To celebrate the golden anniversary of hip-hop, we rounded up 35 essential hits. These songs were hugely significant for the genre's growth and made an impact on the music industry. Our picks are ...

When hip-hop first started in 1973 at a party thrown by Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, it might have sounded different from the hip-hop we know today, but much of the groundwork has ...

This story is part of our new Hip-Hop: ’73 Till Infinity series, a celebration of the genre’s 50th anniversary. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re looking back at 25 songs by women ...

“Rapper’s Delight” will always be considered the song that introduced hip-hop to the masses. The Sugarhill Gang classic with its tongue-twisting opening – “I said a-hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to ...

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, The New York Times asked the poet Mahogany L. Browne to write an ode to the genre using only lyrics. By Emmett Lindner Times Insider explains who we are ...

As The Washington Post sought out rappers, producers and on-air hosts to share 50 hip-hop songs they love, a common refrain arose: We make hip-hop, but we listen to everything. We were frequently ...

That was 50 years ago today. Though hip-hop’s oft-repeated origin story historically prioritizes the gift of poetics, we forget that rap’s storm of funk got the people going. From DJ Kool Herc’s ...

Rap in 2025 was all about experimentation. From the year’s first runaway hit, NBA player-turned-musician Gelo’s single “Tweaker,” to the maximalist ecclesiastics of Playboi Carti’s Music, or even in ...

With just under four months left in 2024, there have already been more hip-hop songs to top Billboard‘s Hot 100 Songs (and as many rap albums on the 200 albums chart) than in all of 2023, the sign of ...

Miami rappers have created a tradition of bold, brash rappers whose lyrics reflect the communities they are from, from Trick Daddy to Rick Ross. Matias J Ocner, Carl Juste and D.A. Varela ...