DreamDoll, Doechii and Baby Tate Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR hide caption
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Rapper Doechii planned for the song "Crazy" to be her industry coming-out party — but the music video, with its focus on Black femme bodies, ran afoul of an unspoken rule. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR hide caption
Musician Pras Michel in a 2015 portrait taken in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Pras Michel stands trial in Washington, D.C., for conspiracy and other charges
MC Sha-Rock was the first woman to rap on national television in 1981, but hip-hop's double standards have left her legacy as the first female MC buried. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR hide caption
MC Sha-Rock. Amanda Howell Whitehurst/Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR hide caption
Megan Thee Stallion. Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR hide caption
Sampa The Great Imraan Christian/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Sampa the Great on World Cafe
When you go back and listen to De La's early run you're getting a lesson about how hip-hop itself was born, how it survived in the past, how it functions at its most imaginative and how the artform can live on in the future. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption
De La's absence from streaming sites has effectively erased their presence from the contemporary musical landscape and threatened to minimize their historical import. Now legally available on the internet for the first time, we revisit the classic catalog and its restored legacy. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption
Ab-Soul performs a Tiny Desk concert. Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption
Planet Giza "WYD" single artrowk Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Frank Ocean performs at Terminal 5 on July 26, 2012, in New York City. Jason Kempin/Getty Images hide caption
Babyface Ray single artwork Courtesy of the artist hide caption
David Jolicoeur — also known as Trugoy the Dove and Plug Two — performs with De La Soul in Chelmsford, England in 2015. Tristan Fewings/Getty Images hide caption
Kenny Beats performs a Tiny Desk concert. Catie Dull /NPR hide caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption
Missy Elliott, one of 14 artists announced as nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Feb. 1, 2023. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Pinqy Ring Kimberly Junod/WXPN hide caption
Pinqy Ring on World Cafe
deem spencer Ramshah Kanwal /Courtesy of the artist hide caption