When hip-hop emanated from the Bronx 50 years ago, initiating a genre of music that would influence Black culture in myriad ways, Chuck D was 13 and not at all interested in becoming one of the rap ...

Women have always been a part of hip-hop history — from the culture's B-girl days to its birth in the Bronx, NY, to today's era that sees femcees putting rap on their backs. The culture doesn't move ...

Osmic Menoe was a young kid in South Africa when he first fell in love with hip-hop culture during the late 1980s, at the height of the country’s anti-apartheid movement. But like so many, at first, ...

Hip-hop has transformed music, and the world at large, since it was conceived 50 years ago. In a relatively short time, it's made a massive impact on every aspect of pop culture — and fortunately, ...

Hey, young world. Here's a story about one measure of the distance hip-hop has traveled in its 50 years. Once upon a time, not long ago, to paraphrase a great rap storyteller, an 11-year-old in Queens ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...

The red carpet at the annual BET Hip-Hop Awards was a curious shade of green this year: money green. It was fitting for the occasion, because nothing comes close to distilling hip-hop's evolution over ...

Milwaukee's hip-hop scene has reached a golden age. Not that there hasn't been success before. But what we're seeing now coming from Milwaukee artists is unprecedented. For the first time, there are ...

Hip hop has never been just one thing. It started with block parties and breakbeats, but over time, it grew into a mix of styles that each reflect different places, stories, and sounds. From the early ...

What's going on with rap? After celebrating 50 years of legacy in 2023 with marquee moments like the Hip Hop 50 multi-headliner concert at Yankee Stadium, plus Kendrick Lamar's historic run – capped ...

The first six months of 2026 delivered blockbuster releases, underground gems, and some of the strongest hip-hop albums in recent years.

It’s a cycle on repeat: A beloved rapper is murdered. Family, friends and fans react online. The case is investigated yet typically goes unsolved. The hip-hop community calls for change, but there ...