The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The american dream album cover features a baby picture of 21 Savage overlayed with personal information. Album cover owned by Slaughter Gang Entertainment

‘american dream’ serves as a compelling third solo project

Samika Bhatkar January 19, 2024

Atlanta rapper and one-time Grammy award winner 21 Savage, known for his gritty and monotonous style of rapping, released his third solo album “american dream” on Jan. 12. 21 Savage released a four-minute...

Hershey Janga strikes a fierce expression while dancing for MVDTs 2023 spring show. Photo courtesy of Hershey Janga | Used with permission

Time Out! Ep. 11: Hershey Janga

Ellie Wang, Staff Writer December 6, 2023

EW: Hello everyone, my name is Ellie Wang, and welcome to Episode 11 of Time Out! In each episode, we will be diving into the sports scene here at MVHS and exploring the journeys of athletes from...

Tupac Shakurs songs Changes and Until the End of Time are analyzed in ninth grade literature during the poetry unit. Photo | ©Ron Galella/Gettyimages.

Tuning in on Tupac

Ananya Chaudhary December 5, 2023

A crowd gathered at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard on Friday, Nov 3. to watch as a section of the road was renamed “Tupac Shakur Way.” Hip-hop rapper Tupac Shakur, or 2Pac, rose to fame in the early...

The Larger than Life album cover features a comic style depiction of a NUWO shoe, Faiyazs clothing brand, destructing a city. Photo courtesy of ISO SUPREMACY.

‘Larger than Life’ is a disconnected mess larger than life

Sagnik Nag Chowdhury October 29, 2023

American R&B artist Brent Faiyaz announced on Instagram that he would release his third full-length album, “Larger than Life,” on Friday, Oct. 27. Faiyaz posted an album trailer as a surprise,...

“For All the Dogs” album cover depicted a dog, drawn by Drake’s son, Adonis Graham, who is also featured on fifth track “Daylight.”

‘For All the Dogs’ seems to suffer an identity crisis

Samika Bhatkar and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury October 9, 2023

Canadian rapper and artist Drake announced on Instagram that he would be releasing his eighth studio album “For All the Dogs.” Although set for release on Friday, Sept. 22, Drake decided to push back...

Hip Hop W(rap) Up

Hip Hop W(rap) Up

Samika Bhatkar and Dylan Nguyen September 16, 2023

Fifty years ago, a small house party in the Bronx, hosted by DJ Kool Herc, birthed the genre known as hip-hop. Early hip-hop was an outlet for rappers to reflect on issues in New York, such as the economic...

The Jackman. album cover features hip-hop and rap artist Jack Harlow standing alongside a row of dumpsters, his arms crossed over his chest.

‘Jackman.’ falls short in everything but its lyricism

Aashi Venkat May 4, 2023
Despite its emotional lyricism, the album’s generic production categorizes it as bland
“Heroes and Villains” album cover depicts Metro Boomin shaking an identical version of him engulfed in fire, a sentiment paying homage to rock group Pink Floyd.

Metro Boomin proves producer albums shouldn’t be disregarded in “Heroes and Villains”

Samika Bhatkar December 9, 2022
“Heroes and Villains” rich and dark ambiance perfectly pairs masterful production with feature artists
The album cover, a blurry image of Lanez contrasted with bright and dark colors, previews a multitude of emotions showcased throughout the album.

‘Sorry 4 What’ is an unapologetic failure

Chiran Arumugam and Sameer Maheshwari October 13, 2022

“I'm not tryna be here for a long time / Just, just a good, good time / I got a lot of s— weighin' on my mind” “Sorry 4 What” encompasses aspects of Lanez’s personal and musical growth in...

The “Traumazine” album cover features rapper Megan Thee Stallion expressing anger on the left and grief on the right — with these two emotions merging into her neutrality in the middle — alluding to how the album is rich with emotion and showcases three different sides of the rapper.

‘Traumazine’ is a reclaim of artistic identity

Aashi Venkat August 15, 2022
Megan Thee Stallion’s seventh album has the perfect balance of authenticity, fury and confidence
Journalist Jeff Chang coined the name Golden Era for the period of rap music produced from 1986 to the late 1990s

The Golden Era and modern rap

Anushka De December 8, 2021
How 90s hip-hop artists have shaped the current rap scene
Artists Around Us: The stories of singers at MVHS

Artists Around Us: The stories of singers at MVHS

A feature on rapper Kid Kuza, pop singer Shravanti Shankar and traditional Carnatic singer Madhav Danturthi
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