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The Learning Curve Of Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X attends the BET Awards 2021 at Microsoft Theater on June 27, 2021 in Los Angeles. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

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Rich Fury/Getty Images

Music Interviews

The Learning Curve Of Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X is breaking Billboard records and barriers through his music — the pop-rap star joins All Things Considered to discuss his debut album Montero.

The Learning Curve Of Lil Nas X

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On 'A Southern Gothic,' Adia Victoria Reckons With Her Relationship To The South

Adia Victoria Huy Van Nguyen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Huy Van Nguyen/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

On 'A Southern Gothic,' Adia Victoria Reckons With Her Relationship To The South

XPN

On A Southern Gothic, her third full-length album, Adia Victoria emerges as a songwriter capable of nuance and atmosphere.

Adia Victoria on World Cafe

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On 'Hope Above Adversity,' Dylan Cartlidge Makes Music Like Mantras

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Nate Guenth/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

On 'Hope Above Adversity,' Dylan Cartlidge Makes Music Like Mantras

XPN

Cartlidge's debut album, Hope Above Adversity, was released in July of this year. It's filled with uplifting anthems that sonically jump from pop, to funk, to hip hop.

Dylan Cartlidge on World Cafe

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Kacey Musgraves: 'Star-Crossed' And Thriving

Kacey Musgraves, whose follow-up to her Album of the Year-winning Golden Hour, titled Star-Crossed, was released Sep. 10, 2021. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Editors' Picks

Kacey Musgraves: 'Star-Crossed' And Thriving

"We're all taught that the success of a relationship has to somehow correlate with the length of it ... I just don't think that that's fully accurate." The singer-songwriter's new album is out today.

Kacey Musgraves: 'Star-Crossed' And Thriving

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Lorde Dropped A Surprise Mini-Album Of 'Solar Power' Tracks In The Māori Language

Lorde performs at Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series in Central Park on Aug. 20 in New York City. She worked with a team of language experts to re-record five of her new songs in the indigenous Māori language. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images hide caption

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Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Music News

Lorde Dropped A Surprise Mini-Album Of 'Solar Power' Tracks In The Māori Language

The New Zealand singer worked with a team of language experts to re-record five of her new songs in the indigenous Māori language, released just in time for Māori Language Week.

On 'Release Me 2,' Barbra Streisand Plucks From An Archive Full Of Gems

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World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

On 'Release Me 2,' Barbra Streisand Plucks From An Archive Full Of Gems

XPN

In this episode of World Cafe, Barbra Streisand discusses Release Me 2 — a compilation of unreleased and reworked songs — and the funny, surprising stories that surround it.

Barbra Streisand on World Cafe

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The Best Music Of August: NPR Staff Picks

Top left, clockwise: PinkPantheress, Lucas Debargue, Lee Morgan, James Blake, Injury Reserve, Foxing. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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All Songs Considered

The Best Music Of August: NPR Staff Picks

Every month, we ask the NPR Music staff: What's the one song you couldn't escape? What's the one album to which you'll return all year? In August, we got vulnerable with James Blake, leveled up with Foxing, cooed with PinkPantheress, discovered an obscure Polish composer via pianist Lucas Debargue, memorialized a member of Injury Reserve and went back in time to Lee Morgan's weekend residency at the Lighthouse.

The Best Music Of August: NPR Staff Picks

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On 'Drama,' Rodrigo Amarante Reconsiders Masculinity Through Childhood Memories

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Eliot Lee Hazel/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

On 'Drama,' Rodrigo Amarante Reconsiders Masculinity Through Childhood Memories

XPN

Inspired by a memory of Rodrigo Amarante's father asking the young singer-songwriter — as a child — to cut his hair, Drama is the perfect slice of lush, tropical jazz-inspired pop.

Rodrigo Amarante on World Cafe

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Mega-Pop Career Fully Established, Diane Warren Is Finally Putting Her Name In Front

Diane Warren released her debut album, The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1, on Aug. 27. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter hide caption

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Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Music Interviews

Mega-Pop Career Fully Established, Diane Warren Is Finally Putting Her Name In Front

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with award-winning songwriter Diane Warren about the release of her debut studio album, The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1.

Mega-Pop Career Fully Established, Diane Warren Is Finally Putting Her Name In Front

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