New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Public Enemy
Public Enemy rewrote the rules of hip-hop, becoming the most influential and controversial rap group of the late '80s and, for many, the definitive rap group of all time. Building from Run-D.M.C.'s street-oriented beats and Boogie Down Productions' proto-gangsta rhyming, Public Enemy pioneered a variation of hardcore rap that was musically and politically revolutionary....

De La Soul
At the time of its 1989 release, De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the future of hip-hop. With its colorful, neo-psychedelic collage of samples and styles, plus the Long Island trio's low-key, clever rhymes and goofy humor, the album sounded like nothing else in hip-hop....

Joan Baez
2008 is a landmark year for Joan Baez, marking 50 years since she began her legendary residency at Boston's famed Club 47. She remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable - marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr....

Indigo Girls
While they came into prominence as part of the late-'80s folky singer/songwriter revival, the Indigo Girls had staying power where other artists from the same era quickly faded. Their two-women-with-guitars formula may not have seemed very revolutionary on paper, but the combination of two distinct personalities and songwriting styles provided tension and an interesting balance....

Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Following the popular practice in Bollywood music where individuals with varied musical backgrounds collaborate together, Shankar Ehsaan Loy are the first Bollywood trio of music composers. Exploiting the unique strength of its members -- the Indian classical music of Shankar Mahadevan, the rock and acoustic pop of Ehsaan Noorani, and the electronica-fusion of Loy Mendonsa -- the trio has created successful music that is both traditional and progressive....