Mick Jenkins on his latest album 'The Patience'
NPR's Scott Simon talks with musician and rapper Mick Jenkins about creative freedom and his latest album, "The Patience."
Music & Culture
Three 6 Mafia turns $4,500 into $45 million with 'Mystic Stylez'
In 1995, the Memphis hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia took a shoestring DIY approach to recording their debut album, Mystic Stylez. Their example led to a flourishing independent hip-hop scene.
After six decades, blues legend Bobby Rush isn't slowing down
Blues legend Bobby Rush has been making music for more than six decades — now he's out with a new album, called All My Love For You.
DJ Crazy Times and the Eurodance parody that captured a nation
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with comedian Kyle Gordon, aka DJ Crazy Times, about his new hit song "The Planet of the Bass" — a 1990s Eurodance parody that has taken the internet by storm.
Sarah Cahill: Tiny Desk Concert
The intrepid champion of new music turns her attention to female composers, offering a sampler of works by women across four centuries, including a favorite of Louis XIV and an Ethiopian nun.
Hip-Hop's game changers: Three 6 Mafia
Hip-hop is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and we're looking back at albums that changed the game. Today, it's the group that took a shoestring DIY approach to creating horrorcore: Three 6 Mafia.
Rhiannon Giddens' album pays homage to greats like Loretta Lynn, Aretha Franklin
2023 is turning out to be The Year of Rhiannon Giddens. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her opera Omar, and she's releasing a new album: You're the One.
Legendary Baltimore jazz performances are brought back through unearthed recordings
Recordings of old jazz performances at Baltimore's now-closed Famous Ballroom were released earlier in 2023.
Omar Montes: Tiny Desk Concert
The Spanish artist dances along the border of tradition and modernity in his Tiny Desk performance.
The rich history of music in prisons shows how damaged souls can be worth redemption
Journalist Maurice Chammah says art and music programs help us understand "there's more to say about [a prisoner] than their crime." Chammah is the author of Let the Lord Sort Them.