Photo via Snoop Dogg’s Instagram
Welcome to the first-ever edition of “This Week in Music,” in which we take a look at some of the high-concept journalism published by VICE’s music site, Noisey, which, believe it or not, is run by adult humans who have gone through puberty. Enjoy.
Videos by VICE
—Gucci Mane is one powerful motherfucker. In a lengthy investigative piece, writer Neil Martinez-Belkin ventured down the Lemon Brick Road to get an understanding just how Gucci Mane managed to make upwards of $1.3 million in 2013—after he spent a good chunk of time in jail. Martinez-Belkin talks extensively with Gucci’s team and gets the backstory on Young Thug, one of the most talked-about rappers in the game right now. TL;DR: Thugger is being groomed by Birdman, and Gucci is still the man in control.
—And hey, speaking of Young Thug, this dude somehow only follows one person on Instagram. And because Noisey is the greatest music website in the world of all time, they decided to try to interview him. But like most interviews that involve Instagram, this one turned into a request for sex. Typical.
—Against Me! has been frustrating music bloggers for the past decade, because it’s very difficult to write a sentence in Microsoft Word without auto-correct pulling a fast one and auto-correcting to a capital letter after writing their name. Their story has also followed one of the most compelling trajectories in any music culture, with lead singer Tom Gabel announcing in 2012 that he’d chosen to live as a woman, changing his name to Laura Jane Grace. As a hardcore fan, Dan Ozzi wrote his Jaded Punk column about experiencing the band during this time, focusing on the music.
—Actor John C. Reilly is a pretty hilarious weirdo who has an amazing television show called Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule, in which he doesn’t really know how to act like a normal human so he’s put in a bunch of odd spots. But hey, because Noisey is a bunch of music nerds, and because John C. Reilly is still the same motherfucker behind “Boats ‘n’ Hoes,” those nerds decided to ask him a bunch of questions about music. Evidently, the dude loves Elton John, and he once he met the legendary artist while eating a giant piece of prime rib.
—With WrestleMania coming in just over a week’s time, it was Noisey’s journalistic duty to find a way into the latest RAW with a musician. Turns out, rapper Smoke DZA has loved pro wrestling his entire life. Unfortunately, Stone Cold Steve Austin didn’t show up and deliver 34 stunners because it’s not 1998, but Hulk Hogan managed to make an appearance because apparently it is 1988.
Read, watch, and listen to more music-related stuff from Noisey this week:
Learning to Fish with Chuck Ragan
Bret Easton Ellis on Set with Dum Dum Girls
Also, Noisey somehow got their hands on an exclusive of the new Tori Amos single. Very much on brand.
