Breaking Down Tyler, The Creator's 'Chromakopia': How Empathy ...

Tyler, The Creator is an artist who doesn’t just release albums — he has eras.

Who could forget the dreamy, lush Flower Boy with the forest-style stage set during the accompanying tour? Or the love triangle and fright wig that accompanied Igor? Or the return-to-raw-rapping feeling of Call Me If You Get Lost, with its DJ Drama ad libs?

After all the places Tyler has been in the decade and a half since his debut Bastard was released, what could possibly come next? Which musical direction will he take? How will he respond to the world now that he’s a massively successful 30-something entrepreneur, far removed from the out-to-shock-the-world teenager we first met in the heyday of Odd Future?

When Tyler announced his new album Chromakopia, and preceded it with videos where he was wearing a bizarre dual-pointed hairstyle and a blank-looking face mask, surrounded by a giant group of men marching in and out of a shipping container while hanging out on a bomber that he then blows up with explosives, all of these questions and more ran through the minds of fans. 

Finally, with the album’s release on Monday, we have some answers — or at least some clues. Read on for a recap of Chromakopia, and what his first album in three years says about Tyler, The Creator's new era.

Tyler has long been in control of his musical and aesthetic presentation. But never before has he made it such a centerpiece of his album rollout. He exclaimed, "F— features" on X, before telling social media just days before the album’s release that Chromakopia has no features. The album’s banner on his YouTube page has the Prince-like caption, "All songs written, produced, and arranged by Tyler Okonma."

The "f— features" language is, in true Tyler fashion, a troll — the album has rap verses from ScHoolboy Q, Lil Wayne, GloRilla and others. There’s a whole host of guest vocalists singing both background and, occasionally, lead parts. 

But still, the spirit of Tyler’s comment is true. This is his album from the beginning to the end — his lyrical themes and obsessions, his harmonic sensibility, his often-daring arrangement choices. Chromakopia shows his growth, his ambivalence (about which more later), and his vision.**

There are several examples of Tyler expanding his palette into full-on storytelling on Chromakopia. Most central is "Hey Jane," a song about him and an older girlfriend discussing what to do about her pregnancy. Tyler raps from both perspectives perceptively and empathetically. 

This quality comes back on "Take Your Mask Off," where he tells the stories of a number of characters who put on false fronts: the middle-class drama school kid masquerading as a gang member and facing the consequences; the homophobic priest disguising his sexuality; an exhausted rich housewife who has given up her dreams and personality in exchange for comfort. Finally, Tyler turns inward, berating himself for his selfishness while simultaneously worrying about whether his clothes will sell or audiences will rate his live show highly enough.

"And I hope you find yourself," he ends each verse. "And I hope you take your mask off."

One of the album’s biggest themes is Tyler’s ambivalence about parenthood. There’s the aforementioned "Hey Jane," of course, which ends without resolution. But other references to the decision about whether to have children are littered throughout the record. 

He berates himself on "Take Your Mask Off": "Boy, you selfish as f—, that's really why you scared of bein' a parent." "The thought of children, it brings me stress," he admits on "Tomorrow." And on the album’s closer "I Hope You Find Your Way Home," he refers back to a "Hey Jane"-esque situation: "Almost had a mini-me, I wasn’t ready."

There’s a revealing moment on "Tomorrow" that sums up his ambivalence and self-questioning. Tyler hears about a friend having a child with his partner. "They sharin' pictures of this moment, shit is really cute/ And all I got is photos of my 'Rari and some silly suits," he raps. 

Two sides of Tyler’s musical personality have long been apparent: the jazz chord-loving muso and the minimalist, Neptunes-loving aggressive rapper. Both are in fine form on Chromakopia, often in different sections of the same song. 

Even "Noid," a dark track about paranoia that features suitably a Black Sabbath-like guitar part (though more "War Pigs" than "Paranoid"), changes quickly into something more melodically and harmonically adventurous.

American R&B songwriters have complained in recent years that the genre is too stripped down and doesn’t take any risks — there’s no room for bridges or harmonic sophistication. Tyler seems to be on a mission to single-handedly bring all of that back to popular music. 

And yet his Pharrell-influenced minimalist side is there as well. "Sticky" is a capella for a solid minute before drums kick in. "Rah Tah Tah" has a beat that wouldn’t be out of place on Hell Hath No Fury. Chromakopia has plenty of all musical sides of Tyler.

As mentioned, "Noid" is about paranoia. But, perhaps inspired by real-life stories last year when he bought a new house, intense worry is seemingly everywhere on the album. It pops up on "Rah Tah Tah," where it cuts through the otherwise over-the-top boasting ("Crib so damn big, I need a diaper and a sippy cup"). "Y’all want to take what I got," he raps on "Thought I Was Dead," in a line that could either be about his status in the rap game or, perhaps, something more sinister and invasive, "But y’all do not got what it take.

Tyler’s mother has repeated interludes on Chromakopia, as she has on past projects. But there’s more than that. On "Tomorrow," Tyler talks about his mother’s aging — a thought intimately tied to his musings about fatherhood mentioned above.

Nowhere, however, is the record’s parental theme more heartbreakingly treated than on "Like Him," a piano-led ballad where Tyler puzzles over his physical resemblance to his father, who he has said he never met while growing up. 

"Mama, I’m chasing a ghost," he sings. "Do I look like him?" It’s a far cry from the vicious anger at his father he expressed a decade ago on "Answer." The Odd Future provocateur has embraced uncertainty, and listeners are the richer for it. 

Sixty years ago, a musician and composer named Johnny Pacheco joined forces with divorce attorney Jerry Masucci and founded Fania Records. What began as a fledgling project to capture the sounds of New York City and far beyond became one of the most influential labels in Latin music history.

By the late 1960s, Fania had become the Latin equivalent of Motown — an industrious factory of legends and hits, the epicenter of tropical music worldwide, and a label whose very name would become synonymous with the passion and joy that Latin American music is known for. The following decade would see definitive releases from an all-star roster, further cementing Fania's legacy.  

GRAMMY.com celebrates six decades of Fania lore with a guide to the label’s essential artists and albums. As you read, make sure to enjoy the Spotify playlist below, or listen on Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco had moved to New York with his family at age 11 — but he never forgot the bubbly Cuban dance hits that he grew up listening to. 

Masucci and Pacheco set up Fania in 1964  to release the latter's Cañonazo, a rustic LP featuring a traditional conjunto of piano and trumpets, rhythm section, and the soulful vocals of Puerto Rican singer Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez. It included a rollicking cover of "Fanía" —  a Cuban hit by Reinaldo Bolaños that gave the label its name. Its catalog number was LP325, commemorating Pacheco’s March 25 birthday. He was 29.

Fania’s beginnings were humble, but Pacheco and Masucci saw promise in the new generation of New York musicians of Cuban and Puerto Rican origin who, like Pacheco himself, were eager to add a fresh spin to the mambo and cha-cha-chá sounds of the ‘50s. They sold records out of the trunk of their cars, recorded a steady supply of new Pacheco albums, and signed promising young artists such as keyboardist Larry Harlow, bassist and trumpeter Bobby Valentín, and trombonist Willie Colón — unaware, perhaps, that their catalog included the future icons of the burgeoning salsa movement.

By 1967, the Fania sound had become edgy and explosive, assimilating the milestones of the Beatles and Motown. Their artists blended Afro-Caribbean formats of the past with a frantic mosaic of funk and psychedelia, rock and Brazilian, fusion and R&B. Pacheco’s unbridled creativity fueled a frantic schedule of non-stop recordings and concert performances. 

A sense of bonhomie nurtured the Fania roster, inspiring a constant wave of collaborations. In 1968, the label created its own mega-orchestra, the Fania All-Stars, a band where every single performer was a star. 

Throughout the ‘70s, Fania assimilated most competing labels under its banner: Alegre, Tico, Inca, Cotique, and others. Remarkably, this artistic and financial monopoly did not hinder the company’s creativity, which blossomed throughout the decade and into the ‘80s. By then, the Fania All-Stars had performed in Africa, and the label’s luminaries included Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto, Roberto Roena and Eddie Palmieri, La Sonora Ponceña and Héctor Lavoe.

Learn more: 1972 Was The Most Badass Year In Latin Music: 11 Essential Albums From Willie Colón, Celia Cruz, Juan Gabriel & Others

Perhaps because it was a melting pot of cultures and sounds, the ‘70s salsa explosion spearheaded by Fania became an international phenomenon, influencing tropical bands in South America, and eventually spreading into Europe, Africa, and Asia. Inevitably, Fania experienced  a gentle and elegant decay beginning in the mid-‘80s when the new wave of salsa romántica led the music into pop territory — taking the edge away, pasteurizing the grooves.

Fania stopped producing new music around 1998. Today, it is owned by the Concord conglomerate, which mines its past splendor by reissuing an assortment of gems on vinyl. The label’s 60th anniversary has included various concerts and listening events in New York, Miami, London and Los Angeles. The label's legacy remains indelible; its output a cornerstone of Latin music history.

Johnny Pacheco: Unlike most salsa musicians of his generation, Pacheco was a traditionalist and forever obsessed with the graceful dance tunes from the golden era of Cuban music in the '50s. He was responsible for the movement known among connoisseurs as la matancerización de la salsa, which brought the ‘70s salsa sound closer to La Sonora Matancera, the Cuban supergroup that made Celia Cruz a star. Pacheco was incredibly proud to have collaborated with Cruz on a series of stellar albums that reignited her career and established her as the salsa queen of the ‘70s. 

A sympathetic leader, Pacheco also recorded with many other great singers, from his lifelong compadre Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez and Cuban crooner Rolando Laserie, to former Matancera star Daniel Santos, Cuban flutist Fajardo, and many others. He died in 2021 at age 85. 

Read more: How Johnny Pacheco Preached The Gospel Of Salsa To The World

Celia Cruz: It may sound surreal from today’s perspective (where la reina's face is on the U.S. quarter), but Celia Cruz’s career experienced a serious slump during the ‘60s, after she left Cuba and made several albums with Tito Puente that failed to take off commercially. It was keyboardist Larry Harlow who got the ball rolling when he invited Celia to sing the track "Gracia Divina" on his salsa opera Hommy in 1971. 

After the iconic 1974 Celia & Johnny LP with Pacheco became a commercial blockbuster on the strength of anthems like "Químbara" and a cover of Afro-Peruvian standard "Toro Mata," Cruz became Fania’s leading diva. Blessed with impeccable timing, flavor y azúcar, she recorded a series of superlative albums with Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, and the Fania All-Stars.

Fania All-Stars: There has been no other band in the history of Latin music like the Fania All-Stars. Every single member — from instrumentalists like conguero Ray Barretto, bongosero Roberto Roena and bassist Bobby Valentín to singers such as Cheo Feliciano, Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades — enjoyed parallel successful careers as bandleaders and solo artists. When they came together to record albums and perform live, the spirit of playfulness and solidarity reminded them of an extended family. 

The band was incredibly prolific and well-received, even though some of its studio efforts flirted with disco music and tended to lapse into excessive soloing. By the time of its demise, its discography included 15 studio and a dozen live albums In 1974, the entire orchestra traveled to Africa for a performance in Zaire that was filmed for a not-to-be-missed documentary, Fania All Stars: Live In Africa.

Eddie Palmieri: Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, keyboard alchemist Eddie Palmieri grew up inspired by the piano chops of his older brother Charlie — a virtuoso bandleader himself. A restless creative soul, Eddie experimented wildly with dissonance and electronics, jazz fusion and funky Afro-Cuban patterns. Known for his free-form improvisations in concert, he stretched the tropical canon to its most extreme avant-garde limits, but salseros loved him because getting people on the dancefloor was his utmost priority. 

He recorded a long series of seminal LPs for the Tico imprint, which was acquired by Fania in 1974. By 1981 and the iconic, self-titled session known widely as "The White Album," Palmieri reveled in progressive salsa, with lush orchestrations and Cheo Feliciano belting out the salsified tango "El Día Que Me Quieras."

Read more: Eddie Palmieri On Pioneering Latin Jazz & His Blue Note Residency: "We're Talking About The Greatest Jazz Room In The World"

Ray Barretto: Nuyorican bandleader Barretto was a gentle giant; a rock-solid conga player who avoided solos and loved jazz and the Afro-Caribbean tradition in equal measure. In 1962, his early boogaloo track "El Watusi" became a huge hit, and 1968’s Acid was a psychedelic Latin soul classic, but Barretto’s biggest strength was the rugged barrio salsa of 1971’s The Message, with the great Adalberto Santiago on vocals.  

The ‘70s was a decade of supernatural creation, and Barretto consistently updated and reinvented the sound of his band. His releases from the era vary from the sophisticated arrangements of Indestructible — he enlisted a new lineup after most of his musicians jumped ship to found competing orchestra Típica 73 — to the experimental jazz-rock of The Other Road and the full bloom of Barretto, with a young Rubén Blades as guest sonero. He returned to Latin jazz at the tail end of his career, but his salsa albums have an intense, timeless quality to them. The conga master died in 2006, at the age of 76.

Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe:  When Fania released El Malo in 1967, trombonist and songwriter Willie Colón and his musical partner, Puerto Rican vocalist Héctor Lavoe, were perceived with distrust by some members of the old guard. It didn’t help that they portrayed themselves as streetwise gangsters on their hilarious album covers. Willie and Héctor brought salsa closer to rock’n’roll with a larger-than-life mystique and an edgy sound that brimmed with electric energy on early ‘70s hits like "Che Che Colé," "Calle Luna, Calle Sol" and the Panamanian bounce of "La Murga." 

Incredibly, their prolific output during the first half of the decade was only the beginning. Lavoe launched a meteoric solo career in 1975, with Colón initially staying on as a producer. Colón branched out into Brazilian grooves, symphonic textures and all kinds of ambitious fusions during a solo career that continues to this day. Overcome by his drug problems, Lavoe — known as el cantante de los cantantes; the singer of all singers — died in 1993. He was only 46.

Rubén Blades:  A young, sociopolitically minded tropical troubadour, Rubén Blades had released his salsa debut  in 1970 before returning to his native Panama in order to finish his degree in law. In 1974, he moved to New York and got a job at the Fania mailroom. Soon, he got many of the label’s stars interested in his compositions, while also moonlighting as the singer with Ray Barretto. 

Sponsored by Willie Colón, Blades released the luminous Metiendo Mano! in 1977 — the warmth and sincerity of his voice framed exquisitely by Colón’s trademark wall of trombones. Their next effort, 1978’s Siembra, combined salsa hymns as sweet as a ripe guava with existential lyrics that decried materialism and celebrated the future of Latin America as a land of unity and freedom. An outspoken communicator, Blades tired quickly of Fania’s then questionable accounting practices, and the relationship soured beyond repair. He continues making ambitious albums to this day — but his Fania output signaled a pinnacle of energy and inspiration.

Cheo Feliciano:  Born in Puerto Rico, Feliciano became an early salsa star as a vocalist with the Joe Cuba Sextet in New York — a band that replaced the tropical combo’s customary brass section with the silky sound of vibes. Feliciano's richly expressive, soulful baritone shone on early hits like the self-penned "El Ratón" — delighting audiences with its interpret-as-you-wish lyrical metaphors. 

Sudden success led Feliciano into a heroin addiction that he decided to escape by going cold turkey and retreating to a Puerto Rico clinic. He emerged sober, and engineered one of the most epic comebacks in the history of Latin music with the classic 1971 LP Cheo — boosted by the stellar compositions by the island’s resident genius Tite Curet Alonso. Throughout the ‘70s, Feliciano alternated between tightly woven dance gems and a weakness for embellishing sentimental baladas with delicate Afro-Caribbean arrangements. Feliciano died in a car accident in 2014. He was 78.

The music that we know as salsa is based on Cuban dance formats such as the son montuno, the guaguancó variant of traditional rumba, the mambo and cha-cha-chá — with the addition of Puerto Rican folk styles like bomba, danza and plena. But salsa acts also as an umbrella term that can incorporate other tropical genres.

Salsa: In the 1970s, Fania albums settled on a trusted format that included mostly salsa cuts, adding a couple of sumptuous boleros to the mix in order to create a welcome feeling of tension and release. It also became customary to refresh the repertoire with occasional forays into foreign styles — a Dominican merengue, a Brazilian bossa nova, even Colombian cumbias.

Boogaloo: During the late ‘60s, when the Beatles and psychedelia cast a transformative shadow on global pop, the Latin soul and boogaloo offshoots  became insanely popular with their bilingual lyrics and zesty fusion of tropical beats and R&B. Most salseros succumbed to the trend (even Puerto Rico’s venerable El Gran Combo released a number of excellent boogaloo records) in their attempt to compete with the movement’s godfathers: the Joe Cuba Sextet, Johnny Colón, and Afro-Filipino bandleader Joe Bataan. Interestingly, Eddie Palmieri’s foray into boogaloo — 1968’s swanky Champagne with Cheo Feliciano and Ismael Quintana on vocals joined by Cuban master Cachao on upright bass — is arguably the genre’s brightest moment.

Early Latin alternative/salsa sinfónica: Mirroring the apex of progressive rock in England and the U.S., the mid to late ‘70s saw Fania artists daring to record longer songs, and incorporating symphonic textures into their music. And just like the lofty ideals of prog came to a screeching halt with the punk revolution, the salsa romántica sound of the ‘80s ended the reign of the status quo. The classic sound was revived again in the ‘90s, defined as salsa dura ("hard salsa") to distinguish it from the pop-friendly salsa romántica. 

**For a comprehensive overview spanning the entire career of the man who started it all — Johnny Pacheco — try the 2006 anthology El Maestro. A double-disc compiled with the guidance of Pacheco himself, it begins with the wide-eyed joy of his pre-Fania recordings and traces his evolution from traditional Cuban charanga (flute and violins) to the rootsy trumpet-heavy conjunto. It also highlights his collaborations with Celia Cruz, Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez and other singing stars.**

And then there were two. Phil Lesh, co-founder and innovative bassist for the Grateful Dead, passed away peacefully on Oct. 25 at his California home surrounded by family. He was 84.

With Lesh’s death, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann are the only remaining original members of the psychedelic rock band that formed in Palo Alto in 1965. Earlier this week, it was announced that the Grateful Dead had been named the 2025 MusiCares Persons Of The Year. 

Lesh’s death was announced late in the day on Friday on his official Instagram. Margo Price, one of the first to comment on the news, simply said, "Thanks for the music." Just this past March, Lesh was joined on stage at The Capitol Theatre by friends and fellow artists to celebrate his 84th birthday. On Friday night on X, the New York venue said they already missed the musician "more than words can tell."

"The Recording Academy mourns the loss of Phil Lesh," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, jr said in a statement."For their outstanding contributions to the recording industry, he and his fellow Grateful Dead members were honored in 2007 with our Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. Phil’s legacy is timeless and will live on for generations to come and we look forward to honoring him and the Grateful Dead at our MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony in January."

Phil Lesh left a lifetime's worth of music to be grateful for. The musician was born in Berkeley, California on March 15, 1940. He played trumpet and violin in high school and, during these formative years, fell in love with free jazz and experimental music. This penchant for improvisation that became his trademark for three decades as a member of the Grateful Dead — a  band of musical brothers that left a lasting legacy on the world. 

Lesh became a bassist by default. He was working a variety of jobs, including driving a mail truck and working at a radio station, when Jerry Garcia convinced him to join the new rock band he was forming (the Warlocks), who quickly morphed into the Grateful Dead.   

The Dead defined an era. The band represented a subculture that influenced the mainstream for decades from lifestyle to fashion; from music to marketing. And Lesh, as a co-founder of these musical misfits, was a key cog in this long and strange trip.  

"Phil Lesh changed my life," Dead drummer Mickey Hart wrote on X. "Phil was bigger than life, at the very center of the band and my ears, filling my brain with waves of bass…. Phil was a master of a style he invented, he was singular, an original, nobody sounded like him, nobody."

Read more: A Beginner’s Guide To The Grateful Dead: 5 Ways To Get Into The Legendary Jam Band

The bass does not often get the glory, but it is the backbone of many groups; it provides that steady beat and rhythm that guides the rest of the band. Sometimes, the bass lines are simple; other times complex. Lesh's dexterity with the instrument allowed him to wield it as an inspirational source and force — especially live — as a conduit to take the Grateful Dead and their fans to new realms. 

Lesh played bass like it was the lead instrument of the band. Listen to the Grateful Dead’s vast catalog and the groove of his funky bass notes and improvisations often trump Garcia’s lead guitar playing. Rolling Stone cited Lesh as one of the "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time," noting that that "In the same way that the Grateful Dead reconfigured how a rock band should sound — looser and jammier, incorporating equal parts jazz and country — Phil Lesh made us hear the bass in a new way."  

The Grateful Dead were innovators. No two shows were ever the same. The spirit of each night was unique and that spirit was fuelled by the band members (and just as often by the various drugs that they were under the influence of) and where they went on these spacey jams and explorations, Lesh was often the guide.  

In 1994, Lesh and his jamband mates were enshrined into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame when Bruce Hornsby officially inducted the Grateful Dead. In his acceptance speech, Lesh thanked Deadheads worldwide, acknowledging that "without them, we wouldn’t be anywhere, much less right here, right now."   

After Garcia passed away in 1995, Lesh and Weir both continued to play and perform, together and separately, but never again under the Grateful Dead moniker. Lesh founded Phil Lesh & Friends and, in later years, played often with his sons: Grahame and Brian; Weir fronted Dead and Company, who this past summer completed a 30-day residency dubbed Dead Forever in Las Vegas at the Sphere.

On X, as news of the musician’s passing spread, tributes poured in from celebrities, fellow musicians, legendary venues, and regular Deadheads. The Empire State Building even announced it would light up the New York City skyline for one hour on Friday night in homage to Lesh’ legacy.

Beyond its longtime care for its community of loyal fans (Deadheads), the band supported many causes over the years — from mental health to music education and social justice. In 1997, Lesh and his wife Jill founded the Unbroken Chain Foundation to raise money and give back to various charitable organizations. 

MusiCares also mourned the loss of Lesh. "As a legendary bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, Phil’s distinctive contributions to music, advocacy, and philanthropy leave an enduring impact," the organization said in a statement. "Phil will be reverently honored with his Grateful Dead bandmates as our 2025 Persons of the Year, commemorating their journey that transcends music and fosters a profound sense of unity and generosity. This tribute stands as a testament to Phil’s remarkable legacy, commitment to creating community, and unwavering dedication to causes close to his heart, including his Unbroken Chain Foundation and MusiCares."

Phil Lesh leaves behind his wife Jill and children, Grahame and Brian. 

In memory of Phil Lesh, press play on five songs that feature bass lines that groove, melodies that linger long after the record is done, and showcase his musical legacy and influence.

Lesh co-wrote this complex melodic song, which is also the name of his charitable foundation, with longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Appearing on 1974’s From the Mars Hotel, the band never performed the song in concert until 1995, likely due to its difficulty. 

The phrase symbolizes (just like the classic 1907 gospel hymn "Will the Circle be Unbroken" the journey of the band and the fans that have followed them on their trips for nearly 60 years. Though yet one more member of the Grateful Dead is now gone, the songs remain to help family, friends and Deadheads grieve to make sure the links to their music never breaks or fades away.  

It's the final New Music Friday before Halloween, and this Friday (Oct. 25), there are tricks and treats for every kind of music fan.

As she's been promising for months, Lady Gaga kicked off the roll-out for LG7 with the as-yet-untitled album's sinister lead single. And while the pop star can no longer claim it's "STILL NOT OCTOBER," the pounding track doesn't give Little Monsters any more insight into those cryptic posts on their queen's social media feed.

Elsewhere, Green Day celebrates a major anniversary for one of the band's most beloved albums, Jin makes his return with an upbeat single, G Herbo drops the deluxe version of his latest full-length, and Addison Rae ascends to higher pop girl status by paying reverence to Madonna. 

Below, press play on nine new releases to round out your spooky season playlists.

Lady Gaga launches her hotly anticipated LG7 era with "Disease," a glitchy, industrial lead single that's sure to serve as a cure-all for many a Little Monster's pop music maladies.

Casting aside the Great American Songbook she sang circles through on the recently released Harlequin, Gaga opts to return to a darker, more techno-infused aesthetic on the track, which sounds like a spiritual descendent of Born This Way-era deep cuts like "Government Hooker" and "ScheiBe" with shades of "Alejandro" thrown in for good measure.

"Poison on the inside/ I could be your antidote tonight," the superstar promises on the throbbing pre-chorus before snarling, "I could play the doctor, I can cure your disease/ If you were a sinner, I could make you believe/ Lay you down like 1, 2, 3/ Eyes roll back in ecstasy/ I can smell your sickness, I can cure ya/ Cure your disease." Consider us infected, Mother Monster.

It's been an exciting month for the BTS ARMY! Just eight days after j-hope completed his military service, Jin — who was the first BTS member to be discharged earlier this year — unveiled a brand new single, "I'll Be There."

The rockabilly-inspired, high-energy song is a preview track from Jin's forthcoming debut solo album, Happy, which arrives Nov. 15. As Jin's first solo music since 2022's "The Astronaut," the guitar-charged "I'll Be There" hints that his album may feature more rock influence than his previous solo releases.

As Jin switches from Korean to English across the song, he makes fans a sweet promise in the chorus: "I will be there forever (Forever)/ I don't change/ I'll be there for you/ There for you, oh-oh-oh/ I'll tell you with this song/ I swear that I will always sing for you."

Two decades after brashly declaring, "Don't wanna be an American idiot!," Green Day are celebrating their politically-charged pièce de résistance with a 20th anniversary re-release.

The band's punk rock opera spawned four hit singles, a Broadway musical, its own rock documentary (2015's Heart Like a Hand Grenade) and a tidal wave of pearl-clutching from the pre-MAGA conservatives of the early 2000s — not to mention GRAMMY wins for Best Rock Album and Record Of The Year. The album's latest, well-deserved victory lap includes a treasure trove of bonus material for fans, including 15 unreleased demos, nine previously unreleased live recordings, and an entire 2004 concert recorded at New York City's Irving Plaza.

The four-disc 20th anniversary edition of American Idiot also arrives in a wide array of physical formats for collectors, from a Super Deluxe Box Set that include a brand-new 110-minute documentary titled 20 Years of American Idiot and new liner notes penned by producer Rob Cavallo and journalist David Fricke to vinyl and CD Box Sets each with their own unique merch.

Read More: 10 Reasons Why 'American Idiot' Is Green Day's Masterpiece

Just seven weeks after dropping the standard edition, G Herbo re-ups on his sixth studio album with Big Swerv 2.0.

The rapper's follow-up to 2022's broad double LP Survivor's Remorse gets front-loaded with seven new bonus tracks including "YN," "Dark Knight," "Clap" and "Nothin." Meanwhile, collaborations with Chris Brown (the melodic, sexual "Play Your Part"), Meek Mill (the heartfelt "Ball") and Lil Durk (emotional highlight "In The Air") add to the star-studded list of guest features on the LP, which already included the likes of 21 Savage, Sexyy Red, Chief Keef, and others.

After three albums of shimmering, intimate indie pop with MUNA, frontwoman Katie Gavin strikes boldly out on her own with the release of her debut solo album What a Relief.

Pre-release singles "Aftertaste," "Casual Drug Use" and "Inconsolable" each made clear that the queer icon in the making would be spreading her wings on the LP, but she continually mines both new sonic terrain (the fiddle-riddled "The Baton," the sour '90s-alt of "Sanitized") and undiscovered layers of lyrical vulnerability (heartrending love song "Sweet Abby Girl") throughout its 12 tracks.

Gavin recruits Mitski, meanwhile, for the album's emotional cornerstone, which makes a lifetime of quiet domesticity and resolute partnership sound "As Good As It Gets."

No story is taken solo on Bastille's new full-length, "&" (Ampersand). Yes, every song on the English pop band's fifth studio effort contains the connective punctuation mark of its title, from opening salvo "Intros & Narrators" to inventively titled album cuts like "Drawbridge & The Baroness" and "Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze."

Frontman Dan Smith gives insight into the album's storybook-like approach in the swirling opener, singing, "Maybe, to me, other stories are more interesting/ Maybe, to me, they're a mirror back on everything." By the end of "Intros & Narrators," however, he warns, "Never lay your trust in the narrator," so it's up for each listener to come to conclusions about the meaning of the 13 musical fables he and the band then lay out about Eve, Marie Curie, Oscar Wilde, the Greek myth of Narcissus, legendary 19th century Chinese pirate Zheng Yi Sao and more.

Fresh off her viral appearance at the Madison Square Garden stop of the Sweat Tour alongside Troye Sivan, Charli XCX and Lorde, Addison Rae continues to step into her power as a rising pop star with new single "Aquamarine." 

"The world is my oyster/ Baby, come touch the pearl," she nonchalantly declares at the outset over the track's gauzy, glittering production. (And is it just us, or is that a clever reference to Madonna's "Ray of Light" in the second verse?) 

The song's chic music video, meanwhile, begins as a party girl's tour de Paris — complete with an avant-garde masquerade, Louboutins walking dimly lit streets and spritzes of Chanel No. 5 — before morphing into a transfixing, lyrical dance break with the kind of vogueing that would make Her Madgesty proud.

BØRNS might just be falling to pieces. Or at least that's what the indie rocker thinks on his single "Letting Myself Go."

The simplistic visual for the track opens with a home video of the artist born Garrett Borns as a toddler, adorably demanding, "Stop singing, I want everybody to hear what I'm singing!" From there, the grown-up BØRNS' inner monologue takes center stage as he wonders aloud, "Do I have to burn the pages/ Written in my heart?/ I'm done running through the mazes/ Tell me how to break the cages/ Now I know/ And I can't wait another second/ I think it's time I let myself go."

Red Hot Organization teases its forthcoming concept album TRANƧA with a five-track EP, TRANSA: Selects. The project features Sade's first release in six years, which marks perhaps one of the most personal songs of her career: "Young Lion," a stirring and hopeful ballad dedicated to the four-time GRAMMY winner's son Izaak, who came out publicly as trans in 2016.

"Young man/ It's been so heavy for you/ You must've felt so alone/ The anguish and pain, I should've known," Sade sings over downcast orchestration, pleading with her son for forgiveness for not intuiting his struggle before telling him, "You shine like a sun." (For his part, Izaak effusively thanked his famous mom for supporting his transition back in 2019.)

TRANSA: Selects also includes previously releases collaborations between Sam Smith and Beverly Glenn-Copeland ("Ever New") and Lauren Auder and Wendy & Lisa ("I Would Die 4 U") as well as a 26-minute experimental opus in allyship by André 3000 titled "Something Is Happening And I May Not Fully Understand But I'm Happy To Stand For The Understanding."

The full TRANƧA compilation will arrive Nov. 22, and, according to a press release, "highlights the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working in culture today, and celebrates the beauty of trans life."

Dolly Parton, an iconic figure in music, a renowned global philanthropist, and 10-time GRAMMY winner, has been named the 2024 recipient of the PEACE Through Music Award. The Recording Academy and the U.S. Department of State recognized Parton for her invaluable contributions to cross-cultural understanding and her work in promoting peace through music. The award celebrates artists and music professionals whose efforts transcend borders and foster global unity.

Parton will be celebrated at the GRAMMY Museum tonight in Los Angeles, where she will be honored during a special event, which is hosted by the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department and generously supported by Coke Studio and the Wasserman Foundation. The event also marks the culmination of the first-ever American Music Mentorship Program, which took place in Los Angeles from Oct. 15 - Oct. 25. Watch Parton’s award acceptance video below.

Throughout her storied career, Parton has embodied the principles of peace, unity and inclusion — values central to the PEACE Through Music Award. From her influential music to her philanthropic work, including her globally recognized Imagination Library and support for public health initiatives, Parton’s legacy extends far beyond the stage. Her advocacy for the COVID-19 vaccine reached millions around the world, further cementing her status as a force for good.

"Over the course of her career, Dolly Parton has been committed to enriching communities across the globe, and it’s a privilege to celebrate her dedication to service with the PEACE Through Music Award today," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in a statement. "We are grateful to partner with the Department of State on the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, which represents an important part of the Academy’s work to support music people across the globe."

"Dolly Parton represents the best of America – her excellence in music, her servant's heart in giving back to those in need, and her unique ability to always bring people together," Lee Satterfield, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, said in a statement. "On behalf of the American people and Secretary of State Blinken, we are honored to celebrate all of her contributions to people around the world with the PEACE Through Music Award in partnership with the Recording Academy."

Reflecting on the honor, Parton said in a statement: "To say that I was honored to accept the PEACE Through Music Award from the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department would be putting it mildly. I was very touched and moved by that. If I have been an inspiration in any way through some act of kindness or through some music that I have written, well, that makes me feel like I have done my job properly. Thanks again for such a great honor."

The PEACE Through Music Award is determined by a nomination process involving U.S. foreign service officers and a commission jointly led by the State Department and the Recording Academy. The commission is represented by Recording Academy members, U.S. Department of State leadership, music industry professionals, and academia, who provide recommendations to the CEO of the Recording Academy and the Secretary of State. The final selection is made by the Recording Academy’s CEO and the U.S. Secretary of State.

The PEACE Through Music Award is part of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, which was launched in 2023 as a collaborative effort between the Recording Academy and the State Department. The initiative aims to use music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace, economic equity, creative economies, and societal opportunity worldwide. The initiative stems from the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act, passed into law in December 2022 following advocacy by the Recording Academy.

Learn more about the Recording Academy's work to support global creators.

Learn more about the Department of State's music diplomacy efforts.