Cedric Shine

For the masses who gravitate towards big heartbreak ballads, the young New York singer-songwriter has a soulful pop doozy.

#TBT to a few years ago, when I was tasked with DJ'ing the holiday party at NPR's New York bureau. Now if you know anything about the music team — and if you don't, this year's favorite songs list is a good insight — these people have exquisite taste, ...

This week, in honor of Black History Month, we went down to NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to screen Sam Greenlee's 1973 film The Spook Who Sat by the Door and host a conversation about its resonance.

In case you're not familiar with the cult classic, the main ...

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... that time when next day delivery charges have become the bane of your existence. Just a guess — you're not done shopping yet, are you? Allow us to ease your load a bit with 10 thoughtful ideas for the hip-hop head ...

We all listen to music differently. What we hear is shaded by our history, our knowledge, our equipment, our mood, our taste. But every year there are moments when everybody who lives and breathes hip-hop is talking about the same thing.

In June, when Jay's Samsung/Magna Carta Holy ...

Happy Birthday To The King Of Pop
Michael Jackson was born 55 years ago today. Since Jackson's death in 2009, three official albums have been released with his name on them: the concert film soundtrack This Is It, the 2010 unreleased odds-and-ends collection Michael and the Cirque du Soleil remix ...

Miley Cyrus causes a stir
It's Tuesday afternoon and we're still talking about Miley Cyrus' MTV Video Music Awards performance. Some people loved it; others made snarky remarks about her tasteless twerk fest, some people even found it racist. The Parents Television ...

A young rapper from North Carolina, Rapsody doesn't want to be labeled or limited as a woman in hip-hop; she wants you to know that she's as good as any of her male peers — and better than quite a few of them. With her newest project, She Got ...

The summer of 2013 has largely been about rapper/music mogul/sports agent Jay Z. Even without a real radio hit, he's remained at the center of the conversation with his #newrules approach to marketing his latest studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. The opening salvo was a 3-minute Samsung ad announcing ...