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New Music Friday: The Top 9 Albums Out On August 14

Burna Boy. His latest full-length, Twice as Tall, tops our list of the best new albums out this week. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

New Music Friday: The Top 9 Albums Out On August 14

August 14, 2020 • NPR Music's picks for the best new albums out this week include the latest from Afro-fusion singer Burna Boy, Fantastic Negrito, Jacob Collier, the queer country of Orville Peck and more.

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Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, born 145 years ago, was a sensation in his time, yet his music is undervalued today. Hear a sampling of the composer, including orchestral dances, piano pieces and a song from Dorothy Maynor.

100 Greatest Title Tracks Ever Laid Down On Wax

Bruce Springsteen performs live on stage at the Carlton Theatre in Red Bank, N.J., during the Born To Run tour in October 1975. Fin Costello/Redferns / Getty Images hide caption

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Fin Costello/Redferns / Getty Images

100 Greatest Title Tracks XPN

Title tracks often capture the mood, vibe and direction of an album. From Paul Simon's "Graceland" to Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," here's a playlist of the greatest title tracks.

Comic book artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Murder Falcon, Extremity) illustrates the music of Viking's Choice. Horns up! Daniel Warren Johnson hide caption

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Daniel Warren Johnson

Viking's Choice

On this week's playlist, Estonian cowpokes Holy Motors lean into a twang dream, Kenyan duo Duma lays a grindcore trap and Armani Caesar gets a primo DJ Premier beat.

Stream NPR Music's Southern Rap Canon Playlist

Lil Wayne, shown performing at Coachella in 2016, is one of the artists featuring in NPR Music's Southern rap canon. Michael Tullberg/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

NPR Music's Southern Rap Canon

Stream the songs, plus selected tracks from the albums and mixtapes, that comprise our list of the 130 greatest releases in Southern rap history.

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How Live Music Is Coping, And What The Near Future Will Bring

A drive-in concert, held on April 24, 2020 in Aarhus, Denmark. Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima hide caption

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Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

How Live Music Is Coping, And What The Near Future Will Bring

The damage done to independent live music by the pandemic has been catastrophic – and a future where it thrives will, regardless and inevitably, arrive.

Joelle Avelino for NPR

The South Got Something To Say: A Celebration Of Southern Rap (2010-2014)

Our list of the best songs, albums and mixtapes by Southern rappers is a celebration that recenters the South as a creative center of hip-hop and honors the region for all that it has given to us.

'Teenage Dirtbag' At 20: Why Ruston Kelly Loves The Loser Anthem

Country star Ruston Kelly surprised fans with the 2019 release Dirt Emo Vol. 1, which puts his own spin on the cult hit "Teenage Dirtbag." His second studio album, Shape & Destroy, is out Aug. 28. Alexa King/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alexa King/Courtesy of the artist