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 musical visionary led a multi-racial funk band that produced five Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early '70s. -
Lila Forde is one of the entrants to NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. She explains the story behind her song, "Brick by Brick," which took on more significance after the LA wildfires this year.
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Pulp was the wittiest, bitterest star in the Britpop constellation. On "More," the band's first new album in 24 years, singer Jarvis Cocker is learning to trust his feelings. -
In a week when two witnesses using pseudonyms testified that Combs had assaulted or abused them and another witness said he dangled her over a hotel balcony, the rap mogul's defense team conducted its cross examination more aggressively.
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NPR's Debbie Elliott asks guitarist Hayden Pedigo about his new album, "I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away."
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NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Andrew Batt, executive producer of Marianne Faithfull's posthumous EP Burning Moonlight.
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The hardcore rock band Turnstile is back with a new album, Never Enough. Izzi Bavis talks about how they've kept their Baltimore roots while becoming one of the biggest rock bands in America.
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Myung-Whun Chung will be one of the first non-Italians to take the post of music director at Milan's famous opera house. -
The Emmy-winning composer/arranger worked with a 35-piece orchestra for 27 years, creating music for The Simpsons. Clausen died May 29. Originally broadcast May 14, 1997.
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With the help of Washington, D.C. go-go legends Backyard Band, Amerie sets the tone for summer with a career-spanning set.
