Nick Park 9/14/23 Nick Park 9/14/23

Mafia, what else: ranking every Boldy James album.

A review of the Detroit rapper's impressive discography.

Joyce Zhang 8/26/23 Joyce Zhang 8/26/23

Songs for your summer road trips.

With summer vacation — and freedom from the UChicago grind — finally here, the time for road trips and warm drives is approaching. Here are ten songs to add to your summer road trip playlist!

Kristen Wallace 5/8/23 Kristen Wallace 5/8/23

The top ten trap albums of the modern era.

Now an inescapable subgenre of hip-hop, trap music originated in early 2000s Atlanta, its name derived from the prevalence of “traps” — places set up for illicit production and movement of drugs — and its lyrics full of hyper-realistic depictions of life in and around them.

Evgenia Anastasakos 2/27/23 Evgenia Anastasakos 2/27/23

Songs to help you romanticize the remaining weeks of winter.

From dream pop to folk: listen to these songs while you wait for the snow to melt.

Kristen Wallace 2/11/23 Kristen Wallace 2/11/23

Ten pop-rap crossovers that went horribly wrong.

Creatively bankrupt and hollow collaborations that leave you wanting so much more.

Firebird Magazine 2/6/23 Firebird Magazine 2/6/23

Firebird’s Top Albums of 2022: Staff Picks.

See our staff’s individual lists of their favorite albums of 2022 here!

Firebird Magazine 1/29/23 Firebird Magazine 1/29/23

Firebird’s Top 20 Albums of 2022

The top 20 albums of 2022 as voted by Firebird’s staff.

Tunmise Ogungbesan 1/27/23 Tunmise Ogungbesan 1/27/23

Songs I won’t forgive the artist for leaving off Spotify.

These songs deserve their moment in the spotlight.

Sha Frasier 7/5/22 Sha Frasier 7/5/22

New Music Highlights: January — June 2022

Some of Sha’s favorite new releases from the first half of 2022.

Gabriella Silva 5/9/22 Gabriella Silva 5/9/22

Small Acts: familiar sounds from five artists you’ve never heard of.

Tunmise Ogungbesan 5/9/22 Tunmise Ogungbesan 5/9/22

The top 10 Spotify web apps.

Katherine McDonough 1/3/22 Katherine McDonough 1/3/22

Songs for when you are an angry woman.

When you need the energy of murderous women, these songs are here for you.

Tunmise Ogungbesan 1/3/22 Tunmise Ogungbesan 1/3/22

Songs that Will Keep You Warm When Chicago Gets Cold

These songs will give you a warm, fuzzy feeling and make the windy walk to class a bit more bearable.

Firebird Magazine 1/3/22 Firebird Magazine 1/3/22

Firebird’s Best Albums of 2021

Firebird Staff’s 2021 top picks.

Gabriella Silva 1/3/22 Gabriella Silva 1/3/22

Five 2021 Releases to Get You Through the Winter

From folksy ballads to mellow synth beats, these five new releases will keep you warm on even the coldest days.

Sha Frasier 5/28/21 Sha Frasier 5/28/21

New Music Highlights: January — May 2021

Some of my favorite singles, EPs, and albums from the first half of this year. Take some of these with you this summer as we put the pandemic behind us.