Kat Lonsdorf

Elton John won an Emmy Monday night, securing him a spot in the small group of people who have an EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

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.

To mark hip-hop's 50th anniversary, NPR's All Things Considered explores five moments that are integral to how the culture grew and evolved.

Sixto Rodriguez, the musician whose story was documented in the film Searching for Sugar Man, has died at 81. He had minor success in the U.S., but was surprised to learn his music was a hit abroad.

In 2003, T.I. and other Atlanta rappers created new subgenre of rap: trap music. Twenty years later, its influence is everywhere.

Hip-hop was born at a party in 1973, but it'd be another six years until the first commercial hip-hop records. People have differing views of it, but the release of "Rapper's Delight" changed history.

In August 1973, an 18-year-old DJ Kool Herc played his sister's back-to-school fundraiser in the rec room of their apartment building. But he and his friends sparked something much bigger.

NPR's Juana Summers visits a new exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City that celebrates 50 years of fashion in hip hop music.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with jazz singer Samara Joy, who recently took to the legendary Blues Alley Club stage in Washington, D.C. She and her album, Linger Awhile, won two Grammys.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with 22-year-old jazz singer Samara Joy, who recently took to the stage of legendary club Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. Her album, Linger Awhile, is out now.