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Nicki Minaj spent years hustling in the rap world before she even put out an album. Then in 2010, it all came together with a celebrated guest verse and a debut album that took hip hop by storm.

The documentary series, an adaptation of Hirway's popular podcast, asks musicians including Alicia Keys and R.E.M to tell the step-by-step story of how a song was created.

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Smithsonian curator John Troutman and blues musician Dom Flemons about the new folk music album, Playing for the Man at the Door.

Author Justin Tinsley discusses the life and legacy of the Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in 1997: "You can't talk about the story of hip-hop without mentioning the name Biggie Smalls."

The artist quit music in the early '60s, then later disappeared so completely even her family didn't know where she'd gone. Now, an album of her songs — as she wanted them heard — is coming out.

A version of the hit "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot and the Seattle Symphony drew a large crowd of dancers to the stage this weekend.

"It was like a blown-out, glorified version of what was actually being said at that time," the rapper says of the butt-positive single that inspired controversy, parody and some genuine gratitude.

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez sounded like a cross between Bob Dylan and Love's Arthur Lee. But after his recording debut in 1969, both Rodriguez and his record disappeared in the U.S.

Though the Bay's vibrant rap community lit the fuse on many of the stars, styles and innovations that have blown up across the map, the region might still be best known for being underestimated.

We revisit an archived studio session from 2009 with the Detroit folk rocker for Sense of Place.