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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
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Kiana Fitzgerald

Kiana Fitzgerald
Maggie Starbard/NPR

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

It's homecoming season so let's talk about Beyoncé's 'Homecoming'

Beyoncé performs in the concert film Homecoming. Parkwood Entertainment /Netflix hide caption

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Parkwood Entertainment /Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's homecoming season so let's talk about Beyoncé's 'Homecoming'

Two years ago, Beyoncé unleashed two major projects called Homecoming. On Netflix, a documentary captured the process of putting on headlining appearances at the Coachella Music Festival. She also surprise-released a double-length live album containing just some of the highlights from Beyoncé's Coachella performances. In this encore episode we're revisiting our conversation about Beyoncé's Homecoming.

It's homecoming season so let's talk about Beyoncé's 'Homecoming'

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'Certified Lover Boy' Is A Complete Drake Experience, For Better And Worse

Drake's latest album, Certified Lover Boy, is out now. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Certified Lover Boy' Is A Complete Drake Experience, For Better And Worse

On Friday, Drake dropped his long-awaited sixth album: Certified Lover Boy. The album contains 21 songs in 86 minutes, and it's generated conversation around everything from its many guest stars (including Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Future, and Lil Wayne) to its cover art, which features a diverse array of... emoji pregnancies.

'Certified Lover Boy' Is A Complete Drake Experience, For Better And Worse

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Aaliyah: Essentials

Aaliyah performing in New York City. KMazur/WireImage hide caption

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KMazur/WireImage

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Aaliyah: Essentials

It's been 20 years since the untimely passing of Aaliyah in a plane crash when she was just 22. In that time, her influence has been felt everywhere in music and pop culture, even though the bulk of her catalog has been notably inaccessible to fans — until now. Aaliyah's second studio album One In A Million finally became available on Spotify for the first time, and more of her discography will be released in the coming weeks. And today, we're looking back at some of Aaliyah's essential tracks.

Aaliyah: Essentials

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Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

Lana Condor and Noah Centineo star in To All The Boys: Always And Forever. Katie Yu/Netflix hide caption

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Katie Yu/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

In 2018, To All The Boys I've Loved Before was a breakout hit for Netflix. Based on Jenny Han's novel, it followed Lara Jean Covey through the adventure of falling in love with one Peter Kavinsky. A sequel followed in 2020 and now, it's time for the finale, which finds Lara Jean and Peter dealing with the complication of graduating and heading off to college.

Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

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The No. 1 Album Of 2020: SAULT's 'Untitled (Black Is)'

SAULT's Untitled (Black Is), the No. 1 album of 2020. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

The No. 1 Album Of 2020: SAULT's 'Untitled (Black Is)'

Radio Milwaukee's Tarik Moody leads a discussion on NPR Music's number one album pick and why it's one of 2020's most important and potent releases.

The No. 1 Album Of 2020: SAULT's 'Untitled (Black Is)'

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Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

Megan Thee Stallion performs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on September 02, 2020 in Morrison, Colorado. Rich Fury/Getty Images for Visible hide caption

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Rich Fury/Getty Images for Visible

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion has had a massive year. Her song with Cardi B, "WAP," topped the Billboard Hot 100 — as did, of course, her remix of "Savage" with Beyoncé. On Friday, Megan Thee Stallion dropped her first official full-length album, called Good News. It's stuffed with explicit sex and raunchy confidence, with features from fellow stars like SZA, Young Thug, 2 Chainz and Da Baby. But it also opens with "Shots Fired," in which Meg bluntly addresses the July shooting that led to bullet wounds in her feet and the arrest of rapper Tory Lanez.

Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

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Enjoying Radha Blank's Sweet 'Forty-Year-Old Version'

In her directorial debut film The Forty-Year-Old Version, Radha Blank plays "Radha," a struggling playwright who decides to become a rapper. Jeong Park/Netflix hide caption

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Jeong Park/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Enjoying Radha Blank's Sweet 'Forty-Year-Old Version'

In the wonderful new film The Forty-Year-Old Version, playwright Radha Blank plays a variation on herself. In it, the fictional Radha, frustrated by a stall in her theater career, finds a new passion: she becomes a rapper. The Forty-Year-Old Version won the dramatic directing award at Sundance, and now it's on Netflix. It's about getting older, getting honest, and, yes, finding yourself.

Enjoying Radha Blank's Sweet 'Forty-Year-Old Version'

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'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

Bolin, Korra, and Mako are three of the heroes in the Nickelodeon series The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon hide caption

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Nickelodeon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

The Legend of Korra is a sequel to the hugely popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place 70 years later, in a darker, more industrialized world where bending the elements is commonplace. Korra is now the Avatar, and she's everything her predecessor Aang wasn't. She's a confident, headstrong teenage girl much more comfortable with combat than with the spiritual aspect of her role.

'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

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'Black Is King': A Beyoncé Film With A Disney Twist

Beyoncé performs in "Mood 4 Eva" from the visual album Black Is King released on July 31 on Disney+. Disney hide caption

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Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Black Is King': A Beyoncé Film With A Disney Twist

Last summer, Beyoncé released an album called The Lion King: The Gift. It was based around Disney's remake of The Lion King — a film that included voice acting from Beyoncé herself, among many others. Last Friday on Disney+, Beyoncé released a movie-length video that's meant to serve as a companion to the album. It's called Black Is King, it's visually grand and sumptuous, and it's got a huge cast — you'll see Lupita Nyong'o, Pharrell Williams, Kelly Rowland, and many looks at Beyoncé's children, her mother, and her husband Jay-Z.

'Black Is King': A Beyoncé Film With A Disney Twist

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