All hail Earl, the unlikely exile who defined the decade in rap

From Drake to Kendrick, the 2010s haven’t been short on rap icons. But it took a parent-baiting collective from LA to incubate the most intriguing of them all

The re-queering of the dancefloor

The 2010s saw the LGBT+ community stage a reclamation – and reconfiguration – of the dancefloor as an explicitly queer space

The unstoppable rise of reggaeton

In the last decade, reggaeton has exploded into the mainstream – we trace its booming ascent, inherent political nature and undeniable impact

Britain’s rap revolution

The 2010s have been a dramatic time for Britain’s rappers and MCs. We trace the journey of UK rap through the decade – from grime’s identity crisis to Glastonbury fame and accolades

The top 100 songs of the decade

From crypto-commercial nu-pop to the viral juke of Footcrab, and an eerie Fugees sample, these are the tracks that defined a decade

The top 100 albums of the decade

Ruminations on death, loneliness, identity and hyperreality. The album didn’t die in the 2010s, it just got really, really weird