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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

Trap artist 21 Savage enlightens fans on his personal battles excitingly
Samika Bhatkar
January 19, 2024
Hershey Janga strikes a fierce expression while dancing for MVDT's 2023 spring show. Photo courtesy of Hershey Janga | Used with permission

Time Out! Ep. 11: Hershey Janga

Following Hershey Janga’s hip-hop journey through friends and clubs
Ellie Wang, Staff Writer
December 6, 2023
Tupac Shakur's 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

Exploring '90s hip-hop rapper Tupac’s influence on the Bay Area
Ananya Chaudhary
December 5, 2023
The "Larger than Life" album cover features a comic style depiction of a NUWO shoe, Faiyaz's clothing brand, destructing a city. Photo courtesy of ISO SUPREMACY.

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

Faiyaz attempts to deliver the positive aspects of his previous discography but fails to produce a solid record
Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
October 29, 2023
“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

While Drake attempts to bark back with his latest album, he falls short with a redundant project
Samika Bhatkar and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
October 9, 2023
Hip Hop W(rap) Up

Hip Hop W(rap) Up

Celebrating Hip-Hop’s Fiftieth birthday at MVHS through exploring the community’s favorite hip-hop songs
Samika Bhatkar and Dylan Nguyen
September 16, 2023
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

Despite its emotional lyricism, the album’s generic production categorizes it as bland
Aashi Venkat
May 4, 2023
“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”

“Heroes and Villains” rich and dark ambiance perfectly pairs masterful production with feature artists
Samika Bhatkar
December 9, 2022
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

Although filled with diverse music styles, Tory Lanez’s new album fails to stand out among previous works
Chiran Arumugam and Sameer Maheshwari
October 13, 2022
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

Megan Thee Stallion’s seventh album has the perfect balance of authenticity, fury and confidence
Aashi Venkat
August 15, 2022
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

How 90s hip-hop artists have shaped the current rap scene
Anushka De
December 8, 2021
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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