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Kendrick Lamar performs during "The Pop Out — Ken & Friends," his June 19 concert event at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon/Getty Images North America

Kendrick Lamar performs at a Spotify event in Cannes, France, during the Cannes Lions media festival in June 2022. Getty Images for Spotify/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Getty Images for Spotify/Getty Images Europe

After elevating Afropop's standing with a standout guest spot on Wizkid's "Essence" and becoming a secret weapon for Rihanna, Drake and Beyoncé, Tems is ready for center stage. Adrienne Raquel hide caption

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Adrienne Raquel

Nigerian singer Tems releases her debut album: 'Born in the Wild'

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Ayra Starr's second album, The Year I Turned 21, is a global-minded symphony of influences, and part of a recent wave of young women charting their own course for African pop. Mikey Oshai/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Mikey Oshai/Courtesy of the artist

Janelle Monáe gives a commencement speech at Loyola Marymount University's 2024 Graduate ceremony. JC Olivera/Getty Images hide caption

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JC Olivera/Getty Images

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

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Omar Sosa Fabrizio Cirulli/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Fabrizio Cirulli/Courtesy of the artist

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Rapsody's album Please Don't Cry functions as a reintroduction to the rapper — long defined by her technique, now revealing some of the real person behind that prowess. Jhalin Knowles/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jhalin Knowles/Courtesy of the artist

The retro-pop artist Cindy Lee doesn't sit for interviews, use social media and rejects the streaming era's demands on independent artists. Photo by Meaghan Garvey/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Photo by Meaghan Garvey/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR

A new album by pianist Inna Faliks features world premiere recordings of works by five composers. Rosalind Wong/Inna Faliks hide caption

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Rosalind Wong/Inna Faliks

Pianist Inna Faliks traces musical odyssey from Soviet Ukraine via Faustian fantasy

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Gunna performs during the event "A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop" on Nov. 8, 2023, at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

'I Saw the TV Glow' dives deep into the pop cultural obsession of two outcast suburban teenagers, with a curated soundtrack that matches their malaise. Photo by A24/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Photo by A24/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR

Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov fled his hometown of Kyiv for Berlin in early 2022. Dmitri Matveyev/Naxos hide caption

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Dmitri Matveyev/Naxos

What's past is present for Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov

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Speranza Scappucci conducts singers on stage and the orchestra in the pit for the Washington National Opera's production of Turandot. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

One of opera's greatest hits gets a new and happy ending in Washington

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Kendrick Lamar performs during the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2023 and Drake performs during Day 2 of Lollapalooza Chile 2023. Last week, the two rappers' long-running feud exploded in a flurry of diss tracks. Jesse Wensing/ANP/AFP and Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images hide caption

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Jesse Wensing/ANP/AFP and Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
Jackie Lay/NPR

Mother's Day Special: Celebrating moms and the music they loved

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