Music & Culture

"It doesn't matter how hard the subject is, make it danceable," Angélique Kidjo says.

Music & Culture

Angélique Kidjo Connects Talking Heads With Her African Roots

11:57am June 04, 2018

The first time Kidjo heard Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime," she knew it was an African song. Almost 35 years later, her new cover album sounds as if it really had been conceived in West Africa.

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Music & Culture

M. Ward On Mountain Stage

9:43am June 04, 2018

by Chris Oxley

The low-fi indie rock veteran sets the Mountain Stage ablaze.

Music & Culture

Watch Courtney Barnett Play 'Charity' Live In The Studio

9:30am June 04, 2018

by Jason Bentley

The Australian musician performs an intimate set for KCRW.

Kanye West performing in Los Angeles in 2016.

Music & Culture

2-Sided: Trying To Hear Kanye West's New Album, 'ye,' Through All The Noise

9:14am June 02, 2018

Kanye West's newly-released ye is already 2018's most polarizing album. Two of NPR Music's critics sat down to try and make sense of West's motivations and musical accomplishments.

Natural Born Leaders released its first EP About Time independently in May.

Music & Culture

Natural Born Leaders Turn A Tiny Convenience Store Into A Tiny Desk Contest Entry

8:28am June 02, 2018

The Asheville band were the only ones of nearly 5,000 Tiny Desk Contest entrants to play in a convenience store. Lead vocalist Mike Martinez says that setting is more poignant than you might think.

Music & Culture

Laura Nyro And The Summer Of 1968

8:28am June 02, 2018

by Scott Simon

Scott Simon reminisces about the summer of 1968 through a song.

Black Thought reflects on his 30-year career with his debut solo project, Streams of Thought Vol. 1.

Music & Culture

Black Thought Sets Out On His Own

5:55pm June 01, 2018

Streams of Thought Vol. 1, the debut solo project from the voice of The Roots, shows off a side of the rapper fans rarely get to hear.

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Music & Culture

Across the Blue Ridge #128 - Blue Ridge Music Center, Mountains of Music

4:22pm June 01, 2018

by Paul Brown

This week, a tremendous selection of old-time mountain, bluegrass and Americana music from bands old and new. Plus … a visit with Richard Emmett of the

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Arturo O'Farrill (at piano) and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra close out the Artes De Cuba: From the Island to the World concert series.

Music & Culture

'Still A Lot Of Love': Arturo O'Farrill On Cuba-U.S. Artistic Relations

3:42pm June 01, 2018

by Marisa Arbona-Ruiz

The band leader weighs in on the complicated and historical relationship between Cuba and the United States.

The music streaming service Spotify was both criticized and celebrated for implementing a policy addressing the conduct of artists — a position it rolled back June 1, 2018.

Music & Culture

Spotify To Roll Back Its 'Hateful Conduct' Policy

3:41pm June 01, 2018

by Andrew Flanagan

The policy, met with both cheers and jeers, was criticized for the confusion its implementation caused.