Skip to main content

Hip-Hop/Rap

Filter by

Select Air Date

to

Select Segment Types

Segment Types

162 Segments

Sort:

Oldest

18:41

A Coalition to Eliminate Violence in Rap.

Writer and critic Nelson George. George is one of this county's most prominent chroniclers of black music. He's the black music editor at Billboard, is a columnist for Playboy, and regularly writes for the Village Voice and Essence. George was the editor of a new book called, "Stop the Violence," a collaboration of today's top rappers working to end black on black violence. George's earlier books include a history of Motown called "Where Did Our Love Go?" and "The Death of Rhythm and Blues."

Interview
10:37

Stand-Up Comic Tommy Davidson

Davidson's act earned him a spot on the sketch comedy show In Living Color, starring the Wayans brothers. He grew up in Washington, DC and began performing at a topless club. Davidson's comedy special will soon air on the Showtime network.

Interview
05:37

A Rap Group's Rebuttal of Artistic Repression

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Banned In the USA" by 2-Live Crew. Their previous album, As Nasty as They Wanna Be, was declared obscene, and they were later arrested for simply performing their music at a concert. Tucker doesn't find much merit in 2-Live Crew' often misogynistic songs, but he vigorously condemns the efforts to criminalize their music.

Review
06:29

The Harder Edge of Dancehall Reggae

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two albums representative of the new, technology fueled variation on the classic Jamaican style. He says its accessibility may give reggae the larger audience it deserves.

Review
06:02

Two Musical Frauds Endure in 1991

Rock critic Ken Tucker comments on the success of white rapper Vanilla Ice's debut, To the Extreme, and The Simpsons Sing the Blues, a compilation performed by the voice actors of the popular animated show.

Review
07:23

1981: A Good Year for Black Music, New Wave, and Punk

Rock and roll historian Ed Ward looks back on the music of 1981 -- a year he says was great for black musicians in particular, including Prince, Rick James, and Grandmaster Flash. British bands like Duran Duran dominated, too.

Commentary
16:34

Rapper King Lou.

Rapper King Lou (Louis Robinson). He's one half of "The Dream Warriors," a rap duo out of Toronto. Lou and his partner, Capital Q, were both born in the Caribbean, and they bring Caribbean influences to their music. Their latest album is called "And The Legacy Begins." (It's on Island).

Interview
05:58

The Sounds of 1982.

Rock historian Ed Ward concludes his look at the last four decades of rock with a profile of 1982.

Commentary
05:23

New Hip Hop Acts Are Worth Your Time.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the hip-hop hits of TLC (their current hit is "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" on LaFace Records' "Ooooooohhh...On The TLC Tip") and Kriss Kross ("Jump" on Columbia's "Totally Krossed Out").

Review

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue