Music Features

Anna Thorvaldsdottir begins her composing process by drawing shapes and writing words to help store musical information. Her scores themselves are finely detailed.

Music & Culture

Structural integrity: Anna Thorvaldsdottir's rigorous, regenerative music

5:01am May 15, 2023

by Tom Huizenga

The Icelandic composer talks about the creative forces behind her distinctive music, her presence in the movie Tár and the "dome of energy" that fuels her country's artistic productivity.

They're hip-hop artists who weave public-health messages into their rhymes: From left: Sister Fa, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Ali A.K.A. Mind perform at the Skoll World Forum 2023. During this rap, McDaniels called out: "I'm not afraid of the dark anymore/because I am the light./I'll be there at the start of the war/Because I am the fight."

Hip-hop's got a message real stealthy: To teach the world to be mad healthy!

7:58am May 14, 2023

by Ari Daniel

As hip-hop marks its 50th anniversary, there's a part of its history that's not always told: A mission to create public-health raps.

Miami rapper and social media icon Saucy Santana is redefining presentation standards for femme gay men in hip-hop, but the industry would rather keep his energy confined to TikTok.

Music & Culture

'You're supposed to be somewhere doing hair and makeup'

5:08am May 11, 2023

Since 2019, Saucy Santana has been a regular presence on the social web, producing several streaming hits. But the very qualities that set him apart threatened to hold him back.

Record producer Zev Feldman (left) and John Fowler, a charter member of the Left Bank Jazz Society, meet outside the Charles Theater in downtown Baltimore. The building once hosted some of the best jazz musicians in the country.

Music & Culture

In a Baltimore basement, a jazz detective strikes gold

11:31am May 08, 2023

New recordings of old jazz performances at Baltimore's now-closed Famous Ballroom are being released for the first time.

Queue Listen Now

Voyager's Daniel Estrin rehearses "Promise" for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Rooting for a Eurovision singer of the same name

6:45am May 08, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

NPR's Daniel Estrin speaks with Daniel Estrin, lead singer of the band representing Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest, and Daniel Estrin, lead guitarist of the Grammy-nominated band Hoobastank.

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Peso Pluma and Becky G performed their hit single, Chanel, during the 2023 Latin American Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 20, in Las Vegas.

The unstoppable appeal of Peso Pluma and the Regional Mexican music scene

10:43am May 05, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

Peso Pluma seems to be dominating these days. He delighted audiences at Coachella, made history on The Tonight Show, and he's got hit after hit after hit on multiple music charts.

Drummer Dave Lombardo shows off just a few of the instruments he played on his debut solo album Rites of Percussion.

From Slayer to Tito Puente, drummer Dave Lombardo changes tempo

6:28am May 05, 2023

Dave Lombardo of Slayer breaks out gongs, timbales, djembes, congas and cajóns (plus anything else he can bang on) for the album Rites of Percussion.

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Drake and Makonnen celebrate during the former's 2014 birthday party at Dave & Buster's in Times Square, New York.

Music & Culture

'Thugs don't dance'

1:10pm May 04, 2023

In 2016, a rift between hitmakers showed the limits of rap's tolerance for rule-breakers. As Mark Anthony Neal explains, "authentic" Black masculinity has always been a moving target in hip-hop.

Belgian soprano Gwendoline Blondeel performs as la Folie (madness) in the Opera Lafayette production of Jean-Philippe Rameau's recently completed 18th century opera Io.

Music & Culture

A forgotten opera premieres 280 years late

12:30pm May 03, 2023

by Olivia Hampton

A Jean-Philippe Rameau opera, left unfinished at time of his death and recently completed by a musicologist, gets its premiere 280 years later, with extravagant costumes.

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Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star perform on Solar stage at Something In The Water festival.

Music & Culture

PHOTOS: What we saw at Pharrell's Something in the Water festival

8:21pm May 02, 2023

Despite the rain, highlights includes performances by Lil Wayne, Doechii, Latto, Kaytranada and more.