NPR

Michael Jackson performs during the Super Bowl Halftime show in 1993, the year that "Think Twice" picks up his story. George Rose/Getty Images More than a decade after his death, Michael Jackson continues to inspire new art — from a hit Broadway show to an upcoming biopic — in spite of the decades of controversy that have plagued him. Sexual abuse accusations, investigations and lawsuits against the "King of Pop" […]

Rappers Danny Brown (left) and JPEGMAFIA embrace their abrasive sides on Scaring the Hoes, a joyously chaotic collaboration glued together by JPEG's collage-like production. Carlo Cavaluzzi/Courtesy of the artist On the rap internet, "scaring the hoes" has become code for a certain type of hip-hop: anything abrasive or weird or super-lyrical, designed for repeat close listening. More broadly, the phrase has evolved into a euphemism for any rap considered unfit […]

For Shawny Binladen and his collective the Yellow Tape Boys, sampling is a sacred act — the highest form of respect. Photo by GShotEm After Pop Smoke's tragic death in 2020, many wondered what would become of New York drill, and many naysayers claimed it died with him. Over the next year, several booming voices would knock at that door, but the man who broke it down was one who […]

The disbelief and disrespect Megan Thee Stallion suffered at the hands of the culture after being shot by Tory Lanez proved one of the rules of misogyny and racism within hip-hop: Being exceptional doesn't make you the exception. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR Last December, a jury convicted rapper Tory Lanez of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet. The high profile trial shined a light on the misogyny directed […]

Trina performs a Tiny Desk concert "I wanna introduce you guys to the baddest bitch," Trina told the audience of her Tiny Desk. "The original baddest bitch." It's a title no one but the hip-hop icon herself could been able to claim at the Tiny Desk — and for good reason. As a rapper, Trina has been pushing P since before her successors were even sitting up in Pampers and […]