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 hip-hop duo delivers its best live performance ever recorded and one of the hardest Tiny Desks of all time. -
In Hawaiian culture, there’s a tradition of celebrating an individual in song.
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The Library of Congress' new collection includes more than 5,000 items from the Broadway legend, including ideas for Sweeney Todd lyrics and notes for Glynis Johns as she sang "Send in the Clowns." -
NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is back with Celia Gregory of Nashville public radio station WNXP to talk through this week's best new music. -
NPR Music received a record number of entries to this year's Tiny Desk Contest: 7,500. The judges discovered so many amazing entries, and now we're sharing some of those standouts here.
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Amid a cluster of top 10 album debuts this week, there's a left-field hit with staying power: the soundtrack to the Netflix original movie KPop Demon Hunters, which surges into the top five. -
Another departure from the Kennedy Center: Composer, pianist, educator and bandleader Jason Moran announced on social media that he is no longer the artistic director for jazz. Moran joined the Kennedy Center in 2011. -
Last week, a federal jury in Manhattan found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution while acquitting him on more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. -
When we finally got Wet Leg into the office to record, we weren't surprised by the amount of playful swagger the band brought. -
Journalist Betto Arcos got a history and music lesson from a storied musician and owner of one of the region's remaining juke joints.
