Music Features

Mac Phipps, the rapper formerly signed to No Limit Records, has been granted clemency after 21 years in prison.

Music & Culture

With A Long-Awaited Shot At Freedom, Mac Phipps Has His Eyes On The Future

4:26pm March 12, 2021

Last month, the rapper was recommended for clemency after serving 21 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Now he tells NPR about his time behind bars and his hope for life outside.

Devonté Hynes' new album, Fields, is nominated for two classical Grammy awards this year.

Music & Culture

Play It Forward: Devonté Hynes' Grammys Surprise And Biggest Inspirations

4:19pm March 12, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with artist Devonté Hynes about how his Grammy-nominated classical album Fields came together and the artist he is most grateful for – Angel Bat Dawid.

Chick Corea, holding a freshly won Grammy in the award ceremony's press room in LA on Feb. 8, 2015.

Considering Chick Corea's Grammys Success And The Kitchen Sink Of Genre

12:40pm March 11, 2021

by Nate Chinen

Corea, who died in February, remains the most-awarded jazz musician in Grammys history. But Corea, who always identified as a jazz player, wasn't landlocked by any genre conventions. He wasn't alone.

"There was a time in my life when I was that dude 24/7," Freddie Gibbs says of his persona. "Having a family provides a different inspiration. You're doing things for a bigger purpose and not just yourself anymore."

Music & Culture

Freddie Gibbs Might Blow Up, But He Won't Go Pop

10:00am March 10, 2021

by David Ma

"I always wanted to take my mother to the Grammys and now I will." Alfredo is up for best rap album, but that won't stop Freddie Gibbs from making the music he wants to make.

Music & Culture

On A Remote Island, A Music School Flourishes

4:30pm March 09, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

The Toki School of Music is the brainchild of pianist Mahani Teave, who gave up a promising international career to return to Easter Island to teach children.

Jeremie Pennick, better known as Benny The Butcher, in a portrait from 2021. His new album, Plugs I Met 2, will be released March 19.

Music & Culture

On 'Plugs I Met 2,' Benny The Butcher Is Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud, Up Front

3:43pm March 08, 2021

by William E. Ketchum III

Butcher came to prominence through the close-knit and much-respected crew Griselda, but is now stepping to the front with a label, sports agency and new album, Plugs I Met 2.

Music & Culture

Pianist Helen Sung: From Classical Outsider To The Jazz Inner Circle

2:36pm March 04, 2021

Sung reflects on how, as a young classical pianist, she stuck to her jazz dreams. More recently, she's translated her emotions on social justice into a thematic composition for her quartet.

Music & Culture

New Compilation Of Old Tunes Is 'An Alternate History Of The World's Music'

4:35pm March 03, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jonathan Ward on his new 100-track compilation of early recordings from around the world called Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History of the World's Music.

Eric Burton of Black Pumas is one of KUTX's artists to watch.

Music & Culture

City Scenes: 9 Austin Artists You Need to Know Right Now

3:59pm February 25, 2021

For Black History Month, NPR member station KUTX is featuring some of the Black artists shaping the Austin music scene.

Fans photographed on the eve of Daft Punk's album launch, held in the tiny Australian town of Wee Waa, on May 17, 2013.

Music & Culture

What Does Daft Punk Leave Behind?

11:47am February 24, 2021

by Andrew Flanagan

Known for indelible hits like "One More Time" and "Around the World," the now-legendary French duo called it quits this week after years of silence.