Hip-Hop Radio

Hip-hop is part of our rotation alongside deep house, house and indie — tracks chosen for their beats, flow and ideas rather than their chart position.

Every song is picked by a person who listens to it first. No paid placements, no ad breaks, no algorithm.

Tracks appear here as soon as they are played on air. Press play above and listen in.

Hip-hop began in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s. At block parties, DJs such as DJ Kool Herc looped the instrumental breaks of funk and soul records so dancers could keep moving, and MCs began rhyming over them. In 1979 “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang took the sound to radios around the world.

Hip-hop grew as a culture built on four elements:

• DJing: cutting, looping and scratching records
• MCing: rhyming over the beat
• Breaking: the dance
• Graffiti: the visual art

From the golden age of the late 1980s and 1990s to trap, drill and everything since, it has become one of the most influential forces in music. Its tools — sampling, beats, the producer as artist — are now everywhere.

• In your browser: press play on the player at the top of this page. It works on any phone or computer, no account needed.
• In your favourite app: add our stream URL to VLC, Apple Music, Sonos or any radio app.
• On Android: get the Anti Radio app and keep listening in the background.
• On your website: embed our player and share the sound with your visitors.