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XXXTENTACION

Controversial rapper Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy (aka XXXTentacion) played fast and loose when it came to genres, often incorporating elements of punk rock, hip-hop, R&B, and heavy metal. In the late 2010s, he experienced a quick rise with his dark and emotionally intense content, scoring a number one album with 2018's ?. Months later, at the peak of his popularity, he was shot and killed. Born in South Florida, Onfroy had a troubled upbringing, often getting into violent situations; his mother couldn't cope with raising him alone, so he was often forced to stay with various relatives as a result. At a very young age, Onfroy was sent to a juvenile detention center after committing armed robbery; it was there that he met friend and longtime collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">Ski Mask the Slump God</a>. After his release, both Onfroy and <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">Ski Mask</a> decided to get clean and pursue a career in music, setting up the Florida rap crew <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Members+Only%22">Members Only</a> in the process. In 2014, Onfroy uploaded his first track to SoundCloud, "Vice City," which quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of streams. Later the same year, he released two EPs, The Fall and Ice Hotel; the broad array of genres and vocal styles -- ranging from whispering and singing to rapping and outright screaming -- earned Onfroy a cult following in under a year. In 2015, he released two collaborative albums, Members Only, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 -- alongside <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">the Slump God</a> and various <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Members+Only%22">Members Only</a> associates -- as well as his third and fourth EPs, ItWasn'tEnough and Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer. His debut album, Bad Vibes Forever, was originally intended to be a mixtape released in 2016; however, the expansion of the record into a full-length studio album, coupled with two separate incarcerations, repeatedly delayed the album's release. Single "Look at Me!," originally released in early 2016, became a sleeper hit and was re-released in 2017, at which point it hit the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. While serving a prison sentence in 2017, Onfroy signed a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire+Distribution%22">Empire Distribution</a>. The label issued Revenge, an eight-song mixtape of previously released XXXTentacion material, in May of 2017. The set broke into the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 and climbed to 21 on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Onfroy's official studio debut arrived months later on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bad+Vibes+Forever%22">Bad Vibes Forever</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire%22">Empire</a>. The moody 17 featured the singles "Revenge" and "Jocelyn Flores," his tribute to a friend who committed suicide. Upon its release, 17 climbed to the number two spots on the Billboard 200 and R&B/hip-hop chart, also topping the R&B albums chart. Early the next year, his sophomore full-length, ?, was released. Debuting atop the Billboard 200, the effort featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:2P5sC9cVZDToPxyomzF1UH">Joey Bada$$</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4exLIFE8sISLr28sqG1qNX">Travis Barker</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:21WS9wngs9AqFckK7yYJPM">PnB Rock</a>, and more. Onfroy soon signed a multi-million dollar deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire+Distribution%22">Empire Distribution</a>. Weeks later, on June 18, 2018, Onfroy was shot and killed in Miami. Following his death, the outpouring of his fans' grief helped push ? to platinum certification. His first posthumous album, Skins, arrived later that year. In late 2019, Bad Vibes Forever was released. Originally conceived of as his studio debut, the album was still a work in progress at the time of his death, shelved around the time of 17. The post-mortem collection ended up being 25 tracks and nearly an hour long, and featured guest appearances from everyone from <a href="spotify:artist:55Aa2cqylxrFIXC767Z865">Lil Wayne</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:7jVv8c5Fj3E9VhNjxT4snq">Lil Nas X</a>. ~ Liam Martin, Rovi

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest were without question one of the most progressive and crucial rap groups of the 1990s. Along with their brothers and sisters in the Native Tongues -- a crew that also included <a href="spotify:artist:2iclO3rlyF0YVNE46ctYRj">the Jungle Brothers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5m7wCUhYhBh7A3A3YMxrbt">Queen Latifah</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7dupCiguCFkYZRisA3foPu">Monie Love</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0NnCgUxhtWt1yBtpDyvFQf">Black Sheep</a> -- Tribe struck a natural balance between ruminative and carefree lyrical content, examining personal and deep societal issues without forgetting to have a good time. Just as creative and powerful as producers, Tribe helped create new paths for hip-hop with visionary and inventive sampling from previously unutilized '60s and '70s jazz recordings, among other styles ranging from bossa nova to prog rock, and even collaborated with some of the players whose names were listed in the liner notes they scoured. The group's first five albums, highlighted by the all-platinum run of The Low End Theory (1991), Midnight Marauders (1993), and Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996), added up to one of the decade's most vital artist discographies, rap or otherwise. Six years after their 1998 split, they reconvened onstage and continued to occasionally tour into the 2010s. We Got It from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service (2016), their final LP, became their second number one album months after the death of founding member <a href="spotify:artist:5D7j3YOhscvrld2WzjSIpN">Phife Dawg</a>. Although it wasn't until 1988 that they became known as A Tribe Called Quest -- named by peers <a href="spotify:artist:2iclO3rlyF0YVNE46ctYRj">the Jungle Brothers</a> -- the group started to take shape three years earlier, with Queens native <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a> (born Jonathan Davis) and high school classmate <a href="spotify:artist:6adBZwsyxZuWDoty0Tg0lt">Ali Shaheed Muhammad</a> (a Brooklynite) recording demo material with pause-tape beats. The rapper/producer and DJ/producer duo eventually became a quartet with the addition of <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>'s childhood friend <a href="spotify:artist:5D7j3YOhscvrld2WzjSIpN">Phife Dawg</a> (born Malik Taylor) and neighbor slash part-time member Jarobi (short for Jarobi White). <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a> was heard first on <a href="spotify:artist:2iclO3rlyF0YVNE46ctYRj">the Jungle Brothers</a>' 1988 album Straight Out the Jungle. The next year, he was featured <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>'s "Buddy," and a version of that track, dubbed "Buddy [Native Tongue Decision]," added Phife to the mix. The recorded debut of A Tribe Called Quest followed later in 1989 with "Description of a Fool," issued on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jive%22">Jive</a>. (The group had recorded a demo for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Geffen%22">Geffen</a>, but the major label balked on offering a contract.) The following April, Tribe released their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Much like <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>, Tribe looked more to jazz as well as '70s rock for their sample base; "Can I Kick It?," which followed "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" and "Bonita Applebum" into the Top Ten of Billboard's rap chart, plundered <a href="spotify:artist:42TFhl7WlMRXiNqzSrnzPL">Lou Reed</a>'s "Walk on the Wild Side" and made it viable in a hip-hop context. No matter how solid their debut was, second album The Low End Theory, released in September 1991 (after Jarobi's departure for culinary school), exceeded all expectations and has held up as perhaps the best hip-hop LP of all time. In addition to its rich assemblage of samples, it featured jazz legend <a href="spotify:artist:4wnzivx3OQ3vjrySAdTdJP">Ron Carter</a> on double bass for "Verses from the Abstract." Like the debut, it yielded a trio of charting singles. "Check the Rhime" topped the rap chart, and "Scenario," featuring <a href="spotify:artist:5V2urhkwH9CIcojcYnvKRg">Leaders of the New School</a> (with future solo star <a href="spotify:artist:1YfEcTuGvBQ8xSD1f53UnK">Busta Rhymes</a>), went to number six. The Low End Theory included several tracks with props to hip-hop friends, and Tribe affirmed their support of the wider rap community with their third album, Midnight Marauders. The album cover and booklet insert included the faces of over 70 hip-hop luminaries, a coast-to-coast assortment that included members of <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2iclO3rlyF0YVNE46ctYRj">the Jungle Brothers</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:03r4iKL2g2442PT9n2UKsx">Beastie Boys</a>, as well as <a href="spotify:artist:0eGh2jSWPBX5GuqIHoZJZG">Ice-T</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4sb7rZNN93BSS6Gqgepo4v">Too $hort</a>. The LP entered the Billboard 200 at number eight, easily the group's highest placement to that point. It offered several classics, including "Award Tour," the group's sixth Top Ten rap hit, and a sound that was harder than the first two albums. During the summer of 1994, Tribe were part of the fourth Lollapalooza lineup, and the next year were comparatively quiet, apart from several production jobs for <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>. They returned in July 1996 with their fourth LP, Beats, Rhymes and Life, which prominently featured <a href="spotify:artist:5KkgZ31b9eDwkvo9oMIrSm">Consequence</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>'s cousin, and production associate <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:1020a42xVklY6c56imNcaa">Slum Village</a>), who had gained notice for his work on <a href="spotify:artist:7yk35uHNQclPXFGFoTU44w">the Pharcyde</a>'s Labcabincalifornia. The album topped the Billboard 200, was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Album category, and became the group's third consecutive platinum LP. The single "1nce Again" was also up for a Grammy in the rap field. Before they released their next album, The Love Movement, the group announced it would be their final statement and that they were splitting up. After The Love Movement debuted at number three and earned the group their second Best Rap Album Grammy nomination, each member pursued solo projects to varying degrees of success, but the call of the group proved strong enough that they reunited many times over the years. They headlined the Rock the Bells concert in 2004, toured heavily in 2006, featured on the Rock the Bells tours of 2008 and 2010, and played a series of shows in 2013, including some with <a href="spotify:artist:5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x">Kanye West</a> in New York. They reunited again in November 2015 to play The Tonight Show in conjunction with the 25th anniversary reissue of People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The group's performances post-Love Movement helped pay for increasing medical expenses faced by Phife. Diagnosed with diabetes in 1990, Phife eventually needed multiple kidney transplants. In March 2016, Phife died (at the age of 45) due to complications related to the condition. Later that year, <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a> announced that the group had completed a new album. The night of their Tonight Show appearance the previous year, the group's original four members decided to put aside their differences and start recording again. Sessions were held in <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>'s well-appointed home studio, and the group welcomed guests like <a href="spotify:artist:1YfEcTuGvBQ8xSD1f53UnK">Busta Rhymes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2YZyLoL8N0Wb9xBt1NhZWg">Kendrick Lamar</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:74V3dE1a51skRkdII8y2C6">André 3000</a> to contribute. Though Phife died before the album was finished, <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a> was able to power through and complete it. We Got It from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service was released in November 2016 and topped the Billboard 200 on its way to gold status. <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6adBZwsyxZuWDoty0Tg0lt">Ali Shaheed Muhammad</a> continued with assorted musical pursuits. Tribe were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. ~ John Bush & Andy Kellman, Rovi

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Goo Goo Dolls Iris

Arctic Monkeys

With their nervy and literate indie rock sound, Arctic Monkeys are a respected, adventurous, and successful group that could easily be called Britain's biggest band of the early 21st century. The band arrived with a blast in 2005, assisted by rave reviews and online word of mouth (they were one of the first bands to benefit from social media). They quickly became a sensation in the United Kingdom, where they were seen as the heir apparent to the throne left vacant by <a href="spotify:artist:2DaxqgrOhkeH0fpeiQq2f4">Oasis</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4fSPtBgFPZzygkY6MehwQ7">the Libertines</a>. Buoyed by the single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not briefly grabbed the title of fastest-selling album in British history. It landed on top of both the U.K. and U.S. rock album charts and took home the Mercury Prize. What set the group apart was <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Alex Turner</a>, a singer/songwriter with a biting wit and grasp of English vernacular (not dissimilar to <a href="spotify:artist:7Lf3LOZp3U3u2f6cWMd3AH">Paul Weller</a>, the godfather of modern British rock). However, driven by their maverick creative spirit, Arctic Monkeys have proven highly unpredictable, reworking classic rock traditions on 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare and beefing up their guitars with the assistance of <a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Josh Homme</a> on 2009's Humbug. Eventually, they also laced in some of the louche lounge aspects of <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Turner</a>'s swinging side project <a href="spotify:artist:2Z7UcsdweVlRbAk5wH5fsf">the Last Shadow Puppets</a>, an evolution that began on 2018's arty Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino and deepened on its 2022 follow-up The Car. By that point, the band was a staple throughout the world. <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Alex Turner</a> and guitarist Jamie Cook began their music careers in 2001, when the friends both received guitars for Christmas. Two years later, they began performing shows around their native Sheffield with drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson, two fellow students at Stocksbridge High School. A series of demo recordings followed, and Arctic Monkeys' audience swelled as fans circulated those recordings via the Internet. The musicians soon found themselves at the center of a growing media circus, with such outlets as BBC Radio examining the band's music and mounting hype. By distributing their homemade material on the Internet, Arctic Monkeys were able to build a sizable fan base without the help of a record label, effectively circumventing the usual road to superstardom. They continued to buck tradition by signing with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Domino+Records%22">Domino Records</a> in 2005, eschewing a major-label's budget for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Domino%22">Domino</a>'s D.I.Y. cred and hip roster (which also included <a href="spotify:artist:0XNa1vTidXlvJ2gHSsRi4A">Franz Ferdinand</a>, a touchstone for the band's sound). The smart moves paid off as Arctic Monkeys' first two singles -- "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down" -- both topped the U.K. charts. Critical reception was similarly favorable, but few could have predicted the whirlwind success of the band's debut album, which ousted <a href="spotify:artist:2DaxqgrOhkeH0fpeiQq2f4">Oasis</a>' Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history (a record that was broken one year later by <a href="spotify:artist:5lKZWd6HiSCLfnDGrq9RAm">Leona Lewis</a>' Spirit). Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not sold 363,735 copies during its first week alone, transforming Arctic Monkeys from underground stars into mainstream figures. Arctic Monkeys' debut sold approximately 300,000 total copies in America -- enough to warrant more media coverage. Their success continued as they released a spring EP, Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys, and prepared for a stateside tour. Temporary bassist Nick O'Malley was brought aboard for the band's American shows, while a fatigued Nicholson stayed at home. Nicholson then announced his official departure when the band returned home in June 2006, and O'Malley remained with Arctic Monkeys as a permanent member. That fall, the guys received the 2006 Mercury Prize and donated the accompanying money to an undisclosed charity. Additional accolades included Best British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards and Best New Band at the NME Awards. NME also made a bold assertion by deeming the group's debut one of the Top Five British albums ever released. Released in April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare updated Arctic Monkeys' sound with louder instruments and faster tempos. The bandmates had recorded the sophomore album quickly, wishing to return to the road as soon as possible, and the speedy turnaround between records helped maintain the group's popularity at home. Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 85,000 copies during its first day of release, and all 12 tracks entered the Top 200 of the U.K. singles charts. As <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Alex Turner</a> briefly turned his attention to a side project, <a href="spotify:artist:2Z7UcsdweVlRbAk5wH5fsf">the Last Shadow Puppets</a>, Arctic Monkeys received another Mercury Prize nomination and took home two titles at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Recording sessions for a third album commenced in early 2008 and lasted throughout the year, with producers James Ford (who previously worked with <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Turner</a> on <a href="spotify:artist:2Z7UcsdweVlRbAk5wH5fsf">the Last Shadow Puppets</a>' album) and <a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Josh Homme</a> (frontman of <a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a>) adding some newfound heft to the band's sound. Meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys released a concert album entitled At the Apollo -- with accompanying video footage captured on 35mm film -- before unveiling Humbug in August 2009. Humbug went platinum in the U.K. with the singles "Crying Lightning" peaking at number 12 and "Cornerstone" topping out at 94. The band hit the road that February, kicking off a multi-leg tour that ran through the rest of the year. After playing another handful of shows in early 2010, the guys took a short hiatus before reconvening with James Ford for their fourth album. Sessions began that fall, and the resulting Suck It and See arrived in spring 2011, topping the U.K. album chart and landing at number 14 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Turner</a> also wrote music for a Richard Ayoade film, Submarine, whose soundtrack doubled as the frontman's first solo release. In February 2012, Arctic Monkeys released a song entitled "R U Mine?" on their YouTube channel, which indicated that an album was on the way. A few months later, the band played at the London Summer Olympics opening ceremony, performing "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">the Beatles</a>' "Come Together," but it wasn't until the summer of 2013 that the group's fifth album was to be revealed. Entitled AM, the record was released in September, a few months after a triumphant headlining performance at Glastonbury 2013, which was opened with the new song "Do I Wanna Know?" Both a critical and commercial success, AM topped the British charts and reached number six on the Billboard 200. It also earned the group a Mercury Prize nomination and won British Album of the Year at the BRIT Awards. Following the end of their tour in 2014, the band entered an extended hiatus, during which time the individual members pursued solo projects. In 2016, <a href="spotify:artist:1ctkBmvz80MGyi72Ix055S">Turner</a> released his second album with <a href="spotify:artist:2Z7UcsdweVlRbAk5wH5fsf">the Last Shadow Puppets</a> and toured. Arctic Monkeys resurfaced in April 2018 with the loungey Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a softer affair than their previous albums. Along with topping the U.K. album chart and Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, the LP became the group's fourth to earn a Mercury Prize nomination. Later that year, the band issued the TBH&C B-side "Anyways" as a single. A concert album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, recorded during the Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino tour arrived in November 2020, with all proceeds going to benefit the War Child U.K. charity organization. Arctic Monkeys began their seventh album cycle by releasing the single "There’d Better Be a Mirrorball" in August 2022, delivering the full-length The Car in October. Continuing the slow, stylish vibe of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, the album was cut in a monastery on the coast of Suffolk. It hit number six on the Billboard 200, number two in the U.K., and picked up three Grammy nominations, including for Best Alternative Music Album. ~ Andrew Leahey & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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