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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The band's 1976 greatest hits collection just became the first album ever to earn 4x Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, or 40 million units sold.
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Singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams tapped into America's current period of struggle on her latest album, a collection of protest songs called "World's Gone Wrong." -
This week, we've finally received an infusion of fresh blood in the form of a brand-new album and a brand-new song — by two different artists, no less! — debuting at No. 1. -
The two friends reconnect on Don't Be Dumb, Rocky's first album in eight years — and inadvertently demonstrate how much they've diverged as artists. -
In this new era of indie rock, yeule has become a leading voice. Their gauzy and sludgy songs are transformed at the Tiny Desk. -
Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is retiring from the stage after a last performance as Maria in the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, and looking ahead to directing and mentoring. -
NPR's Scott Detrow talks with John Fogerty after his Tiny Desk performance about Proud Mary and touring with his family.
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Renée Fleming is the latest to say they will not perform at the Kennedy Center. -
Álvaro Lafuente's calming voice and steady rhythms feel like a lullaby with a fiesta tilt. At the Desk, the Spanish singer transports us to a club in Barcelona or a beach on Costa Brava. -
The Australian folk band The Paper Kites has a new song called "When The Lavender Blooms." It offers some advice about how to appreciate the present moment.
