Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment president Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith were handpicked by 'Black Panther' director Ryan Coogler to curate the soundtrack from which the song comes.

Artists heard on The Current are frequently featured on TV programs, and we've gathered the listings in one convenient place for you. See the complete listings, and find performance videos as the week progresses.

2017 was a major year for Hip-Hop and R&B, but so many victories for the world's most popular genre means that there were many artists who didn't get as much love. As 2017 comes to close, contributor Jeffrey Bissoy-Mattis wants to spotlight five artists who flew under the radar.

Transmission's roots are in the worlds of punk, post-punk, new wave, synth, power and dream pop, shoegaze, psych, mod, space and Krautrock. DJ Jake Rudh has assembled a list of songs released in 2017 that fit that mold -- listed in no particular order and occasionally accompanied by a very simple description of genre or feel.

The ever-generous Chance the Rapper is back with another holiday mixtape collaboration with Jeremih, called 'Merry Christmas Lil' Mama: Re-Wrapped.' With more R&B vibes, Chicago juke influence, and remix of hip-hop and Christmas classics, Jeffrey Bissoy-Mattis writes Chance's latest has 'reignited my Christmas spirit with this mixtape.' Listen to the new release.

Set for release on Feb. 9, 2018, 'Always Ascending' is the next album from Franz Ferdinand. Well ahead of the release date, The Current's David Safar connected with front man Alex Kapranos, who talked about the forthcoming record and about what he loves about coming to Minneapolis to perform.

Artists heard on The Current are frequently featured on TV programs, and we've gathered the listings in one convenient place for you. Many shows are taking a holiday hiatus, but among the encore highlights is the Avett Brothers' cover of a George Harrison song. See the complete listings, and find performance videos as the week progresses.

The Brooklyn based chamber ensemble and the trio from the UK (who have more or less become Minnesotans in the past year) met at last summer's Eaux Claires festival and had such a lovely time collaborating that they made an entire album together.

It's the title track from Gallo's new EP, coming Jan. 19, 2018. The new release follows fairly quickly on Gallo's 2017 album, 'Heavy Meta,' which featured the track, 'Young Lady, You're Scaring Me.'

The video for JD McPherson's single, 'Style (Is a Losing Game)' was shot during business hours at a barbershop in Los Angeles. 'All the barbers were really cool having us there,' says the video's director, Sean Dejecacion, who told McPherson, 'We've got to get you in a smock!' Watch the video and go inside its production.