Music

Samara Joy comes from a family of gospel singers and has been singing all her life. In her teens, she performed as a soloist in her church choir, but her career really launched in 2019, when, as a college student, she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. "I was definitely an imitator of Sarah Vaughan for a while," Joy says. "Every time I listened to a recording of […]

This story was adapted from Episode Three of Louder Than A Riot, Season Two. For more about body policing in hip-hop, including tales of cosmetic surgery, peer pressure and comment culture, stream the full episode or subscribe to the Louder Than A Riot podcast. Childish Gambino's "This Is America." Cardi B's "Press." Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby." Scroll through popular music videos and you'll see nudity and violence on the […]

Meet Me @ The Altar's debut album, Past // Present // Future, features a punchy rhythm section and a momentum that reaches out a hand to yank potential friends into the fun. Jonathan Weiner/Courtesy of the artist It can be a disorienting moment, when a broken shard of yourself kept cushioned to your chest reflects the light of thousands of others like it. For the last few years, closeted pop-punk […]

MC Sha-Rock was the first woman to rap on national television in 1981, but hip-hop's double standards have left her legacy as the first female MC buried. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR This story was adapted from Episode 2 of Louder Than A Riot, Season Two: Baby girl, you're only funky as your last cut. To hear more about MC Sha-Rock and the fight to situate women in the rap […]

Megan Thee Stallion. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR In December 2022, one of the biggest trials of the year unfolded in LA. Tory Lanez was facing more than 20 years in prison on charges of shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and the internet was intensely divided: You were either pro-Tory or pro-Megan, and there was nothing else to say about it. Tory was found guilty of assaulting Megan and […]

"When I was first listening to [your music]," Morning Edition host Leila Fadel tells singer-songwriter Tianna Esperanza, "I was more listening to just the music, before the lyrics really set into my head – this sort of sweet track, like a renaissance-style music. And then you hear what you're saying." Sometimes, when I'm walking and a man looks at me, I think of all the ways I could make him […]