Hip-hop beat-makers are usually unseen. Not all sample-based producers are as reclusive as the torch-bearing loop artist Madlib, but even the most prominent among them are part of the backdrop. After ...

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — In a classroom at the House of Urban Culture, tucked away in the narrow streets of Dakar, Senegal, Aminata Thiam claps her hands in time with a beat she created on her computer. ...

There’s a raw energy in the air—a palpable, jittery anticipation as the old guard of hip-hop production gets tossed aside by the relentless force of technological innovation and cultural upheaval.

This story is part of our new Hip-Hop: ’73 Till Infinity series, a celebration of the genre’s 50th anniversary. Producers are just as (if not more) important than MCs on a track. As much as fans care ...

NEW YORK (AP) — It was born in the break, all those decades ago — that moment when a song's vocals dropped, instruments quieted down and the beat took the stage. It was then that hip-hop came into the ...