J. Cole, Triumphant (at His Own Pace)

The 22-year-old rage-pop phenom and his father John Herndon, of the post-rock band Tortoise, chatted with Popcast about songwriting, nepotism and what they’ve taught each other. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via y ...  Show more

Jon and Joe count down their respective personal favorites of the year, including some unexpected rapping, an inescapable TikTok meme, a major tour and a sublime bridge in a breakup song. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subsc ...  Show more

Conversation on hip-hop classics and influential artist 

Jay Z - Hit The Road of New York 2K17 (#Coppola Hip Hop Edit) (Ft. Ray Charles) 

It's pretty common to hear rap and R&B influences on the same track, but that wasn’t always the case. Hip-hop was not received with open arms by many in the R&B establishment. Still, rappers found creative ways of being heard on the radio, while others pushed beyond stereotypes o ...  Show more

Nas dropped one of the most universally loved rap albums of all time in 1994 with Illmatic. Few legends in Hip Hop have been able to maintain their relevance over several decades based on their skill alone. Nas has never chased headlines or crossover success. He’s always seemed f ...  Show more