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Music Features

Thursday

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost

The sheer volume of loss felt by the music world in 2020 is almost overwhelming. Here is NPR's tribute to dozens of the musicians — founders and innovators across genres — who died this year.

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost

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Tuesday

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Annye Anderson — stepsister of Robert Johnson — published her memoir Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson in June. Ben James hide caption

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Ben James

Music Interviews

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Annye Anderson, the stepsister of Robert Johnson, whose life became a founding myth of American music, has written a memoir about the real life behind the legend.

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

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Monday

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

Composer James Newton Howard in 2008. Wim Lippens/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Wim Lippens/Universal Pictures

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

James Newton Howard has composed the music for more than 100 films: thrillers, Disney animation and big fantasy series. His latest is the Tom Hanks western, News of the World.

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

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Friday

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

Sergio Arau (center) poses with fellow Botellita de Jerez bandmates. They were one of the most influential groups in the '80s after rock re-emerged in Mexico following 15 years of censorship and repression. Lourdes Grobet hide caption

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Lourdes Grobet

Music Interviews

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

Rompan Todo is a new Netflix six-part documentary series that explores the socio-political history of rock music in Latin America from its genesis in the 1960s to the present.

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

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Tuesday

Saturday

'I Want Us To Dream A Little Bigger': Noname And Mariame Kaba On Art And Abolition

Rapper Noname and activist and organizer Mariame Kaba joined Louder Than A Riot to discuss hip-hop's role in a prison-free future. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images and Giancarlo Valentine hide caption

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Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images and Giancarlo Valentine

Louder Than A Riot

'I Want Us To Dream A Little Bigger': Noname And Mariame Kaba On Art And Abolition

What role can hip-hop play in reforming — or entirely dismantling — mass incarceration? Rapper Noname and activist Mariame Kaba joined Louder Than A Riot to discuss making revolution irresistible.

Thursday

Beethoven's Life, Liberty And Pursuit Of Enlightenment

A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, painted in 1804 by W.J. Mähler. Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Deceptive Cadence

Beethoven's Life, Liberty And Pursuit Of Enlightenment

Growing up in a progressive city, Ludwig van Beethoven embraced the ideals of the Enlightenment, the philosophical movement that shook Europe and helped shape the composer's music.

Beethoven's Life, Liberty And Pursuit Of Enlightenment

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Wednesday

Making Revolution Irresistible

Noname. Dale Edwin Murray for NPR hide caption

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Dale Edwin Murray for NPR

Louder Than A Riot

Making Revolution Irresistible

Yo Gotti grew up in Memphis just across the state line from Mississippi State Penitentiary (aka Parchman) — so this year, when he learned about the squalor its inmates were living in, he wanted to help. Gotti enlisted Jay-Z and Roc Nation to sue the department of corrections for human rights violations. In our finale episode, we ask how much celebrity activism really helps the prison reform movement, and sit down with rapper Noname and organizer Mariame Kaba to consider the alternate solutions proposed by prison abolition.

Making Revolution Irresistible

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Tuesday

Let's Celebrate Beethoven's 250th

Portrait of Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, ca. 1818. Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Let's Celebrate Beethoven's 250th

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we celebrate the life of Beethoven and the lasting powers of his music in the 250 years since his birth.

Let's Celebrate Beethoven's 250th

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Saturday

Caught In The System

Nipsey Hussle is part of a mural painted by Moses Ball featuring other local notable people on the wall of a bank in the rapper's Hyde Park neighborhood. In the wake of Hussle's March 2019 death, many murals of the beloved Los Angeles musician were painted in the Hyde Park neighborhood near his Marathon Clothing store. Tara Pixley for NPR hide caption

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Tara Pixley for NPR

Louder Than A Riot

Caught In The System

When rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed in 2019, he was known as an advocate for the people in the neighborhood where he grew up and made his name. But the LAPD couldn't let his gang affiliation go.

Thursday

2020 Was The Year Female Rappers Dominated
Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr / NPR / Getty Images

Best Music Of 2020

2020 Was The Year Female Rappers Dominated

To know what tomorrow sounds like, one need only listen to the women in rap today. Our 23-song playlist represents but a handful of the many women rappers who left their mark on 2020.

2020 Was The Year Female Rappers Dominated

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