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Music Features

Tuesday

In 1984, Born in the U.S.A. made Bruce Springsteen the biggest rock star in the world. Along the way, one chapter of the album's legacy has nearly vanished from official history: club remixes of three of the album's biggest singles.

In 1984, Born in the U.S.A. made Bruce Springsteen the biggest rock star in the world. Along the way, one chapter of the album's legacy has nearly vanished from official history: club remixes of three of the album's biggest singles. Illustration by Jackie Lay. Photos by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis and SGranitz/WireImage (Getty Images) hide caption

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Illustration by Jackie Lay. Photos by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis and SGranitz/WireImage (Getty Images)

Music

The nearly forgotten story of the 'Born in the U.S.A.' remixes

In 1984, on the cusp of superstardom, Bruce Springsteen agreed to let a producer rework three songs from his upcoming album, Born in the U.S.A. 40 years later, those remixes have nearly vanished.

Thursday

Oran Ektin by José De Holanda

Oran Ektin by José De Holanda hide caption

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Jazz Night In America

Oran Etkin's global jazz journeys and the magic of Timbalooloo

WBGO

Oran Etkin creates musical connections around the globe. He also makes instruments come to life in his Timbalooloo program for children.

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Pop Music's First Black Stars
Perry Bradford Music/New York Public Library

Throughline

Pop Music's First Black Stars

Today, the U.S. popular music industry is worth billions of dollars. And some of its deepest roots are in blackface minstrelsy and other racist genres. You may not have heard their names, but Black musicians like George Johnson, Ernest Hogan, and Mamie Smith were some of the country's first viral sensations, working within and pushing back against racist systems and tropes. Their work made a lasting imprint on American music — including some of the songs you might have on repeat right now.

Pop Music's First Black Stars

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Wednesday

Super-producer Edgar Barrera on turning old-school genres into pop hits
Natalia Aguilera

Alt.Latino

Super-producer Edgar Barrera on turning old-school genres into pop hits

Even if you don't know Edgar Barrera's name, you know his work. The multiple Grammy-winning writer and producer has worked with dozens of the biggest names in Latin music — Bad Bunny, Maluma, Karol G, Camilo — the list goes on. But he's also one of the main forces pushing regional Mexican into the mainstream over the past few years, and turning Pan-Latin sounds into pop perfection.

Super-producer Edgar Barrera on turning old-school genres into pop hits

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Tuesday

"Do I truly feel like hip-hop is dead? No, I don't," Questlove tells NPR. "However, I do believe that the landscape and the rules have changed. And some of its participants don't know it." Christian Germoso hide caption

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Christian Germoso

Music

In an industry of conformity, Questlove remains a hip-hop iconoclast

In a new interview, Questlove reveals why Drake vs. Kendrick was so triggering, how he regained his passion for hip-hop and what to expect from the new Roots album.

Questlove reflects on changes in culture and music with his book 'Hip-Hop Is History'

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Thursday

Kendrick Lamar performs during

Kendrick Lamar performs during "The Pop Out — Ken & Friends," his June 19 concert event at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon/Getty Images North America

Review

Kendrick Lamar takes the West Coast off standby

Lamar's blowout Juneteenth concert, held at the Forum in Los Angeles and live-streamed on Amazon Music, planted flags for the future of LA rap, while uniting in hate for a certain Toronto titan.

Thursday

Kendrick Lamar performs at a Spotify event in Cannes, France, during the Cannes Lions media festival in June 2022.

Kendrick Lamar performs at a Spotify event in Cannes, France, during the Cannes Lions media festival in June 2022. Getty Images for Spotify/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Getty Images for Spotify/Getty Images Europe

Analysis

GOAT debates are a hip-hop tradition. Spotify is here to spoil the fun

Canon-making is a core part of rap fandom, the subject of endless barbershop parleys and message-board battles. But something curdles when the companies that control the music business enter the chat.

Wednesday

For most of the film, hampton is a grinning, tomboy femme fly on the wall. She’s much more in documentarian mode than interviewer.

For most of the film, hampton is a grinning, tomboy femme fly on the wall. She’s much more in documentarian mode than interviewer. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

‘It Was All a Dream’ shows the work of a nascent rap feminist

A new documentary by the hip-hop historian and critic dream hampton, culled from her own never-before-seen footage of rap's golden age, illustrates the hard labor for women who love the music.

Saturday

Tems remakes R&B in her image with ‘Born in the Wild’: 'I really want to feel it in my chest!'

After elevating Afropop's standing with a standout guest spot on Wizkid's "Essence" and becoming a secret weapon for Rihanna, Drake and Beyoncé, Tems is ready for center stage. Adrienne Raquel hide caption

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Adrienne Raquel

Music

Tems remakes R&B in her image with ‘Born in the Wild’: 'I really want to feel it in my chest!'

The Nigerian singer-songwriter has become one of the most sought after voices in popular music. Her debut album processes the risks and epiphanies it took to get here.

Nigerian singer Tems releases her debut album: 'Born in the Wild'

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Thursday

Ayra Starr's second album, The Year I Turned 21, is a global-minded symphony of influences, and part of a recent wave of young women charting their own course for African pop.

Ayra Starr's second album, The Year I Turned 21, is a global-minded symphony of influences, and part of a recent wave of young women charting their own course for African pop. Mikey Oshai/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Mikey Oshai/Courtesy of the artist

Review

As African pop crests again, women are leading the second wave

Released in a span of three months, the new albums by Ayra Starr, Tems and Tyla are not merely career-making for the artists, but ground-shifting for the pop music of the continent.

Tuesday

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

Janelle Monáe gives a commencement speech at Loyola Marymount University's 2024 Graduate ceremony. JC Olivera/Getty Images hide caption

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JC Olivera/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

Listeners share songs that take them back to the final days of high school, and the lessons they impart.

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

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