Rap (Music)
There Is A Rich World In Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'
Fresh Air music critic Ken Tucker says the rapper's second album has an excitingly adventurous sound.
Samberg, Taccone And Schaffer: Three's Not A Lonely Island
As the brains behind the hip-hop parody group responsible for digital shorts like "D--- in a Box," Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer have produced some of the funniest Saturday Night Live material in recent memory. Here, they talk about comedy, Yo! MTV Raps and adolescence.
Ken Tucker's Top 10 Albums Of 2013
Jason Isbell's Southeastern, Kanye West's Yeeezus and an assortment of remarkable women dominated the Fresh Air critic's year in listening.
Jay-Z Swings Triumphant Then Trivial On 'Magna Carta Holy Grail.'
The rapper's new album is his first collection since becoming a father with singer Beyonce. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album is an uneven but intriguing collection of songs that tries to navigate a path between parenthood and an obsession with commercial success.
Questlove's Roots: A 'Meta' Memoir Of A Lifetime In Music
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the co-founder of and drummer for the hip-hop band The Roots, has been a musician since he was a teen. In Mo' Meta Blues, he explains how his musician father groomed him for a life in show business from an early age.
On 'Yeezus,' Kanye West Sounds Strikingly Self-Aware
West has been busy in both the music and gossip worlds: He's just released a new album, titled Yeezus, and fathered a child. Rock critic Ken Tucker says West's constant blending of his public life and his music makes his new record all the more striking -- and a t times problematic.
Samberg, Taccone And Schaffer: Three's Not A Lonely Island
As the brains behind the hip-hop parody group responsible for digital shorts like "D--- in a Box," Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer have produced some of the funniest Saturday Night Live material in recent memory. Here, they talk about comedy, Yo! MTV Raps and adolescence.
Ken Tucker's Top 10 Albums Of 2012
From the inescapable "Call Me Maybe" to Fiona Apple's intricate word puzzles to the strikingly gorgeous return of Iris DeMent, the Fresh Air critic counts down hiss favorite albums and musical moments of the year.
Big K.R.I.T.: Music Straight 'From The Underground'
A Southern hip-hop artist, Big K.R.I.T. recently released his major-label debut, titled Live From the Underground. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album takes the audience through K.R.I.T.'s own version of Southern history.
Fresh Air Remembers Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch
Adam "MCA" Yauch, one of the group's founding members, died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 47. Fresh Air remembers the raspy-voiced rapper with excerpts from a 2006 interview.