Louder: The Pandemic Party Is on Instagram. Rap Led the Way.

Rap Soundtracks the Michael Jordan Doc. The N.B.A. Wasn’t Always That Way.

“The Last Dance,” the ESPN series about his final season with the Bulls, is interwoven with classic hip-hop that presented some legal hurdles. But Jordan, and the league, weren’t always fans.

By Jeremy Gordon

It’s Showtime! Press Play to Hear the N.Y.C. That Used to Be

“Missing Sounds of New York,” an album from the New York Public Library, recreates the everyday soundtrack many have been missing since March.

By Melena Ryzik

the playlist

Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s Slow Dance, and 10 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Bob Dylan, Rhiannon Giddens, Jamie xx and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Giovanni Russonello

album review

Drake Was Isolated (at the Top) Way Before Quarantine

“Dark Lane Demo Tapes” is a collection of rough drafts about the struggles of success and hints at what his next album might sound like.

By Jon Caramanica

album review

Hayley Williams Lays Down New Roots on Her First Solo Album

The Paramore singer and songwriter’s new LP, “Petals for Armor,” is an exploration of past traumas and future hopes in tracks that veer from pop to R&B and beyond.

By Lindsay Zoladz

critic’s notebook

Live(ish), From Someone’s Room, This … Is American Isolation

“American Idol” and “The Voice,” usually oversized spectacles, have become test cases for TV under lockdown.

By James Poniewozik

Florian Schneider, 73, Dies; Revolutionized Pop Music With Kraftwerk

The German band he helped found toyed with ideas about technology and society, leaving a profound mark on rock, dance music and hip-hop.

By Ben Sisario

playlist

Florian Schneider’s 10 Essential Songs, in Kraftwerk and Beyond

The German musician, who died at 73, shaped sounds that provided templates for countless varieties of electronic dance music, rock and hip-hop.

By Jon Pareles

Tony Allen, Drummer Who Created the Beat of Afrobeat, Dies at 79

With the Nigerian bandleader Fela and later on his own, he merged West African styles with American jazz and funk, reaching listeners worldwide.

By Jon Pareles

Hamilton Bohannon, Driving Disco Drummer, Dies at 78

Mr. Bohannon’s steady four-on-the-floor beat kept dancers moving, and many of his tracks became hip-hop samples long after disco’s heyday.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

Ronan O’Rahilly, Pioneer of Pirate Radio, Is Dead at 79

He said he was in the “why-not” business. And his Radio Caroline became the soundtrack of British and European youth in the 1960s.

By Penelope Green

Ian Whitcomb, Rocker Turned Pop Music Historian, Dies at 78

After his 1965 single “You Turn Me On” became a Top 10 hit, he renounced rock stardom for older musical idioms like ragtime.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

those we’ve lost

Dave Greenfield, Keyboardist of the Stranglers, Dies at 71

Mr. Greenfield’s sound helped his band transcend the British punk rock scene.

By Iliana Magra

Was a ’90s Scorpions Song the Work of the C.I.A.? This Podcast Is on It

A new show hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe explores the possibility that the West German metal band’s hit “Wind of Change” was actually a bit of Cold War espionage.

By Hilary Moss

Filipino Musicians Drive Hong Kong’s Music Scene, but Gigs Have Dried Up

Battered by the one-two punch of protests and a pandemic, Hong Kong’s music venues have mostly gone silent. No one has felt the pinch more than singers, drummers and guitarists from the Philippines.

By Mike Ives

the charts

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Earns a Second No. 1 Album in 7 Months

“38 Baby 2,” the rapper’s latest mixtape, opened with considerably lower numbers than his last top seller in a slow week on the charts.

By Ben Sisario