The Bronx rapper's acid tongue and unbothered stance made her one of hip-hop's hottest prospects. On her debut album, Y2K!, her snowballing hype may have exceeded the reach of her pen.
Three survivors of a chaotic moment in hip-hop conjure its best qualities, a decade and a few major career twists later, for three new albums released on the same day.
The two veteran rappers read as comic inversions of one another on their new albums, by turns renewed and restrained by the instincts that defined them at the start of their careers.
In an era when connecting the tidbits of an artist’s private life can seem more important than following a musical thread between songs, West of Roan's Queen of Eyes revives faith in the power of the concept album.
Bruce Springsteen, 40 years on from Born in the U.S.A., shows up on Bryan’s new album to offer the wisdom and regret of a lifetime of telling truths and spinning yarns.
Megan Thee Stallion's post-traumatic reset, a left-field Lil Yachty collab, the raunchy return of cupcaKKe: June 28 delivered a truckload of major albums, and a portrait of modern rap's main tension.
Lamar's blowout Juneteenth concert, held at the Forum in Los Angeles and live-streamed on Amazon Music, planted flags for the future of LA rap, while uniting in hate for a certain Toronto titan.
A new documentary by the hip-hop historian and critic dream hampton, culled from her own never-before-seen footage of rap's golden age, illustrates the hard labor for women who love the music.
David Bazan's multi-part memoirs have blurred memories of his adolescence, but with the goal of being honest and accountable. NPR Music critic Ann Powers sees connections between Pedro the Lion's Santa Cruz and Jane Schoenbrun’s new film, I Saw the TV Glow.
Released in a span of three months, the new albums by Ayra Starr, Tems and Tyla are not merely career-making for the artists, but ground-shifting for the pop music of the continent.
Staples has always lived in a few worlds: art-rap hero, hall-of-fame interviewee, and a homebody whose inner life is none of our business. On Dark Times, his worlds finally converge.
One of the best albums of 2024, Diamond Jubilee, isn't on streaming services. The artist who released it, Cindy Lee, has rejected the streaming era's demands to create something entirely their own.
The rapper slipped free from the legal mess that swallowed his label and his mentor Young Thug — but on his new album, he's still in the grip of an unending image crisis.
