Sheldon Pearce
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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For NPR Music's hip-hop and R&B editor, no list could capture an accurate picture of the year, yet there's still value in calling out the albums that felt unignorable. -
Lamar already won the year in a landslide. On his bristly new album, GNX, the rapper aims to change the state of play for everyone else. -
The late rapper's 2004 album MM..FOOD may never have the classic status of its sister release, Madvillainy. But 20 years later, it's the one to play if you want to hear the essence of his artistry. -
Musically, CHROMAKOPIA is the rap auteur's most confident album. Emotionally, it might be his most self-effacing, as it stares down a new set of responsibilities. -
The Brooklyn MC, who died this month at 52, rapped from an intense commitment to writing as a form, and a DIY ethic that put him in charge of every aspect of his business. -
On the aching Dunya, the artist stands at an east-west crossroads, trying to resolve a young striver's years of trauma with a folklorist's drive to preserve what's left. -
On surprising new albums, '80s trailblazers LL Cool J and MC Lyte sound thrillingly revitalized, thanks to sharp production choices and a willingness to bend their signature styles toward the moment. -
Ten years ago, two rappers found a chemistry so potent it couldn't be recreated. Today, even with one tragically absent and one indefinitely detained, the legacy of what they made is everywhere. -
Viral stardom is often a prison — but on the dazzling and frequently hilarious Alligator Bites Never Heal, the "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" rapper proves those walls can't contain her talent. -
Over a decade after their classic run upended digital culture, the rapper and mixtape mogul reunite to show listeners why it mattered — and what a younger generation of trap artists has learned.
