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 ...

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 ...

As hip-hop celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, headlines swirled around its potentially diminishing force as a commercial juggernaut: The first half of the year didn’t see a rap song or album ...

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 ...

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 ...

In 50 years, rap transformed the English language, bringing the Black vernacular’s vibrancy to the world. “Dave, the dope fiend shootin’ dope.” — Slick Rick, “Children’s Story” (1988) “Dopeman, ...

Rap and Christmas have been intertwined since the former began. Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'," a rhymed update of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (better known as "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas") ...