Music & Culture

Babyface, photographed in Brooklyn on Sept. 11, 2022.

Music & Culture

On 'Girls Night Out,' Babyface collaborates with a new generation of women artists

11:03am October 21, 2022

In the 1990's few producers matched Babyface's success. From Whitney Houston to TLC to Boyz II Men, his touch led to massive hits. NPR's A Martinez talks to him about his new album.

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Music & Culture

They Are Gutting a Body of Water, 'Delta P'

10:48am October 21, 2022

by Marissa Lorusso

The experimental shoegaze band submerges Douglas Dulgarian's vocals under a Jenga tower of noise that threatens to topple.

R.A.P. Ferreira's single artwork for "ours."

Music & Culture

R.A.P. Ferreira, 'ours'

10:36am October 21, 2022

by Sheldon Pearce

Even if you don't know R.A.P. Ferreira belongs among the greats, it's clear that he does.

The songs on Taylor Swift's 10th album, Midnights, place the listener in the immediate nowhere of private space, where stories can change in a whisper.

Music & Culture

In the haze of 'Midnights,' Taylor Swift softens into an expanded sound

9:35am October 21, 2022

by Ann Powers

On Swift's 10th and most challenging album, she and producer Jack Antonoff push her voice in new directions, rethinking the sonic rhetoric of first-person storytelling and shaking off old habits.

Baby Rose and Georgia Anne Muldrow team up for "Fight Club."

Music & Culture

Heat Check Roundup: Baby Rose, R.A.P. Ferreira, Arima Ederra and more

5:38pm October 20, 2022

This week's Heat Check selects features grounded wordsmiths, emergent L.A.-based chanteuses, auto-tuned misfits and songs of self-care.

Music & Culture

Knifeplay, 'Nobody'

1:37pm October 20, 2022

by Marissa Lorusso

Philadelphia's Knifeplay mixes twangy confessionals, bruising shoegaze and sprawling slowcore in its intricate and majestic sound.

Singer and songwriter iLe's third album, 'Nacarile,' finds a world deeply in flux

6:27am October 20, 2022

The Puerto Rican artist returns with a new album, her first since protests galvanized San Juan and beyond in 2019.

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Leyla McCalla performs a Tiny Desk concert.

Music & Culture

Leyla McCalla: Tiny Desk Concert

5:00am October 20, 2022

by Ann Powers

Drawing from her new album Breaking the Thermometer, Leyla McCalla and her band explore the weight of memory in songs deeply immersed in the rhythms, sounds and history of Haiti.

Music & Culture

Saxophonist Bobby Watson brings the sparks on 'Back Home in Kansas City'

1:15pm October 19, 2022

by Kevin Whitehead

After decades in New York, Watson has returned to Kansas City. The core KC jazz values — a swinging beat, a personal style, and an earthy, bluesy sensibility — are firmly in place on this new album.

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The number of college students enrolled in Korean has risen 78% from 2009 to 2016.

Enrollment in Korean classes has shot up. Thank K-pop

11:13am October 19, 2022

by Ashley Ahn

College student enrollment in language classes has plateaued in recent years, but enrollment in Korean language classes rose 78% from 2009 to 2016.