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Author: Noah Springer

The Beat Box
A group photo of the Wu-Tang Clan standing in the desert, backlit by a dusky sunset.

Enter the Wu-Tang

By Noah Springer • February 24th, 2023

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and something like the 18th anniversary of Noah listening to it.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – January 2023

By Noah Springer • January 24th, 2023

A little wrap-up of potential classics Noah overlooked last year.

The Beat Box
Selection from Danger Mouse and Black Thought's Cheat Codes album. Several black-and-white photographs of mens' heads have been altered to have red and green bullseyes over their eyes.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – November 2022

By Noah Springer • November 28th, 2022

Noah shifts his focus from monsters and the hip hop of the past to focus on the here and now.

Exploits Feature
Detail from the cover of Victoria Dalpe’s Les Femmes Grotesques featuring a woman's face reproduced in triplicate, the abstract colors and shadows surrounding her giving the impression of flames.

Les Femmes Grotesques

By Noah Springer • November 10th, 2022

Victoria Dalpe’s newest collection of horror shorts offers up visions of the weird and the terrifying that will linger in your head long after you’re done reading.

The Beat Box
The triple-headed dragon/monster/alien King Ghidorah in flight.

Aliens and Monsters

By Noah Springer • October 24th, 2022

Aliens and monsters both have roots in the history of pop music, but it’s hip hop in which the two are combined most effectively, specifically in the work of Kool Keith and MF DOOM.

The Beat Box
In a still from the movie Men in Black, Will Smith's character prepares to use his memory-erasing device.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – September 2022

By Noah Springer • September 27th, 2022

1997 was a good year for hip hop and an even better one for Noah.

The Beat Box
A drawing of a man opening his face on a hinge, revealing colorful circuitry in place of flesh and bone.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – August 2022

By Noah Springer • August 30th, 2022

Well, it’s August and boy is it hot! But this column isn’t about the heat that comes from the atmosphere, just the heat that comes off these fresh drops.

The Beat Box
A pixelated demon with red eyes and gaping maw from the videogame DOOM.

The Beat Box – DOOM

By Noah Springer • July 29th, 2022

Bouncing around microchips as a micro-man or walking around a 2D dungeon, rolling hits on a gelatinous blob felt like child’s play to the splattering gore of Doom.

The Beat Box
A close-up portrait of Kendrick Lamar, a bearded man with dreadlocks.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – A Kendrick Lamar Retrospective

By Noah Springer • June 24th, 2022

Coupling Kendrick Lamar’s recent album release and Unwinnable’s tenth+ year, Noah charts the critically acclaimed rapper’s rise over the 2010s.

The Beat Box
A side-profile photograph of Denzel Curry that is blurred and pixelated as if seen on a snowy TV screen.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – May 2022

By Noah Springer • May 27th, 2022

In anticipation of Kendrick Lamar dropping his first album in five years this month, some of the top rappers in the game decided to put on a hip hop clinic.

A sepia-toned photograph of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African-American a capella group from Fisk University.

Sigurd Springer’s Music Box

By Noah Springer • April 26th, 2022

In correspondence from a temporarily quiet battlefield, Private First Class Sigurd Springer writes on the premier melodians of 1872.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – March 2022

By Noah Springer • March 25th, 2022

Things are happening! Noah brings us some fresh new records for March.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – February 2022

By Noah Springer • February 24th, 2022

After a brief hiatus, Noah returns with five new albums for a sleepy February.

Exploits Feature

The Radium Age

By Noah Springer • January 10th, 2022

Science fiction from the early 20th century is often neglected. The Radium Age series seeks to fix that.

The Beat Box
Two colorful, cartoonish portraits of two men, one wearing a Detroit Lions baseball cap and the other bald with a full beard. A serpentine dragon coils between them.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – December 2021

By Noah Springer • December 29th, 2021

Noah takes a stab at putting his fingerprints on the 2021 hip hop canon with a look at some favorite albums from the year.

The Beat Box
The bright yellow "W" logo of the Wu-Tang Clan on a dark background.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – November 2021

By Noah Springer • November 29th, 2021

They say if you play Mozart in the womb for your kid, they come out smarter. But what happens when you play them Wu-Tang on their first day of life?

The Beat Box
A man holds the hand of a young boy and points up towards the top of a tall building.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – October 2021

By Noah Springer • October 31st, 2021

Noah doesn’t review Donda.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – September 2021

By Noah Springer • September 22nd, 2021

And now for something a little different.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – August 2021

By Noah Springer • August 23rd, 2021

Noah goes mainstream!

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – July 2021

By Noah Springer • July 30th, 2021

Chill beats to do stuff and improve one’s life to.

Exploits Feature

Substack Dracula

By Noah Springer • June 30th, 2021

The horror of Dracula, right in your inbox.

The Beat Box
A greyscale image album cover for Unlocked 1.5 by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – June 2021

By Noah Springer • June 30th, 2021

Noah moved this month but he still put this together for us all. What a guy!

The Beat Box
A snippet from the album cover of cLOUDDEAD,

Noteworthy Hip Hop – May 2021

By Noah Springer • May 31st, 2021

Noah looks back 20 years ago to 2001 and all the hits.

The Beat Box
Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton speaks to a crowd.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – April 2021

By Noah Springer • May 3rd, 2021

Noah dives into more beats for April.

The Beat Box
A man with smoke coming out of his mouth, standing in front of the American flag.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – March 2021

By Noah Springer • March 22nd, 2021

You’ve got to hunt for these albums!

The Beat Box
A man with gold teeth within concentric circles.

Noteworthy Hip Hop – February 2021

By Noah Springer • March 1st, 2021

Hey you guys! Noah is doing album roundups again!

The Beat Box

RIP MF DOOM

By Noah Springer • January 29th, 2021

Just remember ALL CAPS when you spell the man name.

Noteworthy Hip Hop

Rediscovering 24-Carat Black

By Noah Springer • December 22nd, 2020

Noah talks to Zach Schonfeld about his new book on the overlooked legacy of funk and soul band 24-Carat Black.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – November 2020

By Noah Springer • November 27th, 2020

Fresh hip hop for you!

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – October 2020

By Noah Springer • October 21st, 2020

Last year, I was overwhelmed by all the quality drops over the full season, and this year, September 25 seemed to mark the beginning of the season with an amazing selection of releases I just can’t do justice.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – September 2020

By Noah Springer • September 23rd, 2020

In honor of the new old Tony Hawk game, we’ve got hip hop to grind to.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – August 2020

By Noah Springer • September 1st, 2020

“We’re still in quarantine, and I’m still listening to beats and rhymes.”

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – July 2020

By Noah Springer • August 7th, 2020

These are some revolutionary times we’re living in, so this month, Noahs dives into a few albums that match that vibe.

The Beat Box

Music for the Revolution

By Noah Springer • June 18th, 2020

Noah highlights some new hip hop albums well suited for our moment in history.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – April 2020

By Noah Springer • May 8th, 2020

Noah finds a bit of normalcy in hip hop when that quarantine paranoia begins to set in.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – March 2020

By Noah Springer • April 8th, 2020

Noah celebrates this column’s one-year anniversary with some great new albums.

Exploits Feature

Modernism and Auto-Tune

By Noah Springer • March 20th, 2020

“I see auto-tune playing the same role in hip hop in the last two decades as photography played in art in the 19th and early 20th century.”

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – February 2020

By Noah Springer • March 6th, 2020

This month’s column includes one of the more powerful albums Noah’s heard in a while.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – January 2020

By Noah Springer • February 4th, 2020

Noah checks out what the ’20s have in store.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – December 2019

By Noah Springer • January 12th, 2020

Noah says “goodbye” to 2019 by saying “hello” to a few albums he overlooked during the year.

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