Frannie Kelley

The rapper Drakeo the Ruler titled his latest album after the prison phone service provider GTL, whose lines he used to record it, leaving a trail to follow the money through a controversial industry.

El-P and Killer Mike have always had their fingers on the pulse, and their fourth album once again captures the mood of a country on edge after George Floyd's death sparked national protests.

Once part of Digable Planets, Butler continues to be a hip-hop innovator. He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy.

G Herbo came up in Chicago's drill scene — a style of music praised for its lack of affect and criticized for its portrayal of violence. But on his new album PTSD, he drops the mask and cries.

With his four-song EP, Rafiq Bhatia is putting a new spin on jazz standards and, in a way, posing the question, "What is a standard?"

The Buffalo, N.Y. trio sounds more like '90s street rap than modern hitmakers, but has found its way to success anyway: business co-signs from Jay-Z and Eminem and, this month, its major label debut.

Music fans would seem to have gained a lot of power over the past decade. Their online fury has silenced those who would dare to criticize their faves. But the music industry has caught on.

Perhaps no contemporary musician understands the rules of the streaming ecosystem better than the singer Khalid, who emerged as a teenager and is now one of the most listened-to artists in the world.

Will Johnson is a successful producer and songwriter who found himself questioning the music industry and his place in it. So this time, he's trying a business approach from the world of fine art.

The rapper, who died suddenly in September at 26, built a community of musicians around him that crossed boundaries. Many of those artists showed up to memorialize Miller in concert last week.

The 20-year-old started making viral videos; now, he has released his debut album. He owes his success, in part, to a social media-fueled youth culture revolution that prizes teen perspectives.

The label and its founder, Sean "Diddy" Combs, helped to shape much of what we take for granted in pop culture. The new documentary Can't Stop Won't Stop tells Bad Boy's story.

The prolific rapper and mentor recorded a song the day he got out of federal prison this May — and he's put out 10 projects this year. His secret? "Don't never drop your head," he says.

The rapper has spent the year on an extended victory tour. Here are the spoils, recorded in a stripped-down set with a minimal backing track and longtime producer Zaytoven on keys.

The producer and manager, who's worked with The Weeknd, Drake, Young Buck, Esthero and thestand4rd, is fighting the good fight.

In his new song, the soulful dance artist (formerly known as Gordon Voidwell) expresses confusion with elegance and intensity. Watching and listening feels like eavesdropping.

The West Coast legend, one of the main instigators of G-funk, has seen the underside of the industry. It's not pretty, but he stays smooth.

The Compton rapper, who beat back the sophomore jinx with his new album Still Brazy, is questioning a world that barely ever makes sense.

Our producer, David Luke, father of David Luke III, put together this podcast, in which past guests like Danny Brown, Solange Knowles and T.I spoke about fatherhood and father figures. It's OK to cry.

"I'm a manager. I am in the service industry. The service industry. I'm Midas f****** Muffler."