After a whirlwind rise, Dallas singer 4batz has released his debut mixtape, u made me a st4r. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
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Drake onstage during Drake's Till Death Do Us Part rap battle in 2021. Amy Sussman/Getty Images hide caption
Kendrick Lamar performs during the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2023 and Drake performs during Day 2 of Lollapalooza Chile 2023. Last week, the two rappers' long-running feud exploded in a flurry of diss tracks. Jesse Wensing/ANP/AFP and Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images hide caption
Black Thought and Your Old Droog feature on Madlib's new track, "REEKYOD." Mathieu Bitton /Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Kiefer performs a Tiny Desk concert at NPR Music in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth Gillis/NPR hide caption
Kendrick Lamar cannot stand Drake; "Euphoria" lists the ways. Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images hide caption
On G Perico's new album, G Slim's Revenge, a certain rap archetype that has faded since its '90s ubiquity appears to be alive and well. Estevan Oriol/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Metro Boomin and Future perform during 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. The producer and rapper have linked for two sprawling new albums this year, released weeks apart. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV hide caption
The Phoenix rapper RiTchie, on the heels of his genre-breaking group Injury Reserve, returns from a creative block with his solo debut, Triple Digits [112]. Patrick Driscoll hide caption
Thursday's first song in 13 years, "Application for Release From the Dream," is a soaring, searing return. Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images hide caption
There's a trio of fantastic records featuring drummer Jim White all out in the first half of 2024. Anna White/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
MGK (Machine Gun Kelly) and Trippie Redd at the March 21 listening party for their collaborative EP, genre : sadboy, at Harriet's Rooftop in West Hollywood. Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images hide caption
Beyoncé and Jay-Z attend the 66th Grammy Awards at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 4, 2024. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption
Big Sean performs a Tiny Desk concert March 11, 2024, at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Michael Zamora/NPR/NPR hide caption
The multi-talented Whack worked with the Philly-based visual artist Alex Da Corte to realize her latest vision inspired by Pierrot, the sad clown. Alex Da Corte/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
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The very creative rapper Tierra Whack. Alex Da Corte/Interscope hide caption
Chief Keef's new album with Mike WiLL Made-It, Dirty Nachos, shows just how far he's grown beyond the Chicago teen who stormed YouTube in 2012. Tyler Shields/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
In a music scene policed by politics and faith, there was none more real than Michael Knott. Kate Gutwein Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Bad Boy Records founder Sean "Diddy" Combs has been accused of sexual misconduct by five different people since November 2023. Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs hide caption
A Brooklyn federal jury delivered guilty verdicts in the trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington in the killing of Run-D.M.C.'s Jason Mizell, Jam-Master Jay, who is shown here in 1986. G. Paul Burnett/AP hide caption
Jessy performs in the Tiny Desk on Feb. 6, 2024 at the NPR headquaters in Washington D.C.. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR hide caption
Ayra Starr, the Beninese-Nigerian singer whose hit "Rush" was among the nominees for the first ever best African music performance Grammy this year, says she grew up not seeing any pop stars that looked like her. "I want to show African girls that we can do this, too. And I'm doing that," she says. Richie Igunma/Courtesy of the artist hide caption