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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Israel Daramola

Who’s Afraid Of A Scammer Anthem?

Music

25 Rap Songs For America’s 250th

How Jay-Z Changed Rap With ‘Reasonable Doubt’

Sohini Desai

Arts And Culture

Eight Years Of Rituals With Rosalía

What Does It Mean To Be A “Black Artist”?

Dave McKenna

The Girl In The White Dress, from Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Life's Rich Pageant

After 40 Years, The Guys Who Made ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ Are Almost Famous

The Passion Of The Drake: A (Mostly) Objective Review Of His Three New Albums

Books

Defector At The Movies

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

People take part in a No Stage For Genocide protest to demonstrate against Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Picture date: Saturday May 16, 2026. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

Politics

Eurovision Is Running Out Of Time

What Makes A Great American Songwriter?

Mark Asch

Charli XCX Is Firmly In Her Cinephile Era

US actor Jaafar Jackson poses for photogaphers as he arrives on the red carpet for the world premiere of the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" at the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin on April 10, 2026.

‘Michael’ Is The Most Cynical Attempt At Biopic Myth-Making Yet

All That Matters Is That It Bangs

Tom Ley

A side by side photo of Jorginho and Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan And Jorginho Are No Longer Beefing

The Best Songs Of Q1 2026

Billy Haisley

Betty Boop is awakened by city noise in her bedroom.

Brazilian Funk Continues Innovating Methods For Getting Your Shit Rocked

Revisiting Dashboard Confessional, 25 Years Later

Mychal Denzel Smith is the author of Stakes Is High, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction.

Mychal Denzel Smith

I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert

Luis Paez-Pumar

Barry Petchesky

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Mason Miller #22 of the San Diego Padres enters the game in the ninth inning during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park on March 28, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

Defector’s Resident Nu Metalheads Discuss Mason Miller’s Nu Entrance Music

Who Killed Rock And Roll?

Let’s Catch Up On The Hilarious Afroman Defamation Trial

R&B Wants To Make Pop Music Fun Again

Flatbush Local, Culture Writer, Former Mayor of New York City.

Abe Beame

Lost Recipes

What I Listened To In The Hospital

Bad Bunny Celebrated America

Max B Is New York Rap’s Best Hope

‘The Disintegration Loops’ Are Music’s Loveliest Death

Is Mainstream Rap Dead, Or Does It Need Another 2011?

Defector Staff

Early gramophone in photo on Norwegian postcard of young people listening to record on a gramophone, early thirties.

Year In Review

The Best Things We Heard In 2025

Becca Young

Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’

The Rap Music That Defined 2025

Don’t Watch ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’ Unless You Want To Cry About Your Dad

The Zohran Mamdani Mayoral Rap Playlist