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Craig Jenkins

Music Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@CraigSJ
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Craig Jenkins is a critic who writes about music and television and comedy and video games. He was a 2021 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism.

  1. a long talk
    Danger Mouse Has the Cheat CodesExploring 20 years of hits, surprises, and DOOM stories with the elusive producer.
  2. review
    Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic Is Pretty, Affecting, and a Little Too SmoothThe new album and Netflix project hit their marks but will make you pine for something stranger.
  3. a long talk
    Life, Death, and Titus AndronicusFrontman Patrick Stickles used his band’s new album to process loss. Now he just needs to get their van fixed.
  4. album review
    It’s Cam’ron’s HarlemU Wasn’t There, his new album with A-Trak, feels like an uptown therapy session.
  5. album review
    Ari Lennox Knows Exactly What She WantsOn a/s/l, you can try your luck with the singer, but you might get your feelings hurt.
  6. a long talk
    Genuinely John DarnielleThe Mountain Goats’ frontman on keeping the faith, loving the occult, and sad songwriting.
  7. album review
    Megan Thee Stallion Takes Control of Her News CycleTraumazine is a reminder there’s a human on the other side of the headlines.
  8. a long talk
    TDE President Punch: ‘I Understand the Backlash’But he’d still like to correct the record on long-awaited albums from SZA, ScHoolboy Q, and Jay Rock.
  9. album review
    Beyoncé’s Sequined RevolutionRenaissance, a love letter to Black queer innovators, comes at a precarious moment in history.
  10. superlatives
    Usher on His Most Enduring and Misunderstood Music“It’s a sore spot for me. I ain’t even lying.”
  11. album review
    Lizzo Is Hedging Her BetsSpecial seems invested in uplifting everyone in earshot but anxious to secure its slice of the pop radio market share.
  12. a long talk
    ‘Geminis Create Change’Steve Lacy used to be afraid of rock stardom. His new album helped fix that.
  13. urgent reconsideration
    Atlanta Season Three Was a Bad TripAfter a four-year break, Donald Glover’s FX series returned unsure of what it wanted to say. Four Vulture writers and critics try to make sense of it.
  14. album review
    Drake Is Still on VacationHonestly, Nevermind is frictionless — a geographical shift ushered in as comfortingly as possible.
  15. primers
    Rock and Roll Starts With Sister Rosetta TharpeA new Elvis biopic attempts to show her legacy. Here’s just a fraction of it.
  16. album review
    Post Malone Is Going Through ChangesTwelve Carat Toothache dreams of a future where Post Malone can discuss what’s on his mind instead of what may be coursing through his bloodstream.
  17. album review
    Wilco Attempts to Let GoImmediacy is the point with Cruel Country, but a bit of polish might have smoothed the rougher edges.
  18. album review
    Harry Styles, Work in ProgressStyles is still figuring out where his art needs to go — and how much to tell us about the life he leads outside it.
  19. a long talk
    The Humble HitmakerThe Neptunes’ Chad Hugo helped define a new era of music. Don’t expect it to go to his head.
  20. album review
    How Does That Make You Feel, Kendrick?Whatever your problem, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers wants you to talk it through.
  21. album review
    The Smile’s A Light For Attracting Attention Peers Into an Ugly FutureThe Radiohead side project lingers in the space between roiling rage and burnout.
  22. album review
    Arcade Fire’s WE Is a Smart ResetThe new album feels like a calculated retrenchment, a heaping pile of everything you want from Arcade Fire.
  23. album review
    The Improbable Return of Black StarIt’s been 24 years since Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli released an album together. Was it worth the wait?
  24. album review
    The Astounding Consistency of FutureLike a Gulfstream or a Cartier, a new Future album offers careful variation on a winning concept.
  25. superlatives
    Pusha T on His Best, Realest, and Most Influential Work“I am trying to be the Martin Scorsese of street rap.”
  26. exit review
    Black-ish Was No Televised RevolutionThe show always aimed for the third rail, but it played it safe more often than not.
  27. stand-up
    Bill Maher’s Alternate RealityThe comedian’s older material was informed by grounded self-awareness. Not so much in #Adulting.
  28. album review
    Vince Staples Is Showing America What It Refuses to SeeDeath is the only certainty on Ramona Park Broke My Heart.
  29. remembrance
    Taylor Hawkins Saw It AllThe longtime Foo Fighters member was far more than just a drummer.
  30. album review
    The Complicated Evolution of RosalíaRosalía does not have to change the world. But if she was trying to, she’s missed a few spots.
  31. album review
    Lil Durk Is Trying to Build Something NewDurk’s 7220 ponders the emotional fallout of a year of big achievements and crushing lows.
  32. album review
    Kanye Is Running on EmptyAnger is the root of Donda 2, but the record doesn’t try to frame the experience in a manner that makes it accessible to non-billionaires.
  33. review
    The Kanye You Thought You KnewJeen-Yuhs is the quintessential visual document of Ye’s career. It’s also an unnervingly neat read.
  34. remembrances
    Betty Davis Freaked ItThe Queen of Funk was eternally misunderstood in her boundary-breaking.
  35. review
    The Twin Ballads of Earl Sweatshirt and SabaBoth SICK! and Few Good Things catch their respective artists at unnerving crossroads.
  36. q&a
    Chillin Island Is a State of MindThe rap whisperers — Ashok “Dapwell” Kondabolu, Alec “Despot” Reinstein, and Aleksey “Lakutis” Weintraub — bring their longtime radio show to HBO.
  37. a long talk
    ‘It Was Always All Pedro’David Bazan had to reckon with Pedro the Lion — but really, himself — to arrive at the band’s future.
  38. album review
    The Weeknd Knows No BoundsDawn FM luxuriates in the joy Abel Tesfaye gets in throwing his loyal listeners for a loop.
  39. year in culture 2021
    All the Music I Didn’t Get to Write About This Year … Until NowIt’s impossible to cover everything, even in the calmest years. Here, New York music critic Craig Jenkins on more standout work of the last 12 months.
  40. best of 2021
    The Best Albums of 2021If you traveled off the beaten path, you came away with an embarrassment of music riches.
  41. review
    Who Really Benefits From This Elaborate Ye-Drake Reunion?It’s refreshing to have rap beef resolve without bloodshed or litigation, but hard to know where this truce goes from here.
  42. tv review
    Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back Accomplishes the UnthinkableIt rises to the unenviable task of offering new insights into one of the most documented music careers of all time.
  43. q&a
    There Is Nowhere Damon Albarn Can’t Create FromHis latest solo work is, in part, a dispatch from Iceland.
  44. album review
    30 Is Adele at Her All-Time BestThis is the music she should’ve been making all along.
  45. astroworld tragedy
    There Won’t Be Easy Answers for ThisThe potential for the Astroworld tragedy to get charged to the game is very real.
  46. q&a
    Wale on the Lost Art of Playing the Long Game“What is the upward trajectory in this space right now? I don’t feel like we really know for real.”
  47. in conversation
    Dave Grohl Has Seen Too MuchHe’s the most prolific rock star of the last 30 years. Somehow, we’re still getting to know him.
  48. album review
    Young Thug’s Punk Rebirth Isn’t Quite ThatNeither was Lil Wayne’s.
  49. superlatives
    The Best and Unforgettable of the Fugees, According to Pras“We’re Caribbean, Haitian, Brooklyn. That rice and beans, plantains, machetes. We’re coming with that vibe.”
  50. comedy review
    Dave Chappelle’s Endless Feedback LoopThe Closer proves the comedian is right about one thing: It’s time for a break.
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