John Norris

New York

Freelance Contributing Writer at Hearst

Retrophobe. Writes @ GQ; Billboard; Stereogum; DailyBeast; Esquire; PAPER Ex: MTV News; Fuse; VICE Soc francophile. NYer 4ever. The world only spins forward.

Articles

EKKSTACY Gets Candid About Substance Abuse, His New Relationship & Going for a ‘Full Band’ Sound on ‘FOREVER’ Album

3 weeks ago | billboard.com | John Norris

“Forever,” Prince famously declared in the pastor-like open to his carpe diem chart-topper “Let’s Go Crazy” – “that’s a mighty long time.” “Live now,” the Purple One urged us in song, “before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news FOREVER is also the name of the fourth project and third studio album from EKKSTACY, the Canadian alt/indie musician who knows a little something about getting crazy and living like...
EKKSTACY Gets Candid About Substance Abuse, His New Relationship & Going for a ‘Full Band’ Sound on ‘FOREVER’ Album

3 weeks ago | flipboard.com | John Norris

1 hour ago Smokey Robinson is under criminal investigation after housekeepers accuse him of sexual assault An attorney for the 85-year-old Motown singer Robinson has denied the allegations and said he is “confident that a determination will be made that Mr. Robinson did nothing wrong." Iconic soul singer Smokey Robinson, who was accused of sexually assaulting four former housekeepers for years in a … 11 hours ago George Clooney Flips Fox News Ambush Into Viral Mockery The movie star had a...
Eem Triplin Is In A Lane Of His Own

2 months ago | stereogum.com | John Norris

Eem Triplin is Gen Z. And he’s a rapper. But he’s not a “Gen Z rapper.”The distinction? That mostly what “Gen Z rapper” connotes nowadays is the post-Carti cohort: ragers whose sound and vibes have as much to do with punk, grunge, mosh pits, and buried vocals as anything more traditionally rap.
Muni Talks: Singer-Songwriter Muni Long’s Star, Now in its Third Act, is Still Rising | Honda Stage

2 months ago | billboard.com | John Norris

Billboard Women in Music 2025 Being an overnight, out-of-nowhere, breakout teenage star is all well and good, often impressive, and sometimes a story that is frustratingly fleeting. But paying your dues, honing your craft, taking your natural gifts as a singer and songwriter to new heights and finding your greatest success two decades into a career?
The Grammys' Rap And Rock Categories Are Stuck In The Past

Jan 30, 2025 | stereogum.com | John Norris

If you’ve read a take on the upcoming 67th Grammy Awards, happening this weekend, it may have been something about what a great year it’s been “for women.” And while for me that has a whiff of knuckleheaded condescension about it – every year is a “great year for women” if you’re paying attention – it’s true that it’s been a huge belated breakthrough year for three brash women in pop.
New Jersey Band On New EP 'Come Back Down'

Jan 24, 2025 | stereogum.com | John Norris

While not as flogged into near-meaninglessness as those ubiquitous descriptors “punk” and “psychedelic,” “shoegaze” is nevertheless hella overused. While it still evokes something broadly knowable in most minds, it’s spawned multiple subgenres: “dreamgaze,” “Nu gaze,” “hazegaze.” I still own an old “Genre” T-shirt by Hipster Runoff’s king of the droll, Carles, that includes the absurd “no gaze” and “crab_gaze.”For their part, New Jersey’s High.
NLE Choppa Is More Than Meets the Eye

Jan 13, 2025 | playgirl.com | John Norris

It started with a selfie. Bryson Potts—known to the world as platinum-selling Memphis rapper NLE Choppa—was taking a mirror snap of himself that he was especially impressed with. “And the line just came to me: ‘If I was a bad bitch, I’d wanna fuck me too!’” he says.
Armed With His Best Album Yet, Rich Amiri Is 'War Ready'

Dec 5, 2024 | stereogum.com | John Norris

Honestly, who isn’t war ready, at this point? Or maybe you’re war weary. All things considered, with recent events and the State Of Things, I don’t blame anyone for being on the verge of either strapping up or checking out. But in the case of Rich Amiri, the 20-year-old rapper with the deep and distinctive flow, the timely title of his upcoming fourth album War Ready, out this Friday, is more personal than socio-political.
Private: Putting the BigX in Xanadu: Texas’ BigXthaPlug Takes Brooklyn at Billboard’s Hip-Hop Live

Sep 10, 2024 | yahoo.com | John Norris

The most eye-popping, brightly-colored space to open this summer in Bushwick, Brooklyn has been Xanadu – “Xanadu Roller Arts” as it’s officially named. The 1,200-capacity roller skating rink, nightclub and music venue sports a large, round floor bathed in purple, pink and orange lights with multiple disco balls overhead.
Fontaines D.C. on How The Cure, ‘Akira’ & ‘Being In a Better Place’ Inspired Its Glorious New Album ‘Romance’

Aug 20, 2024 | billboard.com | John Norris

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but “here’s the thing” has become an overused thing. The old expression is suddenly the go-to for anyone from influencers to politicians to news correspondents trying to make a point. “Here’s the thing,” like “at the end of the day” or “wait, whaaat? before it, has become a hackneyed verbal tic. But here’s the thing: “Here’s The Thing” also happens to be the title of a strong contender for Greatest Song of 2024.