Grandmaster Flash’s DJing masterclass

Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’ set the template for hip-hop composition

This 1982 single is one of the most recognizable beats in hip-hop history, thanks to some inspiration from popular disco and new wave records. The song’s bigger contribution, though, is that it pushed lyrics front and center, turning the rapper from a party-rocking master of ceremonies into a truth-telling MC.

DJ Kool Herc pioneered the use of breakbeats for hip-hop

Inspired by Jamaican dancehall culture and Manhattan's disco scene, Herc used a new style that used two turntables, seamlessly mixing and looping "breakbeats"—isolated drum breaks from funk, soul, and rock records—that kept dancers at the "back to school jam" moving. Herc's technique would be the basis for modern sampling and hip-hop's first few decades.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples

Hip-hop music began with the looping of popular breakbeats, but it evolved with DJs and producers learning to chop and flip samples from obscure records and turn them into rap classics. This video illustrates how sampling evolved through the music's five-plus decades.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

The 1973 ‘back to school jam’ was the night hip-hop was born

Hip-hop began in New York’s Bronx borough with the “back to school jam,” an August 1973 dance party hosted by Cindy Campbell and her brother, DJ Kool Herc, in their apartment building’s recreation room.

Hip-hop producer J Dilla reimagined musical time

There are few names in hip-hop more revered than J Dilla, a producer who’s credited with redefining the feel of the music by playing with its timing.

Jean-Michel Basquiat made a last-minute cameo in Blondie's 'Rapture' music video

The classic 1981 track brought hip-hop culture to new wave. Influential DJ Grandmaster Flash was supposed to appear in the video, but he didn't make it to the set, so the artist filled in, standing at a turntable as Debbie Harry rapped. Check him out at the 1:52 mark.

GZA of Wu-Tang Clan says chess taught him strategy in life and music

In a VICE interview, rapper GZA revealed how speed chess sharpened his mind on tour and shaped his creative strategy. Chess, for him, is more than a game—it’s his framework for life.

Watch Daft Punk's legendary set

Coachella's main stage is known for attention-grabbing performances, but one of the festival's most momentous was on the smaller Sahara stage. That's where Daft Punk brought their huge LED pyramids and played an inventive mix of their past hits—resulting in a reimagining of dance music's approach to live performances.

Watch a video of Henry Ford giving square dancing lessons

In the 1920s, Henry Ford did his best to promote square dancing—particularly dances that he learned in his childhood—by teaching lessons twice a week. He believed square dancing was the "correct" way of dancing and was fiercely opposed to jazz music, which was rising in popularity at the time.

Martha Graham on preparation and discipline

This clip from the 1957 documentary "A Dancer's World" features the dancer explaining why she's committed all of her energy to her art. "Spontaneity … is something arrived at over years and years of training," she says, "it is not a mere chance."

Tony Hawk’s rise from outsider to skateboarding legend

In this podcast, Tony Hawk discusses his path from being an outsider in a niche sport to becoming skateboarding’s most recognizable figure—reflecting on competition dominance, business ventures, and lessons learned throughout his career.

A graffiti artist breaks down the fundamentals of the form

Graffiti is more than just tagging a name. Legendary street artist Carlos Mare, also known as Mare 139, breaks down how to paint several of the form's popular styles and motifs, from quickly drawn throwies to intricately planned masterpieces.

Watch a Japanese chef demonstrate how he prepares sushi

Tokyo's Naomichi Yasuda shows how he cuts tuna, wraps a maki roll, and assembles nigiri. In the process, he explains the proper way to enjoy the creations, offering advice for getting the most flavor.

The psychedelic playlist inspired by a Johns Hopkins experiment

Dating back to 1967, the playlist is over seven hours long and organized in such a manner as to echo users’ experiences as their trips rise, crest, and fall. According to the initial creator of the playlist, the music is a “nonverbal support system” that keeps users from prematurely returning to normal consciousness.

How underground radio revitalized rock 'n' roll

Early FM was a wasteland and quickly became the domain of amateurs and risk-takers, including many stations and DJs who played music that flew in the face of mainstream trends. This history of the band's scrappy beginnings unpacks how it realigned the rock charts.

A 19-month-old boy went viral for his natural drumming skills

A mother gifted her husband a drum set for Christmas, but was surprised to find their young child take a liking to the instrument. The musician couple noticed that over time the young boy taught himself proper form and how to keep up with the beat of the music. TikToks they filmed of their son went viral and amassed millions of views.

Making Champagne from start to finish

This video from wine educator Amelia Singer covers everything from grape to glass. She’ll walk you through pressing the fruit, fermentation, aging, disgorgement, and, of course, drinking.

What makes Nikola Jokic a basketball genius

Nikola Jokic is widely considered one of the greatest players in the NBA and this detailed exploration of his singular mind shows why, identifying Jokic’s superpower—viewing the court like a chessboard—and helpfully pulling out plenty of footage to definitively prove the point.

What it takes to become a professional jockey

This short documentary follows a young, amateur jockey through early mornings and exhaustive gym sessions, where she rides a simulator made to look like real horses. It's a peek into a highly specialized (and highly unusual) athletic pursuit.

Met Gala fashion over the decades

Check out the wildest, most impressive Met Gala looks of past decades. This video covers notable outfits from every year of the event. From themes like “The Eighteenth-Century Woman” to First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis to the many looks of Rihanna, the video walks viewers through every stitch and sequin. An inside look into just what makes the Met Gala one of the most important fashion events of the year.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi creates masterpieces using Microsoft Excel

Upon retiring, he wanted to get into art, but found the materials to be expensive. Since 2000, he has created art pieces using the line tool and other features the software provides before printing and taping together various spreadsheets that make up a completed work.

Prince was known as a genre-crossing polymath

The son of two Minneapolis jazz musicians, Prince was surrounded by music from a young age. His full name, Prince Rogers, was actually derived from his father's group, the Prince Rogers Trio. He eventually learned how to play his father's piano, teaching himself the themes to popular TV shows. Eventually, he learned other instruments and expanded his music tastes, indulging in records by Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and more. Below is his junior high school yearbook photo.

The duties and importance of Grammy expert panels have shifted over the years

The anonymous expert panels were first introduced into the Grammys voting process in the '90s to counteract claims that the awards weren't "with it" anymore—basically, that they were biased toward more traditional music acts. Of course, that was also the argument for disbanding some of them in 2022: Many people thought the panels were introducing their own bias into the nominations. Now, they exist mainly to ensure genre nominations are correctly categorized. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

'Super Mario Bros.' teaches players its rules as they go

Rather than constantly climbing up the screen from platform to platform like “Donkey Kong,” “Super Mario Bros.” moves from left to right. In anticipation of gamers’ confusion with the new style, Miyamoto designed the first level as a walk-through, allowing players to learn the rules without reading a manual.

A beginner's guide to creating your own NFT

It took 12 hours and three different Apple devices, but this 30-something poet successfully minted her first NFT, and so can you. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating an NFT.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.