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Kiana Fitzgerald Kiana Fitzgerald is a freelance music journalist, cultural critic, and DJ. She writes for the world from deep in the heart of Texas.
Kiana Fitzgerald
Stories By

Kiana Fitzgerald

Kiana Fitzgerald

Kiana Fitzgerald is a freelance music journalist, cultural critic, and DJ. She writes for the world from deep in the heart of Texas.

Story Archive

Monday

Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

Beyonce's Renaissance is the singer's seventh studio album. Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Parkwood Entertainment

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

Beyoncé's Renaissance is a joyful, sonic immersion made for dance floors of all kinds. The album earned nine Grammy nominations, and during this Sunday's telecast, Beyoncé could win her first-ever, much overdue award for album of the year.

Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated 'Renaissance' is a thotty and ethereal work of art

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Thursday

Obituaries

Remembering pioneering rapper Gangsta Boo, dead at 43

The rapper known as Gangsta Boo died this week at age 43. Born Lola Mitchell, she was known as one of the South's premier crunk emcees and she got her start in the group Three 6 Mafia.

Remembering pioneering rapper Gangsta Boo, dead at 43

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Tuesday

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

Bashir Salahuddin in South Side. Adrian S. Burrows Sr./HBO Max hide caption

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Adrian S. Burrows Sr./HBO Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

On the HBO Max sitcom South Side, the everyday absurdities of living in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood make for hilarious fodder. The show follows an eclectic bunch that includes employees at a rent-to-own shop and a pair of bickering cops as they embark on adventures around the city. Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin, and Sultan Salahuddin created and co-star in the series.

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

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Monday

Our music critics' most memorable lyrics of the year

Bad Bunny, performing in Miami on Aug. 12, 2022. The Puerto Rican superstar's wordplay was front-of-mind for Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre this year. Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images hide caption

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Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Best Music of 2022

Our music critics' most memorable lyrics of the year

When the words in a song hit you in just the right way, they can stay with you. We're asking the folks at NPR Music: What lyrics did you hear in 2022 that you just couldn't shake?

Monday

If you need a new watch, get in the 'Mood'

In Mood, Nicôle Lecky plays Sasha Clayton, a young woman who gets pulled into the worlds of social media and sex work. Natalie Seery/BBC Studios/Bonafi hide caption

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Natalie Seery/BBC Studios/Bonafi

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

If you need a new watch, get in the 'Mood'

The excellent BBC America/AMC+ drama series Mood considers how one young woman, at one of her most difficult moments, finds herself making choices she assumed she never would. Its writer and star is Nicôle Lecky, and the show is about sex work, social media and the way economic reality can make following your true passions very challenging.

If you need a new watch, get in the 'Mood'

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Friday

Wendell and Wild features (dead) bodies in (stop-)motion

Lyric Ross voices Kat, a rebellious new student at Rust Bank Catholic School for Girls. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Wendell and Wild features (dead) bodies in (stop-)motion

Director and animator Henry Selick, best-known for films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, has teamed up with co-writer Jordan Peele for Wendell & Wild, a new stop-motion animated movie from Netflix. Peele also stars in the film, reuniting with Keegan-Michael Key as a pair of demon brothers who escape the underworld with the help of Kat, a teenager with a tragic past.

Wendell and Wild features (dead) bodies in (stop-)motion

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Friday

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Dale (voiced by Andy Samberg) and Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) in Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers on Disney+. Courtesy of Disney Enterprises hide caption

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Courtesy of Disney Enterprises

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: the novel Thistlefoot, "Blessed" by GloRilla, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and more.

'Hocus Pocus 2' conjures nostalgia, but does it recapture the magic?

Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in Hocus Pocus 2. Matt Kennedy/Disney hide caption

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Matt Kennedy/Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Hocus Pocus 2' conjures nostalgia, but does it recapture the magic?

The witchy Disney comedy Hocus Pocus wasn't a huge hit when it came out in 1993. But it found a devoted following and became a Halloween staple over time, so much so that it's finally got a sequel 29 years later. Hocus Pocus 2 brings back the Sanderson sisters, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, as they sing songs, get into mischief and contend with a new world of confusing technology. But does it live up the original?

'Hocus Pocus 2' conjures nostalgia, but does it recapture the magic?

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Thursday

Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' is a thotty, naughty and ethereal work of art

Beyoncé returns with Renaissance, her first solo studio album since 2016's Lemonade. Carlijn Jacobs/Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Carlijn Jacobs/Parkwood Entertainment

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' is a thotty, naughty and ethereal work of art

On Beyoncé's new album Renaissance, the superstar channels a rich history of Black and queer music. There's disco, dancehall, bounce, house, gospel, freestyle and funk — all served up in a confident, sexy and thotty gumbo. Now that we've had some time to sit with (and get down to) the album, how are we feeling? Was it worth the wait?

Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' is a thotty, naughty and ethereal work of art

Listen · 22:45
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Monday

We recap the 2022 BET Awards

Jack Harlow and Brandy perform onstage during the 2022 BET Awards. Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET hide caption

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Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We recap the 2022 BET Awards

Sunday's BET Awards were a four-hour celebration of Black culture, with a heavy emphasis on music. The night was packed with live performances from Latto and Jack Harlow, and surprise guests Mariah Carey and Brandy, and featured a lavish tribute to Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sean "Diddy" Combs.

We recap the 2022 BET Awards

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Friday

Friday

Everyone should be attending 'Abbott Elementary'

ABC's Abbott Elementary stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams and Lisa Ann Walter. Gilles Mingasson/ABC hide caption

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Gilles Mingasson/ABC

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Everyone should be attending 'Abbott Elementary'

The fantastic new ABC series Abbott Elementary is a sitcom set at a severely underfunded Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson is the creator and very funny star of the mockumentary-style comedy, which follows a cast of teachers who are dedicated, but burnt out as they make do with limited resources and a hilariously incompetent principal.

Everyone should be attending 'Abbott Elementary'

Listen · 23:10
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Thursday

On 'Dawn FM,' The Weeknd crafts a synth-pop epic

The Weeknd returns with his fifth studio album Dawn FM. Courtesy of Republic Records hide caption

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Courtesy of Republic Records

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On 'Dawn FM,' The Weeknd crafts a synth-pop epic

The Weeknd's album After Hours was one of the biggest hits of 2020, and now the elusive artist is back. He's had a decade of massive highlights from "Blinding Lights" to last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. His new album is Dawn FM, and it's a set of sleek synth-pop songs with assists from Oneohtrix Point Never and comedian Jim Carrey.

On 'Dawn FM,' The Weeknd crafts a synth-pop epic

Listen · 15:32
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