Hip-hop is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Commentator Kiana Fitzgerald is looking back at the albums that changed the game.

Rickly's first book is a solid and promising literary debut. He's a natural, albeit a germinal one. He is best known as a singer and songwriter of the rock band Thursday.

Though defined from the start by outsiders — hip-hop flyover country one day, scrutiny magnet the next — Chicago's poets, brawlers and hustlers remain the last word on what gives the city its soul.

The Puerto Rican vocalist brings her distinctive songs of desire and longing to the Tiny Desk.

A shared love of jazz led author Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrator James Ransome to discover inventor Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax and the instrument named after him.

The lead singer of The 1975 disparaged Malaysia's anti-LGBTQ laws, saying he regretted agreeing to perform in the country.

British band Blur, lead by singer-songwriter Damon Albarn, has a new album. It's called The Ballad of Darren.

Taylor Sheesh, the Philippines' top Taylor Swift impersonator, has set out on her own tour across the country in a bid to get the global superstar's attention.

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Black Opry founder Holly G. about Jason Aldean's latest single and the fight to recognize Black contributions to country music.

The 'anti-city' country song is a well-worn trope, one that pits idyllic country life against the corruption of the city. But Aldean's controversial song reveals the dark heart of the tradition.

The Latin Alternative Music Conference just wrapped its 24th edition. Colombian hip-hop duo Dawer x Damper and Argentinian rock band Usted Señalemelo received this year's Discovery Awards.

The beloved singer and interpreter of pop standards won 20 Grammy awards over a career that touched eight decades.

The country music star is known for his songs about rural life, but critics, especially those on the left of the political spectrum, say his latest music video takes the nostalgic themes too far.

A decades-long investigation into the murder of the rapper appeared to take another turn this week after Las Vegas police searched a home in Henderson, Nev.

The pioneering hip-hop group rolled into NPR headquarters with a horn section to play five funky tracks.