Kelefa Sanneh

New York was long-considered the capital of hip-hop, but in recent years the center of power has shifted to Atlanta. A new book of photographs and essays captures a snapshot of the heart of the “Dirty South.” The book’s photographer Michael Schmelling and writer Kelefa Sanneh join us to survey the scene.

The genre-fusing singer Tonéx was once considered the future of gospel music. Things changed when he came out of the closet. In the latest installment of Sing Out, our series about singers, New Yorker staff writer Kelefa Sanneh tells us about a career torn between gay identity and gospel tradition.

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Leave a comment about the songs you’re most embarrassed about having on your mp3 player. Don’t worry, you can use an alias. And you'll probably be defended on-air by New York Times pop music critic Kelefa Sanneh, who says there's no such thing as a musical shame.

The Atlanta rapper T.I. is the latest artist to explore music using multiple personas. We ask New York Times pop music critic Kelefa Sanneh and Dr. Jeffrey Rutstein, a psychologist specializing in Dissociative Identity Disorder, why multiple personalities are so common among stars and how they affect their music.

Why do members of mega-groups like The Who, and The Rolling Stones, succeed as bands but flounder on their own? Harper's Contributor David Samuels and New York Times music critic Kelefa Sanneh discuss the finer points of going it alone.