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World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2004

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2004

XPN

January 21, 2022 • Muscially, 2004 was a notable for releases from OutKast, The Arcade FIre, Kanye West, Green Day and many more. Let's look back.

Cordae performs a Tiny Desk (home) concert. NPR hide caption

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Tiny Desk

Cordae: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

January 14, 2022 • The DMV-bred emcee's Tiny Desk home concert is a charismatic combo of fan favorites and cuts from his new album, From a Birds Eye View.

Mancy Gant/Courtesy of the artist

#NowPlaying

Robert Glasper, 'Black Superhero'

WBGO

January 13, 2022 • Glasper's piano sets a chiming gospel loop, over which Killer Mike and Big K.R.I.T. rap verses about perseverance and positivity.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2003

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 2003 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2003

XPN

January 12, 2022 • It was the year of "Stacy's Mom," "Seven Nation Army" and "Hey Ya," along with several excellent albums from singer-songwriters and Warren Zevon's final studio album.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2002

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 2002 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2002

XPN

January 5, 2022 • At the close of every year, there's always this question: "What records from this year, that we're raving about now, will we actually be listening to in 20 years?" Turns out, 2002 was a strong one.

Courtesy of the artist

#NowPlaying

Shortie No Mass, 'Sunday in October'

XPN

December 30, 2021 • Inspired by a viral explosion of her lone solo single, Shortie No Mass reintroduces herself to the world.

Courtesy of the artist

#NowPlaying

Kojaque, 'Town's Dead'

December 29, 2021 • A tribute rather than a eulogy, "Town's Dead" is a celebration of Dublin and all its imperfect splendor.

Ghetts, 'No Mercy' (feat. Pa Salieu and BackRoad Gee)

Adam Jalloh/Warner Records

#NowPlaying

Ghetts, 'No Mercy' (feat. Pa Salieu and BackRoad Gee)

December 23, 2021 • Listen to one of the many highlights from Ghetts' Conflict of Interest.

Courtesy of the artist

#NowPlaying

Tierra Whack, 'Heaven'

December 23, 2021 • Listen to a highlight from Tierra Whack's very busy December.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2001

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 2001 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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WXPN

World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2001

XPN

December 23, 2021 • Two decades ago at this time, we were looking back on a year punctuated with big pop hits and a ton of breakouts throughout rock, indie-rock, hip-hop and alternative music.

Courtesy of the artist

#NowPlaying

Joell Ortiz, 'Uncle Chris Car'

XPN

December 21, 2021 • Joell Ortiz shows us how environment and circumstance can dramatically change a person's life trajectory.

Lushlife (feat. dälek and Irreversible Entanglements), 'Dépaysement'

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#NowPlaying

Lushlife (feat. dälek and Irreversible Entanglements), 'Dépaysement'

XPN

December 21, 2021 • The fiery nine-minute avant-garde epic ushers us past the limits of our comfort zone, taking us on a journey far beyond convention.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2000

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 1999 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2000

XPN

December 21, 2021 • The year saw seminal releases from Radiohead, Outkast and Steely Dan, Outkast, D'Angelo and Coldplay.

Drakeo the Ruler, a rising force in West Coast rap, has died at age 28

Drakeo the Ruler performs during Rolling Loud on Dec. 12, 2021 in San Bernardino, Calif. Timothy Norris/Timothy Norris, Getty Images hide caption

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Timothy Norris/Timothy Norris, Getty Images

Music News

Drakeo the Ruler, a rising force in West Coast rap, has died at age 28

December 19, 2021 • The rapper was hailed as "the most original West Coast stylist in decades." He was reportedly stabbed at the Once Upon a Time in LA music festival.

Kangol Kid, hip-hop pioneer, has died at 55

Kangol Kid Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET hide caption

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Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET

Music News

Kangol Kid, hip-hop pioneer, has died at 55

December 18, 2021 • As a member of the hip-hop group UTFO, he was part of a pioneering era of New York City rap in the early 1980s. The Brooklyn group was best known for their 1984 hit song "Roxanne, Roxanne."

Skyzoo (feat. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble), 'Bed-Stuy is Burning'

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#NowPlaying

Skyzoo (feat. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble), 'Bed-Stuy is Burning'

XPN

December 15, 2021 • Over a gorgeous, jazz-infused beat, Skyzoo runs down a vivid and loving detailing of life in the Brooklyn neighborhood that birthed him.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1999

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 1999 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1999

XPN

December 13, 2021 • The last year of the 1990s may have carried the semi-imposing threat of the Y2K millennium bug, but it also managed to deliver some excellent music.

Projects released by Young Thug, Tyler, the Creator and Little Simz are included in NPR Music's best hip-hop albums of 2021. Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images hide caption

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Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images

Best Music Of 2021

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021

December 10, 2021 • This year's best hip-hop — including Westside Gunn, Mach-Hommy and Moor Mother — comes from death and defiance, erotic power and provocation, Black joy and pain — and that's just the shortlist.

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Tiny Desk

Mick Jenkins: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

December 10, 2021 • Backed by a four-piece band, the Chicago-bred MC plays a Tiny Desk home concert that simmers with soul.

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1998

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a 1998 playlist. WXPN hide caption

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World Cafe

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1998

XPN

December 3, 2021 • In 1998, we saw the release of Air's Moon Safari, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, Lauryn Hill's legendary Miseducation, Elliott Smith's XO and many more. Let's take a look back.

Lil Nas X on 'MONTERO,' NPR Music's song of the year

Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" is NPR Music's best song of 2021. Charlotte Rutherford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Charlotte Rutherford/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Lil Nas X on 'MONTERO,' NPR Music's song of the year

December 3, 2021 • A conversation with the singer, rapper, social-media sensation, and fashion icon about his groundbreaking pop banger "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)."

Lil Nas X on 'MONTERO,' NPR Music's song of the year

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Best Music Of 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021

December 2, 2021 • Think of the best songs of 2021 as a playlist catering to the most basic human urges. Within it, booties were called, muffins were buttered and bloody revenge was contemplated. It was quite a year.