Pitchfork is proud to announce the launch of Levels, a new section dedicated entirely to hip-hop music and culture. Levels will publish daily and feature longform investigative journalism, think pieces, and artist profiles. Its content will stand alongside Pitchfork's existing rap news, reviews, and features while drawing in related material from across the site to create a comprehensive, one-stop destination for genre coverage. Levels will also curate “The Ones,” a daily playlist of essential hip-hop songs, which is available now on Pitchfork’s Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud accounts. Levels is also on Instagram.

Senior editor Timmhotep Aku, who joined Pitchfork in May, is heading up Levels, and he’ll be working with staff writer Alphonse Pierre.

Levels will examine broad themes across hip-hop, and the inaugural theme is family. Read the inaugural letter from the editor from Timmhotep Aku. The launch of Levels is supported by Rémy Martin.