Made In America: Toby Keith & Jay-Z

A culture that rewards easily consumable individual identities produces plenty of pop stars and almost no bands. A significant exception: MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. MUNA treats the band as a structure that grounds identity beyond the ego a ...  Show more

Canada’s favorite export Drake is back! This month, the Toronto singer-rapper extraordinaire released three albums simultaneously: the long-anticipated return to form Iceman, the sultry, R&B Habibti and the pop-focused, clubby Maid of Honour. All three albums have much different ...  Show more

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, country superstar Toby Keith released “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).” Some embraced the song as the perfect rallying cry for an angry and traumatized nation. Others felt it was a crude, hateful, jingoistic anthem about ...  Show more

President Obama and Bruce sit down to talk popular music, their early musical influences and memories, and the inspiration behind Springsteen’s Broadway show. They share some of their favorite artists (think: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, and more).--Archival clips c ...  Show more

Over the last several years, American listeners have grown more and more attuned to the sounds of West African pop music—also known as Afrobeats–whether it’s the swaggering Nigerian Afro-fusion of Burna Boy, the playfully genre-bending anthems of Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, ...  Show more

It's 2003, and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is about to step onto a stage in the UK. Just days before the U.S. invades Iraq, she takes the mic and drops a bombshell: 'We're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.' The country music scene erupts, and Tob ...