Sheldon Pearce
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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On surprising new albums, '80s trailblazers LL Cool J and MC Lyte sound thrillingly revitalized, thanks to sharp production choices and a willingness to bend their signature styles toward the moment. -
Ten years ago, two rappers found a chemistry so potent it couldn't be recreated. Today, even with one tragically absent and one indefinitely detained, the legacy of what they made is everywhere. -
Viral stardom is often a prison — but on the dazzling and frequently hilarious Alligator Bites Never Heal, the "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" rapper proves those walls can't contain her talent. -
Over a decade after their classic run upended digital culture, the rapper and mixtape mogul reunite to show listeners why it mattered — and what a younger generation of trap artists has learned. -
The new albums Quantum Baby and Bird's Eye are exercises in self-liberation, leveraging the sounds and potential of a loaded category while rejecting its limits. -
The duet-packed F-1 Trillion marks a new chapter, but it's no wild swerve — the one-time SoundCloud rapper has had his eye on Nashville for years. -
I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, the artist's fifth album and first since his Kanye collabs made him a snark target, swings back at everyone in sight — but saves a few knocks for himself. -
The Bronx rapper's acid tongue and unbothered stance made her one of hip-hop's hottest prospects. On her debut album, Y2K!, her snowballing hype may have exceeded the reach of her pen. -
Three survivors of a chaotic moment in hip-hop conjure its best qualities, a decade and a few major career twists later, for three new albums released on the same day. -
The two veteran rappers read as comic inversions of one another on their new albums, by turns renewed and restrained by the instincts that defined them at the start of their careers.
