Image via Complex Original
Every day, as we here at Complex comb through emails, SoundClouds, and tweets to bring you the latest music news and sharpest music criticism, we're often distracted by writing so excellent and impressive that we nag everyone else we know to hurry up and read it, too. All day we stay arguing about rap and thinkpieces until, inevitably, Christine shakes her fist and yells at us to mind our deadlines.
Since this year's biggest movers and shakers in hip-hop were, for the most part, young and unsigned, much of our favorite music reporting of 2014 comes from all corners of the Internet, from Nahright and Africa Is a Country, to Fader and the New York Times. From Migos' rise and D'Angelo's resurgence, to Spotify's falling out with Taylor Swift, we've rounded up our favorite essays, profiles, and reporting of the past year—including our own writing, of course. Complex presents the Best Music Writing of 2014.
Edwin Ortiz, Editorial Assistant
Why Lorde, Iggy Azalea, & Grimes Are Wrong About Criticism and Journalism
by Insanul Ahmed, Complex
April 27, 2014
Your Favorite Indie Rapper Is Secretly Signed to a Major Label
by Nathan Slavik, DJ Booth
Oct. 30, 2014
Who Will Survive When Migos Meets Big Data?
by Leon Neyfakh, Fader
Nov. 4, 2014
Justin Charity, Staff Writer
The State of African Hip-Hop in 2014
by Ts'eliso Monaheng, Africa Is a Country
June 10, 2014
The Rise and Fall of Vincent Winfield
by Brendan O'Connor, The Awl
June 19, 2014
A Chat With Dionne Osborne, the Vocal Coach Who Changed Drake's Style
by JiaTolentino, Jezebel
Nov. 17, 2014
Angel Diaz, Staff Writer
Revisiting ‘Ready to Die’: Biggie’s Brooklyn, Then and Now
by Judnikki, Wondering Sound
Sept. 13, 2014
A Conversation With Wendy Day (Parts 1 & 2)
by Jimmy Ness, Nahright
Nov. 20, 2014
Shut'em Down: Reflections on Ferguson and Gil Scott-Heron
by Michael A. Gonzalez, Soulhead
Dec. 2, 2014
Insanul Ahmed, Associate Editor
50 Cent Is My Life Coach
by Zach Baron, GQ
May 27, 2014
by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic
Nov 17, 2014
by John Seabrook, New Yorker
Nov. 24, 2014
khal, Editor, Do Androids Dance
Being Angry and Black on the Childish Gambino Tour
by Famuel Rothstein, Pigeons & Planes
May 19, 2014
From the Streets of Compton to Tom Brady and Gisele’s Old House
by Byron Crawford, Medium
Sept. 29, 2014
Real People: Chic in the ’80s
by Michaelangelo Matos, Red Bull Music Academy
Oct. 28, 2014
Lauren Nostro, News Editor
How Young Thug Got Trapped by a $15,000 Advance From a Major Label
by Naomi Zeichner, Buzzfeed
March 27, 2014
These Hoes Ain't Heard: On the Women Who Remixed "Loyal"
Emma Carmichael, The Hairpin
June 4, 2014
Review: Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint
by Meaghan Garvey, Pitchfork
Dec. 16, 2014
Ross Scarano, Deputy Editor
Andre 3000 Is Moving on in Film, Music, and Life
by Jon Caramanica, The New York Times
Aug. 27, 2014
Looped In
By Sasha Frere-Jones, The New Yorker
Nov. 10, 2014
by Molly Lambert, Grantland
Nov. 25, 2014
Christine Werthman, Managing Editor
Hunting for the Source of the World’s Most Beguiling Folk Music
by Amanda Petrusich, The New York Times
Sept. 24, 2014
by Justin Charity, Complex
Dec. 12, 2014
Return of the King: Unraveling the Myth of D'Angelo
by kris ex, Complex
Dec. 17, 2014
Damien Scott, Senior Editor
by Leon Neyfakh, The New Yorker
Mar. 6, 2014
I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble With Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Chart
by Chris Molanphy, Pitchfork
Apr. 14, 2014
Outkast, Contextually
by Jason Parham, Gawker
Oct. 1, 2014
