Inspired by a new book tracing four pivotal years in the city’s history, hear a playlist of songs from the dawn of hip-hop that were swirling at the time. By Jonathan Mahler This is Jonathan Mahler. I ...

We should address the elephant in the room: hip-hop did not have a strong year on the charts. In fact, rap music had its worst showing in years. Back in October, it made headlines when—for the first ...