Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Bruno Mars is the most-listened to artist in the world on Spotify. He's won 16 Grammys. In case you thought there were no battles left for him to win, this week he unlocked another achievement.
On new albums by viral sensation Yebba and studio whiz Pimmie, it's clear modern R&B has been clearing space for vastly different stripes of singer-songwriter.
The visual album and documentary Songs from the Hole tells the story of James Jacobs, the hip-hop artist JJ'88, as he reflects on his coming-of-age within California's state prison system.