Primarily a reviewer of music and films, Hal Kitchen studied at the University of Kent where they graduated with distinction in both Liberal Arts BA and Film MA, specializing in film, gender theory and cultural studies. Whilst at Kent they were the Film & TV sub-editor and later Culture Editor of the campus newspaper InQuire and began a public blog on their Letterboxd account. Hal joined 25YearsLaterSite as a volunteer writer in May 2020 and resumed their current role of assistant film editor in November 2020.
The inexorable rise of Lil Nas X will be the stuff of pop culture legend. The unlikeliest of megastars rose to fame off the unlikeliest of hits: a fluke country-trap novelty song built off a sample from a dark ambient track, “Old Town Road” built momentum like nothing else, becoming one of the biggest hits […] More
With a successful vaccine roll-out in recent months, the pandemic loosening its grip sufficiently that many parts of the world are now free enough to book tours for artists, and many of the bigger names who had kept their releases on ice are now releasing their work. In the rap arena, while Drake and Kanye […] More
Two years after his half-baked attempt at Christian rap Jesus is King, Kanye West returns with his long delayed and still contested release Donda. Named for his mother, but often not about her, Donda is the event album of the year. Hype has been built through the roof with endless listening parties, deferred release dates, changing feature lists, […] More
Halsey is an interesting figure in the landscape of pop music. She emerged out of the post-Lorde/Lana Del Rey scene of the early 2010s, becoming one of a few indie pop artists who achieved commercial success though projecting a brand of faux-edginess. Until Billie Eilish effectively cornered that market with her smash hit “Bad Guy”, […] More
It’s been almost four years since New Zealand pop sensation Lorde released her magnum opus Melodrama. A commercial disappointment but a critical darling, Melodrama was a redefining moment in her career, pushing her away from the adolescent minimalism and cynicism of her no less superb debut Pure Heroine and into baroque, intense and experimental synth pop with […] More
In the process of hyping their newest release on twitter, Deathirl proclaimed DEATH DLX to be “the new Kids See Ghosts”, teaming up with singer and producer TOTALF—KINGBLISS, along with other vocalists and producers like DJ ROZZWELL and goobwashere. Despite the brevity of the album and the implication of quality made by the comparison, there’s […] More
Fame and success have always been double edged swords for anyone who has ever achieved either, especially artists. Once their canny observations about their reality rocket them to stardom, they suddenly find their lives transformed into a glamorous monotony that’s rarely conducive to inspiration. They have all the resources in the world to create something […] More
If Montreal rapper Backxwash’s previous album God Has Nothing to Do With This, Leave Him Out of It was about feeling your pain, growing past it and learning to forgive those who disappointed you in the past, (although, refracted through an industrial hip-hop lens, that’s kind of hard to tell) then I Lie Here Buried […] More
In the broadest terms, Afro-Pessimism is a school of thought that theorises blackness as a social categorisation wherein black people are subject to an appointed societal role that is assigned to them externally. Blackness in America lacks the ability to determine itself, as it exists under constant duress from the dominant white American culture, which […] More
If asked to put a name to the most influential pop artist of the last decade, it might be tempting to direct attention to one of the era’s biggest hitmakers: Ariana Grande, Drake, The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Taylor Swift. However, I don’t think any single song had as significant an impact on the pop music […] More
New Jersey rapper Deathirl makes a bid for the experimental hip-hop pantheon with their new six track EP Fresh Flowers for Ill Fruit, a project just as great as their last, Death In Real Life, but in totally different ways. Deathirl often seems willing to allow their collaborators to dictate the style and tone of […] More
The irresistible rise of Olivia Rodrigo has been one of the great musical mysteries of recent months. This is far from the first time that a young female singer songwriter has been precipitated to pop stardom at a tender age, nor the first time that a former Disney cast member has successfully made the crossover […] More
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