Hip-Hop/R&B archive
Read First Listen: Miguel, 'Kaleidoscope Dream'
September 23, 2012 – The singer gleefully smashes together R&B, pop and rock to make love songs about the early days.
Read The Purple Tape: Only Built 4 Collectors
September 20, 2012 – How the cassette of Raekwon's classic album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... became a hip-hop classic.
Read Heavy Rotation: 5 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing
September 18, 2012 – Download five new songs heating up NPR station playlists in Chicago, Detroit, Juneau and beyond.
Watch Two Attempts To Turn Summer Platinum Into Fall Gold
September 18, 2012 – Carly Rae Jepsen and Kanye West release albums that double down on their summer success.
Listen Remembering Chris Lighty, Hip-Hop Leader And My Friend
August 31, 2012 – As a teenager he carried records. As a professional, he carried water for an industry and a culture.
Read Microphone Check: Hip-Hop From NPR Music
August 29, 2012 – We aim to bring you the full breadth of rap music, from old school classics to new school favorites.
Listen THEESatisfaction On World Cafe WXPN
August 29, 2012 – The Seattle hip-hop duo's debut album is soulful in a spoken-word tradition, with West Coast flavor. WXPN
Watch My American Dream Sounds Like Black Star
August 22, 2012 – For Teju Cole, "Respiration," a song about New York City, is the best words in the best order.
Watch Plan B's 'Ill Manors' Falls On Fertile Ground In Britain
August 9, 2012 – The song, a bitterly articulate howl of scornful rage, is a national sensation across the pond.
Watch Fat Boys: A Hip-Hop Novelty Act Strikes Back
July 31, 2012 – A reissue of the New York trio's debut makes a case for the group as more than just a gimmick.
Watch Wale: From Free Mixtapes To Billboard Hits
July 31, 2012 – Music journalist Danyel Smith says she plays Wale's chart-topping "Lotus Flower Bomb" every day.
Listen This Time, R. Kelly Burns With (Relatively Chaste) Passion
July 30, 2012 – The prolific, and often risque, crooner's 14th album explores sounds from earlier eras.
Watch What Five New Rap Videos Say About Their Stars
July 26, 2012 – You can tell a lot about a where a rapper is at in his or her career from a promotional video.
Listen Frank Ocean's 'Orange' Revolution
July 26, 2012 – Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the rising star's first major-label album, Channel Orange.
Watch Nas On Marvin Gaye's Marriage, Parenting And Rap Genius
July 22, 2012 – The veteran rapper also spoke to Guy Raz about his divorce, writing and searching for inner peace.