wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

In the early days of hip-hop, Run DMC made music with a mission, like the 1986 track "Proud To Be Black." KRS-One and his group Boogie Down Productions called a 1990 album Edutainment. Now, motivational or educational lyrics are met with skepticism. Today, we discuss the viability of hip-hop with ...

By the end of the 1990s, hip hop was flexing a lot of music-industry muscle. But at the close of this decade, things are very different. Music critic and author Oliver Wang joins us to explain how the digital music revolution changed the genre. Plus: Oliver's picks for the best ...

Many rappers see their relevance fade with age, but a few have managed to stay in the picture without losing credibility. Music writer Oliver Wang explains how Jay-Z is maturing with grace on The Blueprint 3, while New York magazine contributor Josh Eells tells us why rap is still "a ...

In the third installment of our "Seven Sins" series, we look at the role greed has played over time in music. Oliver Wang, music writer and assistant professor of sociology at Cal State-Long Beach, talks about money and power in hip-hop. And Dan Kennedy, author of the music-industry memoir "Rock ...

The new album from Kanye West has some fans scratching their heads. Other fans are applauding. The often-brash rapper has turned down the volume for a new album marked by the grief and loss in West's personal life. Music writer Oliver Wang joins us to talk about "808s and Heartbreak." ...

One story compiled in "Best Music Writing 2008" tells the story of a Latin music craze that briefly reigned supreme in 1960s New York. Music writer Oliver Wang shares the rise and fall of the boogaloo.

A growing number of retro-soul singers from the UK are taking over the album charts. Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" scored the highest ever debut for a British woman (number seven), and Joss Stone's "Introducing Joss Stone" followed a week later, debuting at number two. On today's show, LA Times ...