“WAP,” Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion When you think about the headlines that dominated in 2020—unprecedented pandemic, halted economies, mass unemployment, impossible-to-contain fires—that an explicit ode to female pleasure would not just cut through, but take over front pages and prime time, should rattle your bones. We may be firmly in the 21st century, but women celebrating what women want remains revolutionary. Lucky for us, our new leaders in battle are two young, beautiful, unapologetic Black rappers named Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. I’d follow these women anywhere—certainly onto YouTube to watch this video one (hundred) more time(s). —Madison Vain “Betty,” Taylor Swift In 2020, across two albums, Taylor Swift’s writing entered literary territory. Always a storyteller, her songwriting in her indie-influenced Long Pond Studio Sessions took her usual diary passages and used them as influence to create characters and whole worlds. She has, perhaps, never written a song as perfect as “betty”, the story in which she inhabits a character named James and his young love with Betty. As is always the case with her music, “betty” has been the subject of much speculation and what it means for Swift’s personal life. But Swift maintains that she attempted in this song to use her music to tell stories from different perspectives. No matter if it’s autobiographical or not, “betty” marks a bold step forward from music’s greatest storyteller. — Matt Miller “dis-ease,” BTS “Dynamite” got our Winter issue cover guys to No. 1 for the first time,… Click below to read the full story from Esquire
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