step back into the ring.

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Mike Tyson is scheduled to return to the ring this summer in a bout with social media star turned professional boxer Jake Paul. The exact details of the fight have yet to be worked out, but the event will be streamed on Netflix on July 20.

But there’s a problem. Tyson, considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, will be 58 years old on the night of the fight. A brain health expert and a doctor agree: it’s not a good idea for Tyson to be risking his health at that age against a far younger opponent (Paul is 27).

That’s due to a number of factors, chiefly the cumulative and lifelong effects that earlier traumatic brain injuries have later in life, says Art Kramer , professor of psychology and founding director of the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University.

“We’re fortunate that there have been fantastic medical advances to help us do all sorts of things at advanced ages, but that doesn’t mean that aging doesn’t interact with head trauma, and the few studies that have been done suggest that it gets more serious as we get older,” Kramer says.

Structurally, the brain shrinks in size as a person ages, meaning there is more room for it to move around in the cranium. The blood vessels in and around the brain also shrink with age, becoming more brittle and susceptible to damage.

Those changes would put Tyson at increased risk for subdural hematoma and intracranial hemorrhage, says Gian Corrado , head team physician for Northeastern athletics and director of emergency sports medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“He has a couple strikes against him,” Corrado says. “One is his age. There is clear data that says the risk of brain injury goes up after 50. And then you have the fact that he has almost definitely suffered brain injury from previous fights.”

To be clear: pugilists of all ages put their health on the line when they take to the ring, and there are examples of boxers competing in sanctioned events around the age Tyson is now. But the risks facing older fighters are more pronounced.

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“There are a number of reasons why it’s more dangerous,” Kramer continues. “One is that the head trauma you have when you are younger tends to hang around, even subtly, sometimes for many, many years. But as we get older, we also have many other separate issues that have to do with brain function, brain structure, cognition and so forth.”

The American Academy of Neurology classifies boxing as a sport that “includes intentional trauma to the brain,” and has enumerated recommendations intended to reduce harm to participants. 

The group says that children are increasingly becoming involved in sports that pose risks to brain health. 

“And we know that repeated head injuries aren’t good for anybody, regardless of what age,” Kramer says.

Kramer has co-authored several studies on the effects of traumatic brain injuries on cognition and brain health. Though he notes that there is still a lack of longitudinal data on the subject, the most sinister outcome from repeated blows to the head over time is a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy , which can lead to dementia. 

“What we know is that, even many years later, these concussions, or what people call mild traumatic brain injuries, tend to have long-lasting effects,” Kramer says. 

Kramer — a former boxer himself — says that most professional boxers sustain concussions at one point or another. 

“There are different levels of traumatic brain injury, starting with mild, and then it can go to severe where you’re knocked out for some number of minutes,” Kramer says. “And most boxers have gone through both — and many people have gone through both.”

Another risk factor for Tyson might be any medications he is taking.

“Even something as simple as an 80 milligram baby aspirin, which will help your blood thin out a bit — taking those blood thinners and then getting into the ring could cause more bleeding in the brain,” Kramer says.

In a sport where knocking your opponent unconscious is arguably the goal, Corrado notes, also, that reflexes slow with age — another vulnerability that would put Tyson at a deficit.

“There’s plenty of data that he won’t be able to protect himself like he may have been able to when he was 30,” Corrado says.

Tyson’s last professional boxing match was in 2005, when he lost to Kevin McBride. He participated in an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.

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