Popular music is full of one-trick ponies. From Chubby Checker turning every song into a version of “The Twist” to Motorhead and The Ramones thrashing out the same speedy guitar riffs over and over ...

We should address the elephant in the room: hip-hop did not have a strong year on the charts. In fact, rap music had its worst showing in years. Back in October, it made headlines when—for the first ...