Sidney Madden
Sidney Madden is a reporter and editor for NPR Music. As someone who always gravitated towards the artforms of music, prose and dance to communicate, Madden entered the world of music journalism as a means to authentically marry her passions and platform marginalized voices who do the same.
Originally from Boston, Madden graduated from Hofstra University in New York with a bachelor's degree in journalism and sociology. As a freelancer, she earned bylines at MTV, People's Choice, Nylon Magazine and more before joining the editorial team at storied hip-hop pillar XXL Magazine.
During her time at XXL, both as an editorial assistant and assistant editor, Madden pitched, wrote and edited news posts and features for the outlet and interviewed artists ranging from all eras and facets of rap — from Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent to Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B and Lil Uzi Vert. In addition to working on cultural touchstones like the magazine's annual Freshman Class covers, in 2016, Madden assisted in reporting out one of the magazine's seminal investigative packages, The Current Status of Every Murdered Rapper's Case, which revealed the high percentage of unsolved murders involving rappers over the last 30 years.
Madden joined the NPR Music team in 2017, serving as editorial lead for digitizing and editing music stories that air on NPR's premiere news magazine programs, Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. In 2018, she began producing Tiny Desk Concerts with a special focus on bringing burgeoning, left-of-center artists from the worlds of R&B and hip-hop to the desk. To date, her Tiny Desk Concert productions include Jorja Smith, Megan Thee Stallion, DVSN and Snoh Aalegra. She's also created reports for on-air and digital that contextualize hip-hop culture within society's larger strata — whether it's unpacking the genius marketing of Cardi B, Tyler, The Creator's subversive heartbreak or the socioeconomics that fuel Solange's downhome Afrofuturism.
In September 2020, after two years of research, reporting and development, Madden became the co-host of Louder Than A Riot, NPR Music's first narrative investigative podcast that traces the interconnected rise of hip-hop and mass incarceration.
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The artist's Tiny Desk proves how far the sounds of West Africa have influenced the U.S. and, more implicitly, just how much the music defies catch-all labels like 'Afrobeats.'
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The unwritten rules of rap unpacked in Louder's second season are held together by a scarcity principle that came to define the show itself. As it draws to a close, the team reflects on its mission. -
Rico Nasty and her fans know what it's like to be judged for being themselves. For anyone who feels like an outsider, Nasty Mob is a space to forget that alienation. -
Since 2019, Saucy Santana has been a regular presence on the social web, producing several streaming hits. But the very qualities that set him apart threatened to hold him back. -
In 2005, Kim Osorio sued The Source for gender discrimination, sexual harassment and hostile work environment, retaliation, defamation. Responses to the case reinforced hip-hop's culture of silence. -
The rap icon treated fans to an epic set featuring the best of her sprawling discography.
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Like her idol Trina two decades earlier, Latto saw her creativity open up when she started rapping explicitly about sex. But with her frankness came harsh new standards to live up to. -
Rapper Doechii hoped her video "Crazy" would make a statement by presenting her nude body as a vessel of power, not sex. YouTube saw things differently. -
Not everyone who was part of rap's ascent gets included in its story. MC Sha-Rock, of the original Funky 4 and the Funky 4 + 1, reaffirms her role in hip-hop's formative years as the first woman MC. -
In hip-hop, unwritten rules have forced Black women and queer artists to fight for space. Can the genre's rule-breakers push their way to the center, while pushing the culture forward?
