In celebration of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards happening this Sunday, March 14th, we’re highlighting some of the nominated albums that are available now to stream on Hoopla. From pop and county, to soul and rock, check out these talented (and possibly Award-winning) artists.

This March, check out the latest books to be added to the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s collection on Overdrive. From romance and mysteries, thrillers and memoirs, there’s something for every type of booklover. Enjoy!

by Eric Neffke, Fine Arts Department

On August 11, 1973, a young disc jockey named Kool Herc was spinning records at a party in the South Bronx when he noticed that the party only really came alive when the records went into their breaks, or the part that stripped the music down to mostly the beat.  This is when the early breakdancers would show their moves on the floor.  He came up with the idea of extending the breaks by playing multiple copies of the same record on different turntables.  This began the series of events that would lead to the development of the music and lifestyle known as hip-hop.

The Pratt Library has a number of books that explore the beginnings of hip-hop music and culture and show how Herc’s idea led to the rise of DJs like Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, and emcees like Melle Mel, Sha-Rock, and Kurtis Blow, and that fateful day in 1979 when Sylvia Robinson, owner of Sugar Hill Records, decided she wanted to put this music on vinyl.

The Hoopla app, which can be used with your library card, has a nice selection of early hip-hop: from The Sugar Hill Story, a large compilation of some of the biggest hip-hop tracks ever released by Sugar Hill Records, to records by Kurtis Blow, The Treacherous Three, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five to name a few.

On Kanopy, another app that can be accessed using your library card number, you can watch documentaries such as Wild Style, a 1984 release that focuses on early hip-hop culture, Rubble Kings: How Hip-Hop Culture Stopped Gang Violence, Fresh Dressed: The Evolution of Rap Fashion, and Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, which was directed by legendary rapper Ice-T.

Looking for a new romance to read? Hoopla has you covered with a collection of novels featuring diverse casts of characters that you are sure to fall in love with. Go ahead and check them out!

Dr. Trisha Raje is San Francisco’s most acclaimed neurosurgeon, but that’s not enough for the Rajes, her influential immigrant family. Up-and-coming chef DJ Caine needs the lucrative job the Rajes offer, but he values his pride too much. As the two clash, their assumptions crumble like the spun sugar on one of DJ’s stunning desserts.

Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career-and the occasional hookup. There aren’t any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night… and disappears. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk. 

While her boss the prince was busy wooing his betrothed, Likotsi had her own love affair after swiping right on a dating app. But her romance had ended in heartbreak. When Likotsi and Fabiola meet again on a stalled subway train months later, both of them wonder if they can turn this second chance into a happily ever after.

“Masterpiece” Celebrates 50 Years of Must-Watch TV for Anglophiles

by Tom Warner Best & Next Department

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre), which premiered on PBS stations in January 1971, making it America’s longest-running weekly prime-time drama. Long before Britbox and Acorn TV, Masterpiece was the program that launched America’s love affair with prestige British television imports. From Upstairs, Downstairs to Downton Abbey; from Agatha Christie’s Poirot to Sherlock; and from The Six Wives of Henry VIII to Wolf Hall, Masterpiece has consistently presented critically acclaimed adaptations of literary classics, historical dramas, mystery whodunits, and clever “BritWit” comedies. Along the way, Masterpiece has garnered 83 Primetime Emmys,18 Peabody Awards, seven Golden Globes and two Oscars. To celebrate this golden anniversary, Best & Next compiled this list of classic “Masterpieces” that are available to check out from Pratt using our Sidewalk Service, Books-by-Mail or Hoopla digital streaming services.