At this year's awards on Sunday night, Beyoncé could become the artist with the most Grammys ever. She could also go down in history as the most snubbed.

NPR Music's hip-hop and R&B editor shares his favorite albums and songs of 2022.

Artists like NBA YoungBoy, Rod Wave and a resurgent Kodak Black pulled in massive streaming numbers this year (and, at times, outran controversy) while barely registering on mainstream pop's radar.

In a year when the industry bet on fresh tech and virtual worlds, NPR's hip-hop and R&B editor found these albums powerfully immersive all on their own.

In the drill wave currently spreading across New York City, few songs feel as dutifully assembled as "Krash Out."

In this week's Heat Check selects, Kevin Abstract says goodbye to BROCKHAMPTON (kind of?), $ilkmoney shrugs off virality, a singer synthesizes the sounds of the UK's contemporary R&B scene and more.

Boldy James' songs bear the wariness that comes with experience and the poise that comes from a hard-scrabble life navigating obstacles.

In this week's Heat Check selects, dueling sounds of the new New York, roiling raps from a middle-aged street rapper, sugary, off-kilter pop birthed on TikTok and more

In this week's Heat Check selects, an insular rapper reestablishes the terms of his savvy music, a hotshot gets schooled by his OG, a singer-songwriter neutralizes a source of her depression and more.

The rapper, part of Migos, the Atlanta group that was hugely commercially popular and both formally and culturally influential, was reportedly shot and killed in Houston on Tuesday.

The Bay Area rapper balances high-octane wordplay with crisp scene-setting in his Tiny Desk performance.

In this week's Heat Check selects, prodigies past and present connect with OGs and friends, rappers stretch the limits of genre, young artists breathe new life into unmistakable samples and more.

Ab-Soul resurfaces as the curious, trenchant around-the-way philosopher.

Even if you don't know R.A.P. Ferreira belongs among the greats, it's clear that he does.

This week's Heat Check selects features grounded wordsmiths, emergent L.A.-based chanteuses, auto-tuned misfits and songs of self-care.

This week's Heat Check selects feature an R&B newbie enlisting a legend, a spaced-out rapper deciding to go it alone, artists from Compton, London and Nigeria refusing complacency and more.

This week's Heat Check selects come largely from iconoclasts who have already zeroed in on their individual aesthetics: a singsong rap soulman, an alté sensation a noise-rap radical and more.

This week's Heat Check playlist gathers artists from across the spectrum: a grime king retaking his throne, Cardi B signal boosting the summer's most exciting newcomer, risers and covert stars.

Using the warped dimensions of his songcraft, Nick Hakim enters a space where a moment lasts a lifetime.

A proper standalone LP from the voice of The Roots was rumored for two decades at least. Finally here, Cheat Codes isn't just excellent: It's a product of all the years it went unmade.