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.
-
During Super Bowl LVIII, Beyoncé appeared in a commercial and announced that she'd release new music. It didn't take music fans long to turn their attention to her new songs and album announcement.
-
Rapper Nicki Minaj put out her first album in five years Friday. Her legacy as the best-selling female rapper of all time includes 132 chart entries on the Hot 100.
-
The 1999 song "No Scrubs" was catchy and fun — and it made its mark for calling out lazy loser guys who hit on women. It became an anthem for women across the country.
-
As the key witness for the prosecution, the Houston rapper spoke for the first time in explicit detail about the night Lanez allegedly shot her in 2020.
-
A year after fans filled the streets of Los Angeles to celebrate the life of Nipsey Hussle, fans take to the Internet to remember his legacy.
-
The Virginia game-changer and Grammy winner drops a five-song EP ahead of being honored at the MTV Video Music Awards.
-
In a unanimous decision delivered July 29, a jury ruled Katy Perry's 2013 hit "Dark Horse" improperly copied the 2009 Christian rap song "Joyful Noise."
-
The Houston-based dancer-turned-rapper, part of the successful trio Geto Boys, was one of the first to bring cinematically macabre imagery to rap lyricism.
-
On her debut album, Lucid, the 25-year-old singer mashes up contemporary R&B with traditions from the South Asian diaspora. "I just think there's room for more stories."
-
Beyoncé's historic 2018 Coachella performance has been immortalized thanks to the Netflix film Homecoming. Three members of Beyoncé's Coachella marching band talk about the show's prolonged legacy.