Hip-Hop

Makini Morrision, pictured at his south St. Louis studio on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, is a jazz pianist and music producer who performs under the name “K Kurds Muzik.”

Arts

Jazz pianist and music producer K Kudda Muzic makes every music genre his own

Miya Norfleet

With inspiration from music his parents played around him as a child and hip-hop producer JDilla, University City native Makini Morrison creates his own unique sound under his stage name K Kudda Muzic.

Arts

Chingy made St. Louis hip-hop a thing — and now he’s coming home

Miya Norfleet

The rapper is set to headline Music at the Intersection Saturday.

Sexyy Red performs for a sold out crowd north of 7,000 on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at Chaifetz Arena in Midtown.

Arts

North St. Louis native Sexyy Red heats up her hometown with 'Hood Hottest Princess Tour'

Miya Norfleet

The rapper behind the hit “SkeeYee” was welcomed home by a sold-out Chaifetz Arena filled with fans outfitted in her signature look.

Arts

Souls of Liberty’s ‘20,000 Hours’ marks a milestone in brotherhood, music and career

Miya Norfleet

“20,000 Hours Vol. 1: Return of the Gods” is Souls of Liberty’s latest album after a five-year hiatus.

D’Frantz Smart visits “The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” a multimedia exhibit exploring the history context and modern hip-hop, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, at the St. Louis Art Museum. Smart knew some of the artists featured in the exhibition. “It’s good to see some friends’ work in person,” they said. “It’s cool.”

Arts

How St. Louis Art Museum went beyond the beats to map the expanse of hip-hop culture

Jeremy D. Goodwin

“The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st century” at St. Louis Art Museum maps the broad influence of hip-hop culture in a wide-ranging exhibition.

Artist Aaron Fowler is photographed alongside his sculpture “Live Culture Force 1’s, 2022” on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at the St. Louis Art Museum. Fowler’s work will be on display at the museum through the end of the year, as a part of its exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.”

Arts

Aaron Fowler makes his own big shoes to fill by creating art that embodies hip-hop

Miya Norfleet

The sculpture “Live Culture Force 1’s” makes a large impression and is currently on display at the St. Louis Art Museum.

El Franco Lee II's 2008 work "DJ Screw in Heaven" is part of wide-ranging exhibition "The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century" at St. Louis Art Museum.

Arts

Hip-hop hooray — St. Louis Art Museum launches hip-hop exhibition with block party

Jeremy D. Goodwin

“The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” opens with a block party and free museum admission on Saturday at the St. Louis Art Museum. The wide-ranging exhibition will run for four months.

The 2022 piece “Track Collection” by 38-year-old artist Telfar Clemens.

Culture & History

Fashion and hip-hop on display at St. Louis Art Museum’s ‘The Culture’ exhibition

Ulaa Kuziez

A component of the upcoming St. Louis Art Museum exhibition that’s on display through Jan. 1 showcases hip-hop’s lasting influence on fashion.

Host Elaine Cha (left) receives instruction on how to perform a "scratch" from Darian Wigfall also known as DJ Whiz.

Arts

DJ Whiz teaches fundamentals at Sophie’s Artist Lounge

Miya Norfleet

Pros help newcomers jump on the ones and twos and fulfill their hip-hop fantasies at Elemental 101 DJ workshops.

Jim Gates, center, along with his WESL 1490 Radio staff in the late 1970s around the time he was given the go-ahead to play the first rap record over the air in the St. Louis market.

Arts

How an East St. Louis radio station first brought hip-hop to the region’s ears in 1979

Chad Davis

An East St. Louis radio station helped hook listeners in the St. Louis region on hip-hop back in 1979. That’s when New York record executives Joe and Sylvia Robinson sent the song “Rapper's Delight” to WESL. Former WESL owner Gentleman Jim Gates discusses the moment.