Robbie Robertson, guitarist for The Band and Bob Dylan, has died at 80
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer helped write the blueprint for Americana music, with songwriting credits including "The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek."
Music & Culture
How 'Yo! MTV Raps' helped mainstream hip hop
The MTV show Yo! MTV Raps helped bring hip-hop into mainstream American culture in the 1980s and was made by a scrappy team in the face of a skeptical corporate network.
MeShell Ndegeocello shows off her range and experience on 'Omnichord'
Ndegeocello has combined soul, funk, pop, hip-hop and jazz to create a unique body of work over the course of her more than 30-year career. Now in her 50s, her latest album is The Omnichord Real Book.
How the Bay Area became a rap incubator with a chip on its shoulder
Though the vibrant Bay Area rap community lit the fuse on many of the stars, styles and innovations that have blown up across the map, the region might still be best known for being underestimated.
The Armed, 'Liar 2'
The Detroit hardcore collective tones its muscles to dance punk.
Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for Megan Thee Stallion shooting
The rapper was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020 as they left a party in Los Angeles. Prosecutors argued that Tory Lanez had tried to turn public opinion against the plaintiff.
'Rapper's Delight': How hip-hop got its first record deal
Hip-hop was born at a party in 1973, but it'd be another six years until the first commercial hip-hop records. People have differing views of it, but the release of "Rapper's Delight" changed history.
Moving 2 miles away from his childhood home changed a rapper's world view
NPR's A Martinez talks to rapper Reason about his latest album, Porches. In it, he raps about how that change of address changed his whole world view.
Rapper Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for Megan Thee Stallion shooting
Tory Lanez was found guilty last December of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in 2020 as they left a party at the home of celebrity Kylie Jenner. The trial divided the hip-hop community.
DJ Casper, creator of the iconic and ubiquitous 'Cha Cha Slide,' has died at 58
The Chicago native, born Willie Perry Jr., wrote the song as an exercise track for his nephew in the late 1990s before it exploded in popularity and became a worldwide hit.