Music

Music & Culture

Heems and Riz MC On 'Rapping And Writing From A Very Personal Place'

4:38pm October 14, 2016

by NPR Staff

The debut album from their hip-hop group, Swet Shop Boys, presents layers of meaning on race and identity — what happens when, as Riz says, "you really mine the specificity of your own experience."

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Ages and Ages' latest album is Something To Ruin.

Music & Culture

Ages And Ages On World Cafe

4:12pm October 14, 2016

For its new album, the Portland band takes inspiration from ancient South American ruins and its own rapidly gentrifying hometown.

Longtime World Cafe host David Dye welcomes me to the team.

Music & Culture

On Air With Talia Schlanger, World Cafe's New Contributing Host

3:29pm October 14, 2016

by Talia Schlanger

Get to know the Toronto native as she shares stories and songs with David Dye.

Mick Jenkins' new album, The Healing Component, is out now.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Mick Jenkins, 'Angles (Feat. Noname & Xavier Omär)'

3:22pm October 14, 2016

by Jenny Gathright

The Chicago rapper insists that his core message — Love yourself! Know yourself! — is worth repeating. Noname opens her verse with a declaration: "I am absolutely, positively happy."

Music & Culture

Jackie And Roy On Piano Jazz

3:06pm October 14, 2016

Hear the husband-and-wife duo join Marian McPartland for a trio version of "Joy Spring" in a 1998 session.

Leonard Cohen's new album, You Want It Darker, comes out Oct. 21.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Leonard Cohen, 'You Want It Darker'

2:37pm October 14, 2016

by Tom Moon

The particular darkness that defines Cohen's 14th studio album is nearly inescapable, and found everywhere. It's a thick blanket of grim.

Music & Culture

What's On Alt.Latino's Playlist? The Sounds Of Cuba Today

1:34pm October 14, 2016

by Felix Contreras

Cuban musicians are mixing tradition with contemporary styles to create sounds that defy description or categorization. Hear a mix featuring more than 100 songs from today's Cuba.

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Music & Culture

RDGLDGRN: Tiny Desk Concert

12:54pm October 14, 2016

by Suraya Mohamed

The D.C.-area band crafts a striking mix of rock, hip-hop, funk, go-go and Brazilian sounds, fused with energy and humor.

Bob Dylan performs in Culver City, Calif. in June 2009.

Music & Culture

Bob Dylan, Revisited

5:28pm October 13, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

In the wake of the news that the iconic American songwriter is the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature, we've dug through the NPR archives for some Dylanalia treasures.

Bob Dylan performs on July 4, 1978 at the Pavillon de Paris.

Music & Culture

Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan Is A Literary 'Alchemist'

5:02pm October 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

The massively influential songwriter was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday. Sean Wilentz, author of Bob Dylan In America, says it's appropriate to consider Dylan's songs literary works.

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