Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century Podcast: Shakira (No. 17) & Jay-Z (No. 16)

On this week’s (Sept. 6) episode of the Best Pop Stars of the twenty first Century podcast, we check out a pair of putting up with all-time greats: the Queen of Latin Music Shakira and the rap GOAT Jay-Z.

First, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Español‘s Isabela Raygoza and Sigal Ratner-Arias to hint Shakira’s journey from Colombian rockera to international pop star to elder stateswoman of Latin widespread music. We cowl what made her such a hanging presence in early ’00s pop music, how she was capable of meet American pop icons like Beyoncé and Rihanna on even footing in collaborations, and why you kinda must throw the chart stats out the window when evaluating her total legacy. In fact, we additionally talk about her most up-to-date (and most triumphant) comeback, the place she fought by means of private tumult and emerged with a pair of 2020s smashes larger than most hitmakers half her age might handle.

Then (on the 38:38 mark), Billboard Hip-Hop’s Angel Diaz and Michael Saponara cease by to cite scripture from the E-book of J-Hova. We begin with how Jay-Z was already nicely on his method to all-time nice standing by the flip of the millennium, however attempt to seize how his early-’00s run helped carry not simply his personal profession however all of hip-hop to new heights inside pop music and popular culture. Then, we talk about his retirement (and his first of many comebacks), his career-defining relationships with Beyoncé and Kanye West, and his generally divisive later work — earlier than asking whether or not or not Jay would possibly nonetheless have yet another basic left in him.

Hearken to our newest under, make amends for our previous episodes right here, and be sure you subscribe to Billboard‘s Best Pop Stars of the twenty first Century sequence wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes can be revealed each Friday, following the publishing of our two new Best Pop Star rankings for that week.)