Rap and hip hop

“Fame puts you there where things are hollow,” David Bowie sang back in 1975, and plenty of performers, before and after, have discovered the same thing. Their songs declare outsized ambitions and make premature boasts as careers begin. But then success, if it happens, brings as many pressures and perks — and, sometimes, a new willingness to confront misgivings. Burna Boy — the Nigerian songwriter Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu — has ascended steadily to international stardom over a decade of recording. In April, as part of his latest world tour, he became the first Nigerian act to headline the Madison Square Garden arena , featuring a cameo appearance — an elder-generation endorsement — from Senegal’s longtime musical ambassador, Youssou N’Dour. Burna Boy’s sixth studio album, “Love, Damini,” is a trove of material: 19 full-fledged songs. He summoned an international roster of collaborators including blockbuster hitmakers — J Balvin and Ed Sheeran — along with Khalid, Kehlani, … [Read more...] about Burna Boy Faces Success and Second Thoughts on ‘Love, Damini’

Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Just want the music? Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes). Like what you hear? Let us know at [email protected] and sign up for our Louder newsletter , a once-a-week blast of our pop music coverage, and The Amplifier , a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs. Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice, ‘Karma’ Mutual appreciation or celebrity damage control? Taylor Swift’s apparent new boyfriend — Matty Healy , from the 1975 — mocked the Bronx rapper Ice Spice and made other offensive comments on a since-deleted podcast that may (or may not) have been ironic comedy; social media flared. Now, proclaiming admiration and good feelings all around, Ice Spice gets her moment on a remixed Swift track that predicts karmic revenge on all the singer’s antagonists and obstacles. Ice Spice seizes the opportunity in her verse, … [Read more...] about Ice Spice Joins Taylor Swift’s ‘Karma,’ and 9 More New Songs

There were many moments that evoked roars inside Madison Square Garden when the Knicks faced the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this month: when Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, prompting a Heat timeout, or any of the five times RJ Barrett sank a 3, sending the Garden’s white-knuckled Knicks fans into a frenzy. But the loudest roar that night came during a stoppage in play when a large video screen showed Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside. Anthony stood with one hand raised as most of the fans gave him a standing ovation, showering him with applause and cheers as if he had just made a game-winning shot. Anthony never won a title for the Knicks or even made a conference finals in his six and a half seasons with the team, but the moment was a reminder of how much he still means to New York. The city had yearned for a star after years of mediocrity and got one in Anthony, a Brooklyn native ready to make Knicks games exciting again. … [Read more...] about What Carmelo Anthony Meant to New York City

0 This post is sponsored and contributed by Arts & Entertainment "Snoop's vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream...he speaks softly." —​ Rolling Stone TicketNetwork , Brand Partner Posted Reply OAKLAND, CA — Come out and see Snoop Dogg up on stage on April 19th at Oracle Arena in Oakland. This rapper and entertainer is ready to perform songs from throughout his career, with old fans and new lining up to catch him on his “25th Anniversary of Doggystyle Tour.” GET TICKETS NOW TO SNOOP DOG Snoop Dogg has been rapping since he was a young boy, taking his beat rap to the stage and becoming one of the biggest influences ever on Hip Hop in America. His career spans well beyond rapping, as he’s also made his mark as a record producer, TV personality, actor, and entrepreneur. His album, “Doggystyle’” debuted in the No. 1 spot on both the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 … [Read more...] about Snoop Dogg To Perform At Oakland’s Oracle Arena: Tickets

In a recent online presentation, editors and researchers working on a first-of-its-kind dictionary of African American English gave a status update on the project. As academics explained their various methodologies, slides displayed behind them showed words that are more often associated with Twitter than Oxford: “Bussin,” virtual attendees were told, means impressive or tasty, while a “boo” is a lover. Those were two of the first 100 words that the Oxford University Press said it had prepared to include in the Oxford Dictionary of African American English, the hopeful result of the three-year research project announced last spring. The researchers say they aim to publish a first batch of 1,000 definitions — some words and phrases will have more than one — by March 2025. But the more important goal of the project, which will be edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a scholar of African American history at Harvard University, is to underscore the significance of African American … [Read more...] about The First 10 Words of the African American English Dictionary Are In

Earlier this spring, a party raged on the third floor of Showfields , an experiential retail store in Manhattan. To get there guests rode in an elevator lined with gold tinsel and a mirror. On the third floor were about 20 masked people, dressed in neon shirts and sparkly pants, grooving on roller skates , some of which lit up as they moved. Under a disco ball, a D.J. played hip-hop while skaters spun in circles and got lost in the music. “Oh, my gosh, it was great,” said Lionel Laurent, 45, a skating instructor who before the pandemic made money by performing in Times Square. “Clubs are not open, so we are doing this.” Roller-skating is in vogue these days, but longtime New Yorkers have seen it all before; during the second half of the 20th century, skaters would dance all day in city parks and party all night in New York’s multitude of indoor rinks. “The Roxy, it was fabulous, especially in the ’80s,” said Bob Nichols, 74, of Manhattan, a retired film editor, … [Read more...] about New Yorkers Are Crazy About Roller-Skating (Again)