Music & Culture

A legendary private collection of early blues music is out for everyone to hear

5:07pm August 11, 2023

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Smithsonian curator John Troutman and blues musician Dom Flemons about the new folk music album, Playing for the Man at the Door.

How Nicki Minaj took hip hop by storm in 2010

4:27pm August 11, 2023

Nicki Minaj spent years hustling in the rap world before she even put out an album. Then in 2010, it all came together with a celebrated guest verse and a debut album that took hip hop by storm.

Hip-hop's first 50 years have yielded expansion across the globe and domination of digital spaces. As the internet has collapsed physical gaps, major artists from outside the United States, like (clockwise from top left) Little Simz, Drake, Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Rema, have been able to communicate with American rap culture in real time.

Music & Culture

2023 'Til Infinity

3:20pm August 11, 2023

by Sheldon Pearce

Giving rap the future it deserves means smashing the infrastructure as it is. But with the battle lines drawn, we can still take heart in the artists teasing just how much further the culture can go.

T.I.'s 2003 album, Trap Muzik, gave a name to a specific flavor of Atlanta rap that reflected the city's street culture.

The birth of trap music and the rise of southern hip-hop

2:57pm August 11, 2023

In 2003, T.I. and other Atlanta rappers created new subgenre of rap: trap music. Twenty years later, its influence is everywhere.

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Hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 11, 2023.

Hip-hop at 50: A history of explosive musical and cultural innovation

11:23am August 11, 2023

To mark hip-hop's 50th anniversary, NPR's All Things Considered explores five moments that are integral to how the culture grew and evolved.

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Music & Culture

As hip-hop turns 50, reflecting on the role Latin artists played

5:18am August 11, 2023

Friday marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. African-Americans created the art form, but Latinos played a historic role in the birth and evolution of hip-hop.

A makeshift memorial honored O'Shae Sibley in New York City earlier this month.

A dancer's killing — over voguing — highlights the dangers Black LGBTQ Americans face

5:02am August 11, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

O'Shae Sibley was stabbed for voguing to Beyoncé at a New York City gas station. His death, which is being prosecuted as a hate crime, comes as anti-LGBTQ bills and incidents surge across the U.S.

Drakeo the Ruler, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Quik and N.W.A. Collage by Jackie Lay / NPR.

Music & Culture

How LA proved hip-hop could go global — by staying thoroughly local

11:30pm August 10, 2023

by Jeff Weiss

There may be no better case for the power of hip-hop's geographic diversity than Los Angeles, whose sprawl of distinct creative microclimates is a genre unto itself.

Sixto Rodriguez, singer-songwriter of 'Searching for Sugar Man' doc, is dead at 81

4:39pm August 10, 2023

Sixto Rodriguez, the musician whose story was documented in the film Searching for Sugar Man, has died at 81. He had minor success in the U.S., but was surprised to learn his music was a hit abroad.

Music & Culture

All Rap is Local: The Playlist

3:08pm August 10, 2023

As it celebrates its 50th birthday, hip-hop is a global phenomenon. But to map the music's true impact, you have to look closer.