D'Angelo circa 2000. Mark Guthrie hide caption
R&B/Soul NPR Music stories that feature R&B and soul music.
R&B/Soul
Yola Carter performs during tiny desk on December, 12, 2019. (Photo by Mhari Shaw/NPR) Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
Son Little performing live at WXPN's Free At Noon Concert in November 2019, recorded live for World Cafe Jamie Stow/WXPN hide caption
Son Little On World Cafe
Jordan Rakei performs during Tiny Desk on Nov. 15 2019. (Photo by Mhari Shaw/NPR) Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
Jon Batiste performs during Tiny Desk on November, 8 2019. (Photo by Mhari Shaw/NPR) Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
Michael Kiwanuka went to music school, but he thinks technical knowledge is less important than passion and free expression. Olivia Rose/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Michael Kiwanuka On World Cafe
Brittany Howard made NPR Music's No.1 album of 2019 with Jaime. She's on our playlist of best songs of the year, too. Brantley Guttierez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Houston Kendrick Samantha Gordon/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Kirby, Odunsi (The Engine) and Hope Tala Courtney Loo & David Karp/Folarin Omolayole/Freddie Stisted/Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Moonchild performs during a Tiny Desk concert, on Oct. 17, 2019. (Catie Dull/NPR) Catie Dull/NPR hide caption
Raveena performs during a Tiny Desk concert, on Oct. 8, 2019. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption
The late R&B singer Aaliyah, posing backstage at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1995. Catherine McGann/Getty Images hide caption
Raphael Saadiq with Lucky Daye performs during Tiny Desk Fest, on Oct. 31, 2019. (Mhari Shaw/NPR) Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
Kilo Kish's glitchy, pithy "SPARK" sets fire to procrastination, pushing you to keep creating. Kish Robinson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Megan Thee Stallion plays a Tiny Desk Concert (Laura Beltran Villamizar/NPR). Laura Beltran Villamizar/NPR hide caption
Mereba performs during a Tiny Desk concert, on Sept. 17, 2019. Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
Joycelyn Savage (left) and Azriel Clary, two women who lived with R. Kelly, are seen here leaving a Chicago court room in July 2019. Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images hide caption
As one of the few bilingual tracks off Girl Ultra's debut album, Nuevos Aires, "f***him" reminds us to be thankful for our ride or dies. Ricardo Martinez Roa/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The remastered album mines Prince's creative era between Nov. 1981 and Jan. 1983. Allan Beaulieu/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption
Denzel Curry's Super Saiyan energy offsets Glass Animals' eerie, horn-submerged production on "Tokyo Drifting." Elliot Arndt /Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Leslie Odom Jr. plays a Tiny Desk Concert Ben de la Cruz/NPR hide caption
Robert Randolph performing live at the AmericanaFest Day Stage presented by NPR Music, WMOT and World Cafe. Val Hoeppner/WMOT hide caption