From Illmatic to The Chronic, these are the most important—and greatest—rap albums of the ’90s. One rule changed everything: ...

Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, ESSENCE editor Rivéa Ruff reports on the blending of hip-hop and R&B. Since the ...

Music boasts many powers, many special abilities. One of those is its chance to transport the listener back to a different time. Want to feel the vibrant 1960s? Put on early Bob Dylan. The strange ...

In terms of artistic advancement, many rap fans would probably not consider Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” a genre-shifting single. However, regarding popular appeal, they probably would, as it was the ...

The vibrant 1990s marked a revolutionary period in the South African music scene, propelling hip hop into the spotlight and weaving its rhythms and rhymes into the very fabric of everyday life.

Editor’s note: This story is part of That’s My Word, an ongoing KQED series about Bay Area hip-hop history. “I’ll never lose that spirit, but I don’t miss being on the street from morning to night,” ...