Music Features : NPR

Wear My Headphones: Damon Krukowski On How Digital Culture Changes Us

Damon Krukowski's book, The New Analog, and podcast, Ways of Hearing, explore the ways digital culture has changed how music is both heard and made. Naomi Yang/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Naomi Yang/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Wear My Headphones: Damon Krukowski On How Digital Culture Changes Us

December 22, 2017 • NPR Music's year-end interview series concludes with an analog baby turned digital savant, who says that how we consume music today has become a political, emotional and existential choice.

Analog For The People: Synth Master Tatsuya Takahashi On Engineering Fun

Tatsuya Takahashi at his home workshop in early 2017, surrounded by a few of his signature machines. Akemi Kurosaka/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Akemi Kurosaka/Courtesy of the artist

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Analog For The People: Synth Master Tatsuya Takahashi On Engineering Fun

December 22, 2017 • NPR Music's year-end interview series continues with an engineer who's led a quiet movement to create music tools anyone can use.

Reggie 'Combat Jack' Ossé, Hip-Hop Journalist And Podcaster, Dies At 53

Reggie "Combat Jack" Ossé attends the Spotify Mogul launch party in May 2017. The hip-hop personality has passed away at the age of 53. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images hide caption

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Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

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Reggie 'Combat Jack' Ossé, Hip-Hop Journalist And Podcaster, Dies At 53

December 20, 2017 • Entertainment lawyer-turned-hip-hop podcaster Reggie Ossé started his interview show, The Combat Jack Show, on a lark, but it turned into an essential document of rap in the Internet age. He was 53.

Define Your Line: Rapsody On Coexisting In Rap's Power Gap

Rapsody released Laila's Wisdom, her sophomore album and first since partnering with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, in September. Roc Nation/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Roc Nation/Courtesy of the artist

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Define Your Line: Rapsody On Coexisting In Rap's Power Gap

December 20, 2017 • As women lit up hip-hop this year, an old idea persisted that only one female MC can wear the crown at a time. Our year-end series continues with an artist determined to coexist without compromise.

Power In Everything: Priests' Katie Alice Greer On Making Space For Art

Katie Alice Greer of Washington, D.C.'s Priests. The band released its full-length debut, Nothing Feels Natural, in the early weeks of 2017. Katie Alice Greer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Katie Alice Greer/Courtesy of the artist

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Power In Everything: Priests' Katie Alice Greer On Making Space For Art

December 19, 2017 • NPR Music's year-end interview series continues with a punk singer from the nation's capital, who says most conversations about "political art" are missing the point.

Naming The Beast: Jason Isbell And Amanda Shires On Speaking Up In 2017

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires perform onstage at the 2016 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tenn. Mickey Bernal/Getty Images hide caption

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Naming The Beast: Jason Isbell And Amanda Shires On Speaking Up In 2017

December 18, 2017 • This week, NPR Music is speaking to creators whose work in 2017 captured something unique about a chaotic year. We begin with two musicians whose intertwined careers are a statement in themselves.

Here's Why Black Thought's 10-Minute Freestyle Is So Remarkable

Black Thought's latest freestyle reinforces the art of lyrical acrobatics in hip-hop. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images hide caption

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Here's Why Black Thought's 10-Minute Freestyle Is So Remarkable

December 15, 2017 • The Roots' MC asserted his G.O.A.T. status with a perfectly executed, breathtaking performance on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show.

Jon Hendricks, Genre-Pushing Jazz Vocalist, Dead At 96

Jazz singers, Dave Lambert (left), Annie Ross and Jon Hendricks with Canon L. John Collins on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in London in 1959. Jon Hendricks died on November 22 at the age of 96. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption

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Jon Hendricks, Genre-Pushing Jazz Vocalist, Dead At 96

November 22, 2017 • The jazz singer and songwriter died Wednesday in Manhattan at the age of 96.

Vince Staples Believes He Deserves All The Grammys, But He Isn't Holding His Breath

Vince Staples's second album, Big Fish Theory, was released in June. James W. Mataitis Bailey/Courtesy of Def Jam hide caption

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James W. Mataitis Bailey/Courtesy of Def Jam

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Vince Staples Believes He Deserves All The Grammys, But He Isn't Holding His Breath

November 17, 2017 • The acclaimed rapper argues that the music he makes could fit into hip-hop, electronic or alternative categories at the annual awards, if only the Academy could see past its biases.

As Always, Country Music Gently Reckons With Civic Tumult

The opening performance at the 51st annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 8, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images hide caption

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As Always, Country Music Gently Reckons With Civic Tumult

November 10, 2017 • At the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday night, light political farce and wide-angle expressions of empathy were the vehicles for addressing violence, toxic politics and sexual assault.

Courtesy of Big Machine Label Group

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The Old Taylor's Not Dead

November 10, 2017 • On her new album, Reputation, Taylor Swift continues to chronicle the links between romance, revenge and her own personal sense of justice, but also confronts how she may be trapped by her own image.

The Old Taylor's Not Dead

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Tucker Beathard Is More Than Country Music's Latest Punk

Tucker Beathard's family connections in Nashville haven't smoothed the path to his debut album. Jim Wright/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jim Wright/Courtesy of the artist

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Tucker Beathard Is More Than Country Music's Latest Punk

November 3, 2017 • Beathard, who has family connections in the country music industry and an edgier, angstier sound than Nashville is used to, will release his debut album, Dear Someone, on November 17.

Johnny Clegg, A South African Superstar, Says Farewell

Johnny Clegg co-founded two important, interracial bands, and became an essential voice in South Africa. Now, he's embarking on a farewell tour after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fiona Macpherson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Fiona Macpherson/Courtesy of the artist

The Musicians

Johnny Clegg, A South African Superstar, Says Farewell

October 29, 2017 • Singer and dancer Johnny Clegg — the co-founder of two groundbreaking, racially mixed bands during the apartheid era — is battling pancreatic cancer. He's saying goodbye to his fans on a U.S. tour.

Johnny Clegg, A South African Superstar, Says Farewell

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