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Music Features

Friday February 26, 2016

What We Talk About When We Talk About 'TLOP'

Kanye West reaching for his audience during 102.7 KIIS FM's 2015 Wango Tango in Los Angeles, May 2015. Kevin Winter/Getty Images For 102.7 KIIS FM's Wango Tango hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images For 102.7 KIIS FM's Wango Tango

Review

What We Talk About When We Talk About 'TLOP'

February 26, 2016 • When people speak on Kanye, they show themselves. I don't know if that means he's a superior artist or not; I do know that's why we're spilling all this ink.

Tuesday February 23, 2016

DJ Dahi: Making The Move From Bass Line To Top Billing

"We live in an 808-driven world," DJ Dahi says. "Having a live bass line on a record gives it something that you can't take away." Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

DJ Dahi: Making The Move From Bass Line To Top Billing

February 23, 2016 • "My goal with this music is to not to have to be less of myself when I see people." says DJ Dahi, who's produced tracks for Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Tinashe.

Tuesday February 16, 2016

Beyoncé, on set for the "Formation" video shoot. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Watching Beyoncé From New Orleans

February 16, 2016 • The experience depicted in "Formation" and the culture that Mardi Gras stirs to life overlap and refute each other and mix in a way that IRL New Orleanians can hate and love all at once.

Friday February 12, 2016

Eight Writers On 'The Life Of Pablo,' So Far

Kanye West with, from left, Pusha T, Steven Victor, Kid Cudi and Travis Scott, at Madison Square Garden in New York City February 11. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3 hide caption

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Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3

The Record

Eight Writers On 'The Life Of Pablo,' So Far

February 12, 2016 • Grappling with the event, the album and the artist, under different circumstances — none ideal.

Tuesday February 9, 2016

Anti-Everything: The Culture Of Resistance Behind Rihanna's Latest Album

Rihanna in October 2015, in front of the cover art for her album, Anti. Christopher Polk/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Getty Images

The Record

Anti-Everything: The Culture Of Resistance Behind Rihanna's Latest Album

February 9, 2016 • The Barbadian pop star's album Anti includes so many musical styles that it's been tagged "adrift" or "confusing." But there's method — and plenty of Caribbean history — behind the madness.

Friday February 5, 2016

Maurice White performing with Earth, Wind & Fire in New York in the late '70s. Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images hide caption

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Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images

The Record

Maurice White: The Audacity Of Uplift

February 5, 2016 • His clever idea in forming Earth, Wind & Fire was to power forward with an ethical black music that could force us to keep our heads up to the sky when it matters most.

Saturday January 23, 2016

John Peel in the studio at the BBC in 1972. Len Trievnor/Getty Images hide caption

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Len Trievnor/Getty Images

The Record

John Peel's American Connection

January 23, 2016 • Despite at least one attempt, the famed British broadcaster never made it big in the U.S.A., but a new history of his career at the BBC shows that America was central to Peel's career.

Wednesday January 20, 2016

A Group Of Writers Listening To Kanye, Awaiting SWISH

Kanye West at LAX in October, looking like us. GVK/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images hide caption

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GVK/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The Record

A Group Of Writers Listening To Kanye, Awaiting SWISH

January 20, 2016 • Seven of us share our initial reactions to the songs we're receiving as some form of preamble to SWISH with each other and with you.

Tuesday January 19, 2016

Dancing In The Street: New Orleans Throws A Memorial Parade For David Bowie

Win Butler (with red megaphone) and Regine Chassagne (lower left, with keytar) of Arcade Fire lead a parade through New Orleans' French Quarter with members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in honor of David Bowie. Erika Goldring for NPR hide caption

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Erika Goldring for NPR

The Record

Dancing In The Street: New Orleans Throws A Memorial Parade For David Bowie

January 19, 2016 • Members of Arcade Fire and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band led a parade in memory and celebration of the singer, who died on Jan. 10.

Monday January 11, 2016

Plastic And Fantastic: Reflections Of A Bowie Girl

David Bowie in 1974, on the set of the Dutch TV show TopPop, where he performed "Rebel Rebel," from the album Diamond Dogs. Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images

The Record

Plastic And Fantastic: Reflections Of A Bowie Girl

January 11, 2016 • For decades, David Bowie helped young music fans realize that identity could shift, that you could love both reading and rock 'n' roll, that pop could hold lessons about love and integrity and grace.

Review: David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Is Adventurous To The End

David Bowie's 27th album, Blackstar, was released on Friday, his 69th birthday. He died, following an 18-month battle with cancer, two days later. Jimmy King/Courtesy of Columbia Records hide caption

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Jimmy King/Courtesy of Columbia Records

Review

The Record

Review: David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Is Adventurous To The End

January 11, 2016 • Bowie's final album was recorded in collaboration with jazz musicians and inspired by Kendrick Lamar. Even when it challenges, Blackstar resonates because it emphasizes emotion.

Thursday January 7, 2016

2015 In Album Sales: Adele, Adele, Adele

Adele's 25 was (by far) the biggest album of 2015, selling more than 6 million copies in less than two months. Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images hide caption

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Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images

The Record

2015 In Album Sales: Adele, Adele, Adele

January 7, 2016 • According to Nielsen Music, the singer's stratospheric success with 25 made her the year's top-selling artist by far — even though 25 was available in only the last six weeks of 2015.

Friday January 1, 2016

Natalie Cole: Underappreciated But Never Forgotten

Natalie Cole performs at Jazz 91.9 WCLK's 41st Anniversary Benefit Concert on June 26, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Moses Robinson/Getty Images hide caption

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Moses Robinson/Getty Images

The Record

Natalie Cole: Underappreciated But Never Forgotten

January 1, 2016 • She who ended Aretha Franklin's eight-year Grammy-winning streak deserves more credit than she's usually afforded: she was influential and flexible and a phenomenal singer.

Wednesday December 30, 2015

A Rational Conversation: Rembert Browne On Music In 2015, Even During The Hard Times

It's a "waste a time to have expectations" about Young Thug (seen here performing in Atlanta in October), writes Rembert Browne. Prince Williams/Getty Images hide caption

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Prince Williams/Getty Images

The Record

A Rational Conversation: Rembert Browne On Music In 2015, Even During The Hard Times

December 30, 2015 • The writer-at-large for New York magazine discusses the year that saw the rise of Fetty Wap and Young Thug, Snapchat vs. Twitter and Meek Mill vs. Drake. Plus: continuous devastation.

Tuesday December 29, 2015

A Rational Conversation: Sadie Dupuis Of Speedy Ortiz Looks Back On Music In 2015

Sadie Dupuis calls Dilly Dally's Sore her favorite album of 2015. PAHF/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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PAHF/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

A Rational Conversation: Sadie Dupuis Of Speedy Ortiz Looks Back On Music In 2015

December 29, 2015 • The lead singer of the rock band Speedy Ortiz talks the albums that lingered in her memory. Plus: the power of controlling the means of production and making rock clubs into safe spaces.