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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.

Shortie No Mass, 'Sunday in October'

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.

Kojaque, 'Town's Dead'

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

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

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

Tierra Whack, 'Heaven'

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.

Joell Ortiz, 'Uncle Chris Car'

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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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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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WXPN

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.

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021

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.

Mick Jenkins: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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

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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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NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021

Renee Klahr/NPR

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.

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (80-61)

Renee Klahr/NPR

Best Music Of 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (80-61)

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.

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (40-21)

Renee Klahr/NPR

Best Music Of 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (40-21)

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.

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (20-1)

Renee Klahr/NPR

Best Music Of 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (20-1)

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.

NPR Music's 50 Best Albums of 2021

Renee Klahr/ NPR

Best Music Of 2021

NPR Music's 50 Best Albums of 2021

December 1, 2021 • NPR's annual list of the year's best albums is full of work by musicians who hit career peaks, discovered their voices or willed something new into reality.

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