Rolling Stone February 2019

“I’m a punk. It’s questioning the system because you want to make it better.”—JACK DORSEY IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE that just two years ago, Jordan Peele was best known as one half of the Comedy Central duo Key and Peele — a sketch artist who did a masterful range of characters, from a low-energy Latino gang boss, a nightmare girlfriend and a Game of Thrones-obsessed parking valet to a spot-on President Obama. Then came Get Out, in 2017, the self-described “social thriller” Peele wrote and directed about a black man who comes to realize that his white girlfriend and her family are part of an evil body-snatching unit, and he’s their next victim. Get Out came out of nowhere — it cost $4.5 million to make and grossed $255 million. Like Quentin…

“This interview is so sick(o). The sweetest part is hearing Travis Scott’s autistic brother is also the inspiration for the rapper to bring kids up onstage.”—Carly L., via the internet Travis Scott Flies High When Travis Scott appeared on our January cover, he opened up to contributing editor Jonah Weiner about his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner; his family ties to Houston; Kanye West; and much more [“The Supersonic, Superstoned Adventures of Travis Scott,” RS 1323]. Scott’s admission that Jenner is “the one” and that he wants to propose to her in a “fire way” allegedly brought the young mogul to tears when she read the article, according to a source close to her family. Other readers were also moved by the profile. One reader, Art V., tweeted, “I remember discovering his Blogspot in…

TWO YEARS AGO, Khalid Robinson was an unknown 18-year-old in El Paso, Texas. Today, he’s a pop phenomenon, thanks to his excellent 2017 debut, American Teen, a snapshot of adolescent heartache and longing that recently went double-platinum. The past two years have included five Grammy nominations, encounters with heroes like Alicia Keys (“She said that she loved my mind”) and the heartbreaking death of a beloved dog, Roxy. Through it all, music kept pouring out of him — an EP, several high-profile guest spots, a track with Elton John, and now, a new full-length due early this year. “I’ve written these songs all over the world — in hotel rooms, tour buses, backstage,” he says. The not-yet-titled album will likely take after Khalid’s 2018 EP, Suncity, mixing pop, soul and…

MATT SHULTZ could make it through only one take. The lead singer of the Kentucky rock band Cage the Elephant was recently in the studio recording “Goodbye,” a John Lennon-inspired ballad Shultz wrote for his wife as their seven-year relationship was ending. Shultz delivered it lying on the studio floor. Afterward, he walked out and canceled the next two weeks of work. “There were times like that,” says his brother, guitarist Brad Shultz. “We’d think he was getting back to normal, then he would melt down.” Admits Matt, “There was a fair amount of self-medication . . . and intense isolation.” Those erratic sessions produced Social Cues (out April 19th), which adds new depth to the band’s sound — hear “Ready to Let Go,” about a trip to Pompei, where Matt and…

KEITH RICHARDS IS still processing his hand-painted Les Paul’s latest gig. “The fact that it’s going to be in the Met,” he says, “Jesus Christ!” The guitar, which Richards decorated with colorful acrylics during the Beggars Banquet sessions in 1968, is featured in Play It Loud, a collaboration between New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though the Met and the Hall of Fame previously collaborated in 1999 on an exhibit about rock fashion, this is the first major museum show to focus solely on rock & roll instruments. “There are beautiful objects here that are, no question, art,” says Met curator Jayson Kerr Dobney. “Musical instruments are the objects that are the most intimately connected to the artists, and an art museum…

1. Lizzo “Juice” Is it just us, or does Lizzo keep getting cooler? The Minneapolis supernova follows up her fantastic run of 2018 confidence-boosters (“Fitness,” “Boys”) with the sweetest groove of all. “I’m like chardonnay, get better over time,” she chuckles. Cheers to that! 2. Nilüfer Yanya “In Your Head” This London singer won us over with the sly minimalism of her 2017 single “Baby Luv.” The first taste of her forthcoming full-length debut, Miss Universe, ups the ante with bigger guitars and a chorus that sticks like glitter-spangled glue. 3. Panda Bear “Token” Holy echo pedal! Animal Collective’s sunshine superman sends one of his nicest-ever melodies cruising into space on this choice tune from his new LP, Buoys. Set your headphones to “wow.” 4. Our Native Daughters “Quasheba, Quasheba” A visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History…