Across The Culture

11/22/2025

Much of our 2025 has been spent building ATC Sound, our branch covering independent artists and providing music industry analysis.

Our latest work includes reviews of music from Jane Remover, , and .

Learn more and subscribe via the link in our bio.

11/07/2025

Grateful for the citation of our piece "Hyun Jin-young and Black America's Stake in K-Pop" in Debashree Dutta's latest write-up for . The article served to clarify the connection between Black American musical innovation and K-pop, with Hyun Jin-young being a key conduit.

LINK IN BIO: Read the Rolling Stone India piece and see how ATC's work was built upon in this account of Korean Hip-Hop as an important precursor to K-pop.

12/06/2021

Investor Tom Cruz's TikTok received plenty of eye rolls for dubbing a friend making $125,000 a year "Broke Bobby." As absurd as it was to the average American, Tom unwittingly made a point about how much a six-figure income is worth in today's United States.

In a Fall 2018 survey with 1,100 respondents, YouGov America found that 56 percent of Americans considered a $100,000 annual income to be the benchmark for “rich.”

However...

A 2019 study conducted by GOBankingRates determined roughly 30 percent of the USA's biggest cities require a $100,000 annual income in order to live *comfortably*. Not to mention all major American think tanks place the upper limit of "middle class" at a $120,000 household income or greater.

When did the American perception of "rich" fall so out of line with the reality of today's American worker? How can readjusting our view of "broke" and "rich" help Americans grasp their shared struggle in a deeply unfair economy?

10/28/2021

As the year approaches its end, ATC is proud to present "180," a podcast aiming to flip your perspective on pop culture topics in 3 minutes or less! Season 1 is "Essential Hip-Hop Questions."

The idea that hip-hop isn't music has somehow survived into 2021. While it's not a popular take, hip-hop is the only commercial genre that ever regularly faces this criticism from the educated an uneducated alike.

Read, listen, and watch the first ever episode of "180," an ATC podcast. Check the article out for more info on the episode and how to subscribe to the 180 RSS feed!

Hip-hop is the only popular music genre critics openly suggest isn't music. Not even bad music, simply *not* music. ATC confronts this racist idiocy head on

09/15/2021

"A few seconds into the chorus arrives the gut-smacking announcement: 'If you’re looking for a savior / Well, that’s not me.' I gulped at first listen. Point made and duly noted. Gotcha, ma’am."

Lorde is intent on *not* being an idol the way some of her pop peers are. And in this resigned humility, writes Fajar Zakri, 'Solar Power' finds its charm.

For more on Lorde's latest offering and the dilemmas of a Gen Z pop star, link in bio.

09/09/2021

If outrage toward DaBaby's Rolling Loud comments was about the harm he caused/perpetuated, where is it for Morgan Wallen Doja Cat, and other mainstream artists who have said and done similarly harmful things in the recent past?

In their first piece for ATC, Gabriella Etoniru highlights the wild inconsistencies of cancel culture and its superficial value to society.

DaBaby will be back on our screens in no time. But the real issue isn't him — it's selective, inconsistent, and at times racist "cancellation" standards

08/31/2021

"Forty years ago, Hmong people almost exclusively lived in hillsides and mountaintops. It was rare to find the Hmong in nearby villages let alone major cities. Now one of us won gold at the world’s greatest sporting event."

Read more by writer Robby Vang on the significance of Sunisa Lee's Olympic gold medal to Hmong Americans and Hmong folk worldwide.

Link, bio!

08/23/2021

We haven't been active on FB, but we have been growing and couldn't be happier. Thank you to anyone that has supported our existence with clicks, words, and time. That being said, an announcement + new piece:

Ecstatic to announce the first of our three new writers, Fajar Zakri! What better way to debut than to write about the apocalypse?

Phoebe Bridgers' second album 'Punisher' is now a year old and its relevance as an end-of-world soundtrack is certified. Follow Fajar on a disappointing personal journey that enlightens him to how Bridgers succeeds with 'Punisher'.

'Punisher', like human life in 2021, is mournful and unsettling. At least Phoebe Bridgers can make it sound beautiful and strangely comforting.

12/28/2020

In collaboration with The Plugged App, a piece on how American pro sports leagues exploit Black labor. Also, how Giannis Antetokounmpo can use his platform to help African nations keep local talent at home.

African kids who want to hoop pray to be noticed by the NBA or European leagues. Stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo should invest to keep that talent at home.

12/14/2020

You already have opinions about the COVID-19 vaccines. Why not make them more informed?

Happy to have fourth-year PharmD student Raymond N. Kindva give us a simple, thorough guide to understanding vaccines and answering questions like, "Are the COVID-19 vaccines trustworthy?" and "How do they work?"

Please stay informed. This article also has plenty of links to medical journals and veritable sources of information about the vaccine trials.

-Zander

The public discourse about vaccines isn't very informed. With UMD PharmD student Raymond, we hope to help y'all with info about the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine