Amplifier Podcast
Photo courtesy of the artist
This has been a historic year for women in rap and hip-hop, all the way to the 2021 Grammy Awards when Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé broke records as the first pair of women to win in the best rap performance category. As NPR Music put it, “To know what tomorrow sounds like, one need only listen to the women in rap today.” And to know what the future of Charlotte hip-hop is, one need only turn to rhythmic lyricist ReeCee Raps.
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Shaboozey represents a reclamation of country music's roots as unapologetically Black. Alongside several special guests, he plays fan favorites and debuts new songs at the Desk. -
Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow and Bruce Springsteen are just some of the artists signed and cultivated by Clive Davis. -
Fred Hammond, a leading architect of modern gospel music, gives us a catalog-spanning set and declares: "Tiny knows how to party in the Holy Ghost!" -
The record executive was instrumental in shepherding the successful careers of a number of monumental music stars, including Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston. -
We review some of the most overplayed, most inescapable, most annoying songs of summer. Consider it exposure therapy.
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Meet the fourth and fifth grades who are superstars on the Internet: An elementary school chorus from Staten Island known as PS22, where kids learn to be their most authentic selves through singing. -
With his latest album U, Baauer aims to inject good vibes into the world. It's a sunny collage of disco, house, breakbeats and more, influenced by the sounds of 2000s dance music.
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NPR Music's Stephen Thompson reports on the pop star's latest song for a feature film.
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Not content with rock, country, gospel and R&B, their new album explores even more sounds and the ups and downs of their 15-year marriage. -
Ibrahim, who died June 15, left South Africa in 1962 and lived in exile in the U.S. and Europe for many years. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, and we listen to Terry Gross' 1989 interview.
