Frannie Kelley
Frannie Kelley is co-host of the Microphone Check podcast with Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
Prior to hosting Microphone Check, Kelley was an editor at NPR Music. She was responsible for editing, producing and reporting NPR Music's coverage of hip-hop, R&B and the ways the music industry affects the music we hear, on the radio and online. She was also co-editor of NPR's music news blog, .
Kelley worked at NPR from 2007 until 2016. Her projects included a series on and overseeing a feature on women musicians. She also ran another series on and web-produced the Arts Desk's series on vocalists, called . Most recently, her piece on was selected to be a part of the Best Music Writing 2012 Anthology.
Prior to joining NPR, Kelley worked in book publishing at Grove/Atlantic in a variety of positions from 2004 to 2007. She has a B.A. in Music Criticism from New York University.
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The Atlanta rapper, actor and businessman spoke about being mentored by Andrew Young and using songwriting to talk to himself, as well as everybody else.
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The hometown shows the duo played had a bittersweet quality because people thought it might be their last chance to see one of the most-respected and best-loved groups of all time together. -
"The best way to represent the places where you from is be yourself, completely," says the musician and actor. -
The Brooklyn rapper spoke to Microphone Check about the music business, the old neighborhood, the kids and a theoretical campaign to be Mayor of New York City.
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The Oakland group most widely known for the ageless "93 'til Infinity" has made a new concept album based on a true story. To make it, they went old school. -
"Now is the time that I'm actually thinking of myself as a musician," says Issa. "Things are hitting me like, 'Oh, damn, you have this responsibility.'"
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The New York rapper on the music industry — from sitting on the shelf, to refusing deals, posthumous releases to sales expectations — music journalism and taking risks, personal and professional.
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The Los Angeles rapper tells Microphone Check the true stories behind his debut album and the rise of his partner, DJ Mustard.
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In almost every Hollywood depiction of the American military, at some point a bunch of guys will jog past the camera, singing and stepping in unison. That rhythm infiltrated the Army in 1944. -
This summer Nas is traveling the world performing his debut album in full. The crowds that are coming out to see him are turning up because the 20-year-old record is an acknowledged classic.
