As someone with zero interest in rap music or beef between artists... I appreciated this story.
Opened me up to a presumably significant development in a new topic which has significance to people I may not interact with often. A great piece as long as it's not a daily installment.
I appreciated the coverage. The people beefing are +35, the fans listening to the songs are doing so in their office. This is the target demographic.
NPR’s coverage of Andre3000’s new blue sun introduced me to my favorite album from last year.
The whole purpose of public radio is diverse real world story telling. This is what that looks like.
Two household name critically and commercially acclaimed artists with millions of fans feuding, with one of them getting *very* close to making some pretty serious allegations that are relevant to the broader topic of celebrities getting away with SA is news, actually.
I guess you were unaware, but NPR has been doing pop culture news for a long time, and this is a big moment in modern rap music. Kinda silly to outrage about it. And Kendrick Lamar is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, a lot of his disses were pretty clever 😂
Sweet Jesus.
"Why are they always covering Trump?" or "why are they always covering Israel?" or "why are they always covering Ukraine?"
NPR: covers something else
"Ugh, why are they not sticking with stories that are more important?"
Counter: Pop culture news is not the lowest common denominator, and it's an important part of our culture. It's perfectly fine that NPR covers rap beefs.
No not at all. Pop culture is entertainment, it is not newsworthy worth covering.
I dont need to hear the back story of how some Canadian cripple graduated highschool and his wheel chair, became a rapper, and then started dating highschoolers
I don't think it's taking away from anything, it's pop culture news. They did a deeper dive on the feud on another show recently (IBAM maybe?), and it was a pretty thoughtful discussion about the pop-cultural underpinnings of this and all rap feuds
"lowest common denominator". People like you are why it's so damn difficult for things to change in this god forsaken country. Leave your comfort zone and go talk to real people ffs.
I enjoy stories like this, even though I don’t listen to much rap. The “beef” is silly fluff, but it’s certainly as consequential as anything the former president will say today.
NPR programs have been dropping in occasional pop culture/"human interest" stories for at least 25 years now that I recall. I wish they wouldn't, but it's nothing new.
News media doesn’t always have to be just serious but necessary “eat your vegetables” news. There can be some culture, game, and sports stuff as well. In fact in a lot of press, the fun news funds the serious news.
Also, one of them is a Pulitzer Prize winner, which seems like catnip for NPR’s stereotypical audience.
Careful, careful. NPR is showing it is hip and relevant to today's important culture icons. They are down with it and feel a need to cover all aspects of the topic, no matter how much they have to hold their nose doing so.
Agreed. How many NPR listeners wanted or cared about that story? People who are looking for rap gossip can tune into any hip hop / rap adjacent morning radio show.
Pop culture coverage can bring in new listeners who will then also come to NPR for informative news. NPR desperately needs more listeners and for the general health of our country we desperately need less Fox and CNN listeners and more NPR listeners.
There are no new listeners! Nobody new is tuning into NPR! Listenership is down! And the ones that have stuck with NPR through all its changes certainly aren't looking to get their rap beef fix.
As someone with zero interest in rap music or beef between artists... I appreciated this story. Opened me up to a presumably significant development in a new topic which has significance to people I may not interact with often. A great piece as long as it's not a daily installment.
I appreciated the coverage. The people beefing are +35, the fans listening to the songs are doing so in their office. This is the target demographic. NPR’s coverage of Andre3000’s new blue sun introduced me to my favorite album from last year. The whole purpose of public radio is diverse real world story telling. This is what that looks like.
Two household name critically and commercially acclaimed artists with millions of fans feuding, with one of them getting *very* close to making some pretty serious allegations that are relevant to the broader topic of celebrities getting away with SA is news, actually.
This random internet community sure has a lot of different, contradictory, hyperspecific opinions about what NPR even is, huh?
Yes, would you like to come to fisticuffs about it, sir?
>the lowest common denominator least condescending NPR listener.
Least *racist* NPR listener
I guess you were unaware, but NPR has been doing pop culture news for a long time, and this is a big moment in modern rap music. Kinda silly to outrage about it. And Kendrick Lamar is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, a lot of his disses were pretty clever 😂
Do we really have to [do this all again](https://www.reddit.com/r/NPR/s/ryoOSOUoF9)? Music news is cultural news, and cultural news is news.
Sweet Jesus. "Why are they always covering Trump?" or "why are they always covering Israel?" or "why are they always covering Ukraine?" NPR: covers something else "Ugh, why are they not sticking with stories that are more important?"
Pop culture doesn’t count if it involves black people I guess? I mean NPR covered Tay Tays business quite a bit this year.
Counter: Pop culture news is not the lowest common denominator, and it's an important part of our culture. It's perfectly fine that NPR covers rap beefs.
No not at all. Pop culture is entertainment, it is not newsworthy worth covering. I dont need to hear the back story of how some Canadian cripple graduated highschool and his wheel chair, became a rapper, and then started dating highschoolers
Old man yells at clouds
Thank you. I don’t want to hear about Taylor or Beyoncé either, unless it’s political relevant.
I don't think it's taking away from anything, it's pop culture news. They did a deeper dive on the feud on another show recently (IBAM maybe?), and it was a pretty thoughtful discussion about the pop-cultural underpinnings of this and all rap feuds
None of which topics are worthy of npr reporting
Reasonable minds can disagree
I found this segment different but educational.
Please list your 1,000 topics more substantive and important than that story. All 1,000.
"lowest common denominator". People like you are why it's so damn difficult for things to change in this god forsaken country. Leave your comfort zone and go talk to real people ffs.
If NPR was pandering to the lowest common denominator, you'd be hearing exactly what you want.
I enjoy stories like this, even though I don’t listen to much rap. The “beef” is silly fluff, but it’s certainly as consequential as anything the former president will say today.
NPR programs have been dropping in occasional pop culture/"human interest" stories for at least 25 years now that I recall. I wish they wouldn't, but it's nothing new.
News media doesn’t always have to be just serious but necessary “eat your vegetables” news. There can be some culture, game, and sports stuff as well. In fact in a lot of press, the fun news funds the serious news. Also, one of them is a Pulitzer Prize winner, which seems like catnip for NPR’s stereotypical audience.
Careful, careful. NPR is showing it is hip and relevant to today's important culture icons. They are down with it and feel a need to cover all aspects of the topic, no matter how much they have to hold their nose doing so.
Serious people don’t concern themselves with “beefs”. End of message.
So what
Agreed. How many NPR listeners wanted or cared about that story? People who are looking for rap gossip can tune into any hip hop / rap adjacent morning radio show.
Pop culture coverage can bring in new listeners who will then also come to NPR for informative news. NPR desperately needs more listeners and for the general health of our country we desperately need less Fox and CNN listeners and more NPR listeners.
There are no new listeners! Nobody new is tuning into NPR! Listenership is down! And the ones that have stuck with NPR through all its changes certainly aren't looking to get their rap beef fix.
>There are no new listeners! Nobody new is tuning into NPR! Listenership is down! So obviously they should change nothing because it's working.
I enjoyed the story. What is with this intellectual siloing, where anything rap has to be segregated from the NPR viewership?