Adam Aziz
Cultural Strategist, Journalist & Curator
Adam Aziz is a consultant, curator, and journalist operating at the intersection of music, sports, and culture with a pioneering entertainment career spanning three decades. Today, he shapes narratives by exploring the deep connections between athletic performance, musical expression, and cultural history through his writing for major outlets like ESPN's Andscape, Complex, Playboy, and Grammy.com. By bringing his expertise to The Hip Hop Museum and major audio projects like Will Smith's Class of '88 podcast, Adam bridges the gap between heritage and contemporary storytelling to engage audiences across disciplines.
JOURNALIST · CURATOR · CULTURAL STRATEGIST
ADAM
AZIZ
aka brokencool
Thirty years covering the stories where music, sports and culture collide.
I write about music, sports and culture for ESPN's Andscape, Complex, Playboy, Grammy.com and the Toronto Star. My work ranges from hockey's diversity reckoning to Blue Jays history to the stories behind classic records. I'm also a consultant to The Hip Hop Museum, working on partnerships, artist relations, content and marketing strategy, and I edit its monthly newsletter.
AS FEATURED IN
WHAT I COVER
Sports
The NHL's diversity push, Evander Kane, Mike Grier, the Blue Jays, the Raptors and golf.
Music
Drake, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Screw, Jay-Z and the stories behind the records.
Culture
Sneakers, hockey jerseys, record stores, the CD at 40 and Vegas residencies.
PROJECTS
The Hip Hop Museum
Partnerships, artist relations, content and marketing strategy for hip-hop's permanent home in the Bronx.
thhm.org ↗ LEAD WRITER · CONSULTANTClass of '88
Will Smith's podcast looking back at 1988, the year hip-hop broke through.
Listen on Spotify ↗ PLAYLIST CURATORDope Songs You Forgot
Slept-on album cuts, regional anthems and forgotten singles. A new pick every Friday.
Listen on Audiomack ↗Work
Drake's "Over My Dead Body": Chantal Kreviazuk's Untold Story (Complex)
DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Fresh Prince and a Grammy boycott (Andscape)
Hockey jerseys have returned to hip-hop (Andscape)
The NHL’s slow skate toward change (Andscape)
Will Smith's 'Class of 88' Podcast (Writer + Consultant)
All of your favourite rappers are obsessed with golf (CBC)
Tupac’s Friends and Family on His Legacy, 30 Years Later (Playboy)
What's it like to sit beside Drake at a Raptors game? (The Toronto Star)
The Hip Hop Museum Q&A: Blacc Sam
The Record Store: What Used To Be (VIBE)
Every Artist Who Played Drake’s All Canadian North Stars Show One Year Later, Ranked (Complex)
Appearance on Breakfast Television to discuss Drake
A look back at 50 Cent’s industry-shaking song ‘How to Rob’ (Andscape)
The story of ‘Summertime in the LBC’ (Andscape)
Evander Kane continues to be outspoken in his return to hockey (Andscape)
‘Don’t screw this up.’ Frank Catalanotto remembers his unbreakable Blue Jays record 20 years later (The Toronto Star)
How Horrorcore Became A Forgotten Sub-Genre (okayplayer.)
The Best Drake Songs (Complex)
Sharks’ Mike Grier a long-overdue Black general manager in the NHL (Andscape)
The tangled history of hip-hop and boxing
What Happened On The Days Kendrick Lamar Made ‘untitled unmastered’? (Genius)
Kool Moe Dee and British Knights: The story of one of hip-hop’s earliest sneaker campaigns (Andscape)
DJ Screw, the godfather of Houston’s slowed-down sound, gets the book treatment (Andscape)
Shawn Desman reached the peak of Canadian music, then suffered a brutal setback. (The Toronto Star)
Sean Kingston On "Beautiful Girls" Hysteria, Bad Deals & Starting Over On 'Road To Deliverance' (Grammy.com)
Jay-Z’s 50 Most Underrated Songs (VIBE)
‘Rolling Stone’: Aug. 20, 1992 (Andscape)
10 Times Hip-Hop Has Given A Voice To Mental Health (Grammy.com)
Can CDs Make A Comeback? Reevaluating The CD At 40 (Grammy.com)
Little Brother brews a new future (Andscape)
Why hasn’t hip-hop had a real Las Vegas residency? (Andscape)