After-Air: DJ Spooky and Keith Shocklee on 30 Years of 'Rapper's Delight'
Celeste Headlee sits down for an after-air conversation about the first mass-market rap single, "Rapper's Delight," which was released by The Sugarhill Gang 30 years ago this week. She's joined by hip...
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Rakim: A Hip-Hop Hero's Third Act
[Rakim's "Guess Who's Back"]Rakim’s influence is all over contemporary hip hop (and beyond it), from Tupac and Jay-Z to Eminem and Rage Against the Machine. He releases his third solo album, “The...
View ArticleTakeouts: Offshore Money, LeBron James, Listeners
Business Takeout: We have figures on how many Americans have been hiding money in offshore bank accounts, and Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, tells us about the more than 14,000...
View ArticleChilean Rapper Ana Tijoux, the Newest Face of Latina Hip-Hop
Chilean hip-hop artist Ana Tijoux sees herself as a musician first, and a rapper, second. The combination of clear homage to the kings and queens of soul, hip-hop and funk come through in her music,...
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Russell Simmons on How You Can Get Rich
Russell Simmons made his name as one of the most influential names in hip-hop by helping to found Def Jam Records in the 2980s. But he's also a the author of a successful self-help book that Oprah...
View ArticleGraffiti poet.
Bronx poet John Rodriguez talks about hip hop and his poem about a woman graffiti artist.
View ArticleNew Releases in Hip Hop
Drake is not your typical rapper: the biracial, half-Jewish MC grew up a child actor in a wealthy part of Toronto. But with his new album Thank Me Later, the 23-year-old may be poised for chart-topping...
View ArticleVogueing, Krumping and Tai Chi at the Asia Society
With today’s weather forecast, you may just be able to get away with singing in the rain. But what about dancing in the streets? Rain or shine, an international ensemble of dancers, drummers and...
View ArticleCopy Cat: Dajaz1 Goes Free
A popular hip hop music site called Dajaz1 was recently returned to its owner after being seized by the federal government in November 2010. Despite RIAA assertions that the site had committed...
View ArticleJean Grae: In Studio
After releasing a free mixtape called “Cookies or Comas” last year, New York City rapper Jean Grae ups the culinary ante with her forthcoming album, “Cake or Death.” She joins us in the studio for a...
View ArticleThose Dirty, Dirty Dozens
Long before rap, there was “the dozens” – the African-American street rhyming tradition that author Elijah Wald defines as “halfway between ‘yo mama’ jokes and rap freestyle battling.” He joins us to...
View ArticleFrank Ocean Comes Out; D'Angelo Comes Back
Music and culture writer Dream Hampton joins us to talk about two R&B stars making headlines: Odd Future member Frank Ocean, who last week publicly detailed his former relationship with a man, and...
View ArticlePick Three: Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Nas
We get a taste of three new releases from hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar and R&B singers Frank Ocean and Nas, hand-selected by writer, blogger and co-host of the MTV show “Hip Hop POV” Sowmya...
View ArticleBitch Bad? Dissecting Pop Music's Favorite Five-Letter Word
Last month, both rapper Kanye West's "Perfect Bitch" and Lupe Fiasco's "Bitch Bad" rekindled an age-old debate about the use of the word "bitch" in music. Pop music critic Ann Powers recently wrote...
View ArticleGig Alert: Tanya Morgan
Tanya Morgan"Rock The Bells"Playing on Tuesday at Public AssemblyGet: Tickets ($10) | DirectionsTanya Morgan doesn’t sound like a Tanya Morgan, and that’s the point. The creation of Brooklyn MCs...
View ArticleSean 'Diddy' Combs For Musician In Chief
Throughout the past several weeks, Soundcheck has been accepting nominations for our first Musician In Chief. Soundcheck's bullpen contributors have nominated musicians, and made a case for why that...
View ArticleJovanotti: A Euro Superstar Makes His U.S. Debut
The name Jovanotti might not mean much to Americans. But the Tuscan artist has been putting out best-selling albums overseas since the late 1980s -- including his 2011 record Ora, which premiered at...
View ArticleOnce Rhymed About, Obama Finds Less Support from Hip Hop in 2012
Before the 2008 presidential election, hip hop stars like Nas, Young Jeezy and Sean "Diddy" Combs enthusiastically endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama through speech and song. But four years later, the...
View ArticleA Year For Newcomers: Sowmya Krishnamurthy's 2012 Music Survey
For hip hop journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy, 2012 was all about newcomers -- namely, the young rapper Kendrick Lamar, and R&B singers The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. The trio of breakout stars, ranging...
View Article'Rage Is Back' Mixtape Provides A Novel Twist To Book Promotion
Adam Mansbach is most known for his children's book for adults, Go The F--- To Sleep, but his new novel, Rage Is Back, looks to further cement the New York Times bestselling author as an innovative...
View ArticleEddie Huang and Heems on Hip Hop and Culture; Revisiting A Heavy Metal Cookbook
In this episode: A conversation about Wu-Tang, sneakers, race and authenticity with Eddie Huang and Heems. Last week, Soundcheck hosted a conversation with chef, author and hip hop-head Eddie Huang and...
View ArticleRecord Dow; Jody Williams; Energy Futures; Political Hip Hop
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high. Daniel Gross, the global business editor of Newsweek and the Daily Beast, explain what it signals about the economy. Plus: Bronx Borough President...
View ArticleTalib Kweli: Soundcheck Live In The Greene Space
Both as a solo artist and one-half of the hip-hop duo Black Star (with Yasiin Bey, the rapper and actor formerly known as Mos Def), Talib Kweli has become known for his broad-ranging lyrics and...
View ArticleTony Visconti on Bowie; Blocking Out Noise; Talib Kweli Live
In this episode: Veteran producer Tony Visconti recently teamed up with David Bowie to ambush the pop world with the from-out-of-nowhere album “The Next Day.” Visconti talks about the secrecy that...
View ArticleCommunity Voices: WQXR's Terrance McKnight
We caught up with WQXR's Terrance McKnight in the studio just before he went on-air to find out how what sparked his interest in music. Click here to watch the video interview. You can join the...
View ArticleSummer Of '93: The Hip Hop World Before Wu-Tang; Brit-Punk From Wire
Join Soundcheck all this week as we revisit landmark albums, singles and watershed moments that sizzled in the summer of 1993. Plus, special guests join us to look back at movies, pop culture and city...
View ArticleSummer Of '93: Hip Hop Before Wu-Tang
November of 1993 might have brought us Wu-Tang Clan's groundbreaking debut Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, but there was still plenty going on in hip hop in the hot summer months leading up to it....
View ArticleSummer Of '93: Digable Planets' Ishmael Butler; Movie Soundtracks; Minor Empire
Join Soundcheck all this week as we revisit landmark albums, singles and watershed moments that sizzled in the summer of 1993. Plus, special guests join us to look back at movies, pop culture and city...
View ArticleJohn Schaefer Watches The VMAs So You Don't Have To
If you, like me, are one of those people given to saying "I remember when MTV actually played music videos," then you're probably too old to be watching the VMAs. So I watched last night’s Video Music...
View ArticleMK Asante's Childhood Tales Of 'Killadelphia'; That Was A Hit!?!; Goldspot...
In this episode: In his new memoir, Buck, writer and filmmaker MK Asante charts the story of his Philadelphia (or as he calls it, "Killadelphia") childhood, and finding an education through rap, poetry...
View ArticleDessa: Twin City Rapper Embraces Her Melodic Side
The Twin Cities area is home to Doomtree, one of the best independent hip-hop collectives in the country. The seven members includes rapper P.O.S., producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak, and its only...
View ArticleMadonna Week: 'Ray Of Light' Revisited; Madonna In Detroit; Dessa Plays Live
In this episode: NPR Music’s Ann Powers joins us for a deep dive into Madonna’s 1998 album Ray of Light.Plus: In 1984, Detroit News reporter Susan Whitall interviewed Madonna about growing up in...
View ArticleM.I.A. On 'Matangi;' Music That Makes You Sweat; Yonder Mountain String Band
In this episode: Rapper M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy: she once performed at the Grammys while nine months pregnant; she raised her middle finger at the Super Bowl; and she threatened to leak...
View ArticleSummer '94: Where Were You, And What Were You Listening To?
All this month, Soundcheck is going to be looking and listening back 20 years, to the summer of 1994. It was a time that saw the release of movies like The Lion King, Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump; the...
View ArticleGig Alert: Ratking
ARTIST: RatkingSTREAM:Ratking, "Canal" GIG: Monday night at SOB's. ($15)Harlem hip hop group Ratking aims to reconnect rap with punk culture, and combines the ethos of both in their energetic and...
View ArticleLiberia's hottest hip-hop station has all the latest Ebola music and news
One of Liberia's most popular hip-hop stations is taking its young audience and the Ebola crisis seriously. Hott FM is quickly becoming Monrovia's best source for 24/7 Ebola coverage — through both...
View ArticleMuslims on the Mic
Scholar Su'ad Abdul Khabeer tells BackStory producer Kelly Jones about Islam’s impact on hip-hop - and how hip-hop opened doors between different Muslim communities. This story comes from the BackStory...
View ArticleA Rapper's Homage to Ganesh
MC Yogi was a struggling graffiti artist until he discovered the transformative power of yoga. Now he blends his love of yoga with hip hop and electronic music - and he's creating a new kind of...
View ArticleJuly 16: Art And Race—Mic Capes & Rasheed Jamal, August Wilson Red Door...
This week on State of Wonder, we’re going to spend the hour exploring how the region’s artists are using their work to process the hurricane of emotions that erupted after last week’s deadly shootings...
View ArticleFeb. 25: Virtual Reality Art, Last Artful Dodgr, National Museum of African...
The crocuses are popping up, and this week's show blossoms with new music, new technology, dazzling comics, and so much more! Artists Will Transform Your World with Virtual Reality - 1:20 Imagine a...
View Article#MaskOffChallenge is Showcasing Fun Musical Talent All Over Twitter
Shortly after Valentine’s Day, hip-hop artist Future surprised the world with a self-titled album, his fifth studio effort. It was a move that one-upped whatever gift you chose to give that special...
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