Recordings of old jazz performances at Baltimore's now-closed Famous Ballroom were released earlier in 2023.

The rapper, an early collaborator with the producer Timbaland, emerged from a Virginia Beach rap crew that produced several future superstars. Like hip-hop itself, he was 50 years old.

Nicki Minaj spent years hustling in the rap world before she even put out an album. Then in 2010, it all came together with a celebrated guest verse and a debut album that took hip hop by storm.

To mark hip-hop's 50th anniversary, NPR's All Things Considered explores five moments that are integral to how the culture grew and evolved.

In 2003, T.I. and other Atlanta rappers created new subgenre of rap: trap music. Twenty years later, its influence is everywhere.

The MTV show Yo! MTV Raps helped bring hip-hop into mainstream American culture in the 1980s and was made by a scrappy team in the face of a skeptical corporate network.

For the 50th anniversary of hip-hop in August, NPR Music is pulling together all of its hip-hop Tiny Desk Concerts — the sleeper hits and the all-time favorites, plus some behind-the-scenes gossip.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, about their 1989 hit "Closer to Fine" being featured prominently in the new Barbie movie.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with CIA Director Bill Burns at the Aspen Security Forum about the rebellion in Russia, and what it signals about Putin's strength and future in Ukraine.

In their new book On Minimalism, musicologists William Robin and Kerry O'Brien capture the lesser-known stories of the musical movement and its development, era by era.

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive director and Chief Negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, about the decision by the actors' union to strike.

Ben Folds reflects on his songwriting process, injecting empathy into lyrics, and why he believes that "we don't need any new albums."

President Biden delivers the first Oval Office address of his presidency. It comes a day after Congress passed a bipartisan deal to lift the debt ceiling, narrowly avoiding the deadline.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Chilean musician Alex Anwandter about his new disco-influenced album El Diablo en el Cuerpo.

Can Congress keep up with the pace of growth in artificial intelligence? Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security talks about the current attempts to regulate A.I.

Kara Jackson is mostly known for her poetry. But singing was her first love, and she's now out with her debut album, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?

New recordings of old jazz performances at Baltimore's now-closed Famous Ballroom are being released for the first time.

Ed Sheeran has won a copyright trial brought by the co-writer of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On.

On his debut album, Sea/Sons, Abraham Alexander reflects on his upbringing as the son of Nigerian immigrants in Greece and the family's eventual journey to settle in the U.S.

NPR's Juana Summers talks with singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams about her new memoir Don't Tell Anyone the Secrets I Told You.