- Lil Jon: The Popcast (Deluxe) Interview
- The Justin Timberlake Conundrum
- Popcast (Deluxe): Is Reality TV in a New Golden Age?
- Popcast (Deluxe): What’s an Industry Plant Anyway? Plus: Ariana Grande
- Tate McRae, Dua Lipa and the Fight to Be ‘Main Pop Girl’
- girl in red: The Popcast (Deluxe) Interview
- Popcast (Deluxe): Is TikTok Done? 4 Crises Holding the App Back
- Remembering Toby Keith and His Complexities
- Popcast (Deluxe): Pop Stars vs. the Attention Economy
- Covering the Rise of Tracy Chapman
- Popcast (Deluxe): Usher, Beyoncé and Ye Lead a Busy Week in Pop
- How Usher Arrived at the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Is Drake Tired of Drake?
“Certified Lover Boy” dominated the charts, but something seems to have shifted in the most influential pop star of the past decade.
Hosted by Jon Caramanica. Produced by Pedro Rosado.
Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” just had this year’s biggest debut week, a testament to his immense staying power more than a decade into his career. But this album also reflects a slowdown in the Drake Industrial Complex: He’s pulled back on sonic innovation, and his story tropes are becoming familiar.
Is the age of Drake nearing its conclusion? He has been the most influential pop star — in any genre — of the past decade, but his ideas have been widely disseminated and copied.
On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about Drake’s habits and tics, his relationship to social media, and the long arc of the era he shaped — and whether it will ever truly come to an end.
Guests:
Charles Holmes, a writer and podcaster at The Ringer
Jeff Ihaza, a senior editor at Rolling Stone
Explore the World of Hip-Hop
As their influence and success continue to grow, artists including Sexyy Red and Cardi B are destigmatizing motherhood for hip-hop performers.
ValTown, an account on X and other social media platforms, spotlights gangs and drug kingpins of the 1980s and 1990s, illustrating how they have driven the aesthetics and the narratives of hip-hop.
Three new books cataloging objects central to rap’s physical history demonstrate the importance of celebrating these relics before they vanish.
Hip-hop got its start in a Bronx apartment building 50 years ago. Here’s how the concept of home has been at the center of the genre ever since.
Over five decades, hip-hop has grown from a new art form to a culture-defining superpower. In their own words, 50 influential voices chronicle its evolution.
Many of today’s rappers don’t write down their lyrics. Instead, they turn to an improvisational studio technique known as “punching in.” Is it good for the music?
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