Fab 5 Freddy was hip-hop's first cultural interlocutor on the low. Cable was pumping in suburban Black America, too. And every Saturday night, tuning into Yo! MTV Raps, beginning in late summer '88, ...

The year was 1988. Hip-hop music was really taking shape thanks to big name artists like Run-DMC, The Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. It was a year before the Grammy Awards would hand out the first ...

A hit song from one of the most successful artists of all time has landed in a surprising place on a music ranking. Even though it was embraced by the masses, Eminem's "Rap God" was named the "worst ...

To get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day, here are some of The Root’s favorite rap love songs. While hip-hop is often characterized by its bravado and aggression, the genre has also flourished ...

Lefty Gunplay celebrates historic Grammy win for best rap song Lefty Gunplay talks about winning the first Grammy for best rap song by a Latino artist for his feature on Kendrick Lamar’s TV Off.

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 ...

**For clarity, rap and hip-hop are used interchangeably throughout the article, as both represent the same space in music charts.** Additionally, in mid-September 2025, only four hip-hop songs were on ...

From Run-DMC’s Queens classic to De La Soul’s subversive storytelling, to “Trap Christmas”…rap has always celebrated the holidays on its own terms. Christmas in Hip-Hop has never been ...

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 ...

Rap music in 2025 was a rich mix of introspection, experimentation and cultural significance. As mainstream rap fell in and out of favor, the genre flourished with adventurous producing, serious ...

Every year, we’re told that hip-hop is in crisis. But if you ask us, it feels like there’s too much heat to keep up with. What’s lost on the chart-watchers lamenting rap’s mainstream lull is that the ...