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This year, NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts — both from home and from behind our beloved Desk. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we've never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk's unique way of showcasing that […]

Givēon’s debut album Give Or Take is here. Roddy Ricch lets the music do the talking on his latest The Big 3.  Lupe Fiasco’s latest DRILL MUSIC IN ZION arrived on Friday. Lupe Fiasco has officially dropped his new album DRILL MUSIC IN ZION. We’re here for the heavily anticipated return of the insightful lyricist.... Read more » The post 8 New Hip-Hop & R&B Albums You Should Be Listening […]

Social Brew. (Picture by Kelton Mattingly) Simone Ispahani took her love of coffee and combined it with her will to serve others and founded Social Brew, a new e-commerce specialty coffee company. Social Brew donates half of its proceeds to organizations fighting against human trafficking.Ispahani was a student at Biola University, in her senior year, when she co-led a three-week mission trip to India to work with women and children […]

Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival took place in Washington D.C., featuring acts such as Moneybagg Yo, Chloe x Halle, and Anderson .Paak with an all-star performance from the visionary artist himself. Joining the ranks of Drake’s OVO Fest, J. Cole’s Dreamville, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, and JAY-Z’s Made in America, Pharrell’s Something in the Water Festival is one of the many celebrity-branded music fests that have popped up over the […]

When it comes to the BET Awards, nominations for Black queer artists — especially out queer men —  have been far and few between. Since the beginning of his career, Lil Nas X has mastered the art of controversy. The rapper has used his platform to create waves of discourse — and sometimes even dysfunction — with his wild antics. From videos with satanic imagery to even selling blood-infused sneakers, […]

Brooklyn-based singer Yaya Bey is creating intricate R&B that speaks to her healing journey. Bey speaks with us about the core of ‘Remember Your North Star’, her confessional and emotionally honest album.  Yaya Bey’s newest R&B album is a healing balm she created for herself as she navigated the past few years of the pandemic. Aptly titled Remember Your North Star, Bey said that the 18-track project is a product […]

Hold onto your wigs, the Queen is back. Four days after announcing the release date of her seventh solo studio album, the eagerly anticipated act i: RENAISSANCE (out July 29), Beyoncé dropped the project's lead single, "BREAK MY SOUL." A co-production between Beyoncé, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream (who last collaborated on 2009's "Single Ladies"), "BREAK MY SOUL" honors a long lineage of liberatory queer anthems, like Diana Ross' "I'm Coming […]