The Listening: Lil Baby, Max B, Mavi, Ferg and More This week’s new music Friday also features Esham, Spree Wilson, Lil Baby, Central Cee and 9th Wonder. entertainment November 28, 2025
Monte Booker Defines His Own ‘Noise’ Speaking to Okayplayer, Monte Booker breaks down his new album and more. news November 21, 2025
The Listening: De La Soul, Tems, BigXThaPlug, Ransom & Conductor Williams and More This week’s new music Friday also features Ne-Yo, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Polo G, A$AP Ferg, and Rico Nasty entertainment November 21, 2025
How Justin Andrews Expands His Grandfather’s Legacy With the Otis Redding Foundation Speaking to Okayplayer, Otis Redding’s grandson, Justin Andrews, discusses his role in the Otis Redding Foundation. featured November 19, 2025
The Listening: Wale, Summer Walker, Boldy James, Ice Spice, FKA twigs and More This week’s new music Friday also features Van Hunt, Mario, OMB Peezy, and Valerie June. entertainment November 14, 2025
Questlove Says Posthumous D’Angelo Music is on the Way The Roots drummer talked about fallen icons D’Angelo and Sly Stone during a recent interview. entertainment November 13, 2025
Jay-Z, Beyoncé Named to Billboard’s Top Songwriters of the 21st Century List The Weeknd, Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri are all also featured on Billboard’s Top Songwriters list. news November 12, 2025
Five Best Moments From the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony OutKast, Salt-N-Pepa, Cyndi Lauper, Thom Bell and more were among this year’s inductees. entertainment November 10, 2025
The Six Biggest Snubs for the 2026 Grammy Nominations The 68th Annual Grammy Awards take place on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. entertainment November 10, 2025
How The Golden Era of Black Media Made R&B Mainstream In the ‘90s, musical crossover with hip-hop and prominence in media pushed R&B into the mainstream featured November 10, 2025
The Listening: De La Soul, Danny Brown, Kehlani, Erick Sermon, G Herbo, Quavo and More This week’s new music Friday also features A$AP Ferg, PJ Morton, Jim Jones, and Mavis Staples. entertainment November 7, 2025
Rediscovered: ‘Liquid Swords’ by GZA/Genius The Genius of Wu-Tang Clan delivered a dark, brooding classic that cemented his legend both within and apart from his iconic crew — and continued RZA’s production hot streak. featured November 7, 2025
Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator and Clipse Nominated for Album of the Year at 2026 Grammy Awards The nominees for the 2026 Grammys have been announced, and they include K-Dot and more. news November 7, 2025
How to Be Outside, Inside Featuring Spanish Ran Representing the Boogie Down, Spanish Ran shares his New York favorites and how he soaks up the simple pleasures of a city where even the quietest corners feel alive. new york November 7, 2025
Players Pass with Chance The Rapper: The North STAR LINE of Hip-Hop Exploring the inspiration, intention, and evolution behind Chance The Rapper’s second album, 'STAR LINE.' entertainment November 6, 2025
November Albums We're Excited to Hear From Summer Walker to G Herbo and De La Soul, here are the month’s hottest releases. entertainment November 4, 2025
The Listening: Big L, DJ Premier, Big Boi, Armani White, Offset and More This week’s new music Friday also features Boldy James, Bun B, Kodak Black, and Wale. entertainment October 31, 2025
Erykah Badu Talks “Neo Soul,” Theater, and How She Met D’Angelo The soul icon sat down with Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli for a wide-ranging interview. news October 31, 2025
Drake Makes Surprise Appearance at Vybz Kartel's First-Ever Toronto Show The 6 God showed up at ScotiaBank Arena to perform a mini-set and support the dancehall superstar. news October 27, 2025
ONE MusicFest 2025 Was a Symphony of Unity in the Heart of Atlanta More than a weekend of performances, Atlanta's ONE MusicFest became a gathering of generations honoring Black artistry, Southern pride, and the rhythm that continues to move us all. featured October 27, 2025
Alchemist on Working With Future: “We’re in Contact” Okayplayer chats with Alchemist about his new joint albums, Prodigy, Future and more. featured October 24, 2025
The Listening: Megan Thee Stallion, Miguel’s ‘CAOS,’ Hit-Boy and Alchemist, Ari Lennox, New Leon Thomas and More This week’s new music Friday also features Cautious Clay, Daniel Caesar, Bruiser Wolf with Harry Fraud, and Samara Cyn. entertainment October 24, 2025
Here’s How the Child That Inspired 2Pac’s “Brenda’s Got a Baby” Finally Met His Mother Jeff Pearlman found the people who inspired the classic 1991 2Pac song, which has reverberated through hip-hop myth-making for decades. entertainment October 17, 2025
How Mobb Deep's 'Infinite' Avoided the Posthumous Album Trap Okayplayer explores how Mobb Deep’s latest manages to skirt the pitfalls of other posthumously released albums. entertainment October 17, 2025
MoRuf Drops "PT Cruiser" with SZA MoRuf pulls up with some new heat — with some help from SZA. entertainment October 16, 2025
De La Soul Announce New Album ‘Cabin In the Sky’ The project is the group’s first since the death of founding member Trugoy aka Dave. news October 16, 2025
Don't Teach Me Nonsense: Fela Kuti as a Sample in Rap As the world marks Fela Kuti's 87th posthumous birthday this week, Okayplayer and OkayAfrica celebrate the legendary musician's life and legacy with stories that explore his lasting impact on music, culture, and activism. featured October 16, 2025
How ADHD and Music Shape Each Other A generation of undiagnosed kids found focus and freedom in music. Now, science is catching up to what artists with ADHD have known all along. wellness October 15, 2025
Black Alternative Music Was Always Here Black alternative music has always thrived in the in-between, turning misfit energy into an expressive movement. From Detroit garages to global stages, its lineage is resistance, innovation and survival. featured October 14, 2025
The Listening: Mobb Deep Drops ‘Infinite,’ New Cool Kids, Khalid, Princess Nokia’s ‘Girls’ and More This week’s new music Friday also features G Herbo, Doechii, Bia and Skepta. featured October 10, 2025
10 Times That Hip-Hop Was Inspired By The Comic Book World From masks to monikers, here are ten times the two worlds collided in unforgettable ways. featured October 9, 2025
Bad Bunny Responds To Super Bowl Backlash During ‘SNL’ Monologue Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny hosted the ‘SNL’ season opener with Doja Cat as musical guest. news October 6, 2025
Benny The Butcher Says Nerds Have Taken Over Hip-Hop Culture The Buffalo rap star says that street credibility doesn’t matter anymore because of “all of these weird muthaf***as.” news October 6, 2025
The Listening: Hit-Boy Teams Up With Alchemist, Chloe’s “Nightlife,” New Leon Thomas, Bryson Tiller and More This week’s new music Friday also features Cam’ron, Dave East, Justine Skye and Ledisi. entertainment October 3, 2025
Bad Bunny to Headline 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show Following a tour where he didn’t visit the U.S., Bad Bunny will give fans a show at the next Super Bowl. news September 29, 2025
Nicki Minaj Continues Teasing Her New Album A cryptic X post appears to announce an official release date for Nicki Minaj’s next album. news September 29, 2025
The 10 Best Lyrics on Jay Electronica’s Three New Projects Jay Electronica is working overtime. These are the best bars across the three new installations of 'A Written Testimony.' featured September 24, 2025
Wyclef Jean Returns With New Single “Back From Abu Dhabi” Featuring Rick Ross, French Montana The Grammy winner also recruits Dave Chappelle for the intro and with Yinka Ilori on the artwork. entertainment September 19, 2025
Pusha T on a Clipse Reunion: "It’s Really Up to My Brother" In a Grammy preview interview with Rolling Stone, Pusha T says a Clipse reunion with his twin brother No Malice isn't out of the cards. music September 18, 2025
Cardi B Expecting Baby With Stefon Diggs “Go support my album—because I’m a mother of four now,” the rapper joked. news September 17, 2025
How to be Outside, Inside Featuring Roselle Brooklyn DJ and Afro-Indigenous creator Roselle turns the city into calm — a train for headspace, a dance floor for community, and music as medicine. new york September 12, 2025
The Women's Hip-Hop Renaissance: Bars, Bags, and Boss Moves From chart dominance to record-breaking deals, women in hip-hop aren’t just thriving — they’re reshaping the culture and the business on their own terms. featured September 9, 2025
All The Jewels: RTJ’s Legacy of Music, Movies, Entrepreneurship, and More El-P and Killer Mike built more than a rap group — they built a blueprint for culture, business, and rebellion. featured September 5, 2025
The Listening: New Veeze, Latto and Ice Spice Team-Up and More This week’s new music Friday also features Saigon, Miguel, Ice Cube and Statik Selektah. entertainment September 5, 2025
LL Cool J: Trailblazer, Icon, Legend. From the booth to hosting the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, LL Cool J continues to prove why he’s one of hip-hop’s most enduring icons. featured September 3, 2025
Before The Jewels: A Run the Jewels Timeline Check out the story of how Killer Mike and El-P became Run The Jewels. music August 29, 2025
How to Be Outside, Inside Featuring Saleem "Baba" Gyau The RocNation Artist Relations Manager from DC, now settled in Brooklyn, shares his low-key agenda for chill days in NYC. cities August 29, 2025
DC The Don is Building His Own Sonic Universe His sound is made for the misfits, the mosh pits, and anyone who never let a label define them. music August 29, 2025
The Listening: New Joey Badass, Rakim, Westside Gunn, NBA Youngboy and More This week’s new music Friday also features Ella Mai, and DJ Khaled. music August 29, 2025
8 Mental Health Lessons We Can Learn From Earl Sweatshirt’s New Album There are themes of growth and maturation all over ‘Live Laugh Love.’ wellness August 27, 2025
How Jamila Sams Built a Social-Emotional Curriculum That Actually Resonates The West Philly native went from photographing The Roots to using hip-hop to help students feel seen, heard, and understood. music August 27, 2025
Tyler, The Creator Announces 2025 Camp Flog Gnaw Lineup With a Word Puzzle This year’s festival is taking place in November at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. music August 25, 2025
‘I Love Nali’ Is A Love Letter To New Age R&B Nali’s sonic diary that captures the quiet moments most music leaves behind. music August 25, 2025
The 10 Best Songs That Sample Jay-Z, Ranked Following the release of Cardi B’s Hov-sampling “Imaginary Playerz,” OKP ranks the best songs that also sample Jay-Z. music August 22, 2025
