Music News

DaBaby performs at Rolling Loud at Hard Rock Stadium on July 25 in Miami Gardens, Fla. He has received swift and significant backlash for comments he made at that festival.

The Music Industry Is Holding DaBaby Accountable

11:33am August 04, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

After making homophobic comments during a performance, rapper DaBaby has been widely criticized and dropped from multiple festivals. The fallout could mark a cultural shift in the music business.

Music & Culture

Remembering Charles Connor, The Longtime Drummer For Little Richard

6:38am August 03, 2021

Seminal rock 'n' roll drummer Charles Connor died on Saturday, according to his daughter. He was 86. Connor played with Little Richard, Sam Cooke, James Brown and many others.

Music & Culture

NPR Music Critic Talks New Posthumous Prince Album 'Welcome 2 America'

6:12pm July 31, 2021

by Ann Powers

Welcome 2 America, the first posthumous album from Prince after his death in 2016, was released Friday.

Music & Culture

5 Decades Ago The Concert For Bangladesh Changed The Celebrity Fundraiser

8:09am July 30, 2021

As NPR marks 50 years, we're looking back at an event that changed the celebrity fundraiser: The Concert for Bangladesh, which took place on Aug. 1, 1971.

Music & Culture

Rick Astley's Hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' Passes 1 Billion Views On YouTube

5:55am July 30, 2021

Many of those views may have been involuntary. Rick-rolling, for those who don't know, is when you prank people by sending them a link to that song, disguised as something else.

Johnny Ventura, seen here at the Latin Grammys in 2013, died at the age of 81 on Wednesday.

Music & Culture

Dominican Merengue Star Johnny Ventura Dies At 81

7:57pm July 29, 2021

by Felix Contreras

The musician rose to fame in the 1960s and '70s, bringing global attention to his hip-shaking style of music.

Allison Russell, center, performs during day five of the 2021 Newport Folk Festival on July 27, 2021 in Newport, R.I.

Newport Folk Festival Returns, In A Year Defined By Uncertainty

12:51pm July 29, 2021

by Hilary Hughes

After a silent year in which artists were sent grants instead of invitations to perform, the beloved festival was determined to go on this year, as carefully as possible. And how possible is that?

Music & Culture

3 Years After His Death, Sam Mehran's Loved Ones Share Posthumous Album 'Cold Brew'

4:53pm July 28, 2021

by Jonaki Mehta

Underground musician Sam Mehran's father and friends share what the process of compiling his posthumous album, Cold Brew, was like. It's out today, three years after Mehran's death.

Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, performing in Austin, Tex. in 2019. Hill has died at age 72.

ZZ Top Bassist Dusty Hill Dead At Age 72

4:09pm July 28, 2021

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

One-third of the Texas blues-rock mainstay ZZ Top has died. Dusty Hill, the band's bassist and one of its vocalists, was 72 years old, and according to his bandmates died at his home in Houston.

A handcrafted silver box by the British-Moroccan artist Yahya holds the only known copy of the Wu-Tang Clan double album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin.

Wu-Tang Clan Album Once Owned By Martin Shkreli Sold By U.S. Government

3:52pm July 27, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

There was only one copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, and the government forced Shkreli to turn it over after his fraud conviction. Details are confidential, so don't expect to hear it anytime soon.