| Black people, we built America and we gave it all of its pop culture and all of its great musical genres. That's us. |
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Amythyst Kiah's "Wary + Strange" is out today on Rounder Records.
(Sandlin Gaither/Shore Fire Media)
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“Black people, we built America and we gave it all of its pop culture and all of its great musical genres. That's us.”
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Freedom Highway
Following up on the USC ANNENBERG INCLUSION INITIATIVE's damning report on the state of diversity in the music business, the BLACK MUSIC ACTION COALITION will drop its own "Report Card" this morning on how music companies are doing with the justice and equality pledges they made a year ago after the murder of GEORGE FLOYD and the industry's pause for reflection on Blackout Tuesday. The report will drop on what, in the last 24 hours, has become the first observances in many US states of the new JUNETEENTH federal holiday, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday and the House of Representatives on Wednesday and signed into law by PRESIDENT BIDEN on Thursday. It turns out when you want to make change happen on a short turnaround, you can.
"Pretty much all American music," to quote a friend, "stems from the Black music tradition," which makes this an especially good day for anyone engaged in the business of music to pause for reflection one more time on how that tradition is being honored and how it's being paid back and paid forward. It's also a good day and weekend to listen, absorb, dance and celebrate American music's deep roots and extensive branches. And to invest some dollars in its creators at a place like BANDCAMP, which is celebrating Juneteenth for a second straight year by donating its entire share of all sales today to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. A simple gesture that's likely, once again, to support a long tail of both justice and music.
It's Friday
And that means new music from Grammy and Oscar darling H.E.R., who explores the implications of a rock, blues and R&B record collection and an eye for social justice on BACK OF MY MIND... AMYTHYST KIAH, an alumna of the roots music project Our Native Daughters, does something similar but with a Southern alt-rock twang and an obsessive eye for sonic detail on WARY + STRANGE (lyric of the day: "I pick the banjo up and they sneer at me / 'Cause I'm black myself")... ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO collaborates with African pop artists including Burna Boy, Sampa the Great, Mr. Eazi, Yemi Alade on Shungudzo on MOTHER NATURE, an album she says was partly inspired by Quincy Jones' "Back on the Block"... JUDGEMENT is the first album in 27 years by TEN CITY, the influential Chicago house duo of Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily... FEAR FACTORY's AGGRESSION CONTINUUM is the metal band's last with founding frontman Burton C. Bell... Country singer/songwriter RORY FEEK's GENTLE MAN is his first album since the death of his wife, JOEY, who was also his partner in the duo Joey + Rory. Joey's idol Dolly Parton lends a hand... After a decade of writing and producing for others including CHARLI XCX and CARLY RAE JEPSEN, electro-pop singer MNDR steps back into the game with HELL TO BE YOU BABY.
(Reminder: You can find some of those, and many of the artists to follow, at BANDCAMP, and this is an ideal day to do exactly that.)
There's also new music from BACKXWASH (out June 20), JOAN ARMATRADING, ASHE, SEVENTEEN, MYKKI BLANCO, CHER STRAUBERRY, GOLDLINK, HRSMN (Canibus, Kurupt, Killah Priest and Ras Kass), GUCCI MANE, ZIWE, SY ARI DA KID, BERWYN, KINGS OF CONVENIENCE (first album in 12 years), KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS (first in 10 years), BEN GOLD, STEVE COLE, TOM MORELLO & BLOODY BEETROOTS, NATALIE GELMAN, AZURE RAY, MAEVE, ANDREW HUNG (of F*** Buttons), AMBAR LUCID, NOAH BRITTON, MAX BLOOM, BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH, COVEY, COLA BOYY, METRO MARRS, DRO KENJI, REBELUTION, NEONFLY... And the third volume of the Undefeated's EP series LIBERATED/MUSIC FOR THE MOVEMENT, which celebrates Black lives and social justice. Vol. 3 features KAMASI WASHINGTON, CORDAE, CHLÖE BAILEY (of Chloe x Halle) and YARA SHAHIDI.
Etc Etc Etc
EDGAR WRIGHT's whimsical (and insanely thorough) rock doc masterwork THE SPARKS BROTHERS, about brothers RUSSELL and RON MAEL, who are, duh, SPARKS, opens today. A bravura feat of obsession and love. I had some thoughts after it played SUNDANCE earlier this year... "'Oops' does not suffice": When you cover a song you love, file your cover away on your computer and forget about it, rediscover it a few years later and think it's yours, and put it on your own album... I'm sorry Ms. Jackson but this is the coolest AIRBNB in Atlanta or, that matter, anywhere in the world... Heartbreaking news about the great French singer FRANÇOISE HARDY.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| freedom freedom i can't move |
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The Guardian |
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| Def Jam: how a new British imprint of the iconic rap label poached Stormzy |
| by Joseph Patterson |
| Only 6% of music industry execs are Black. That system fails artists, say the founders of 0207 Def Jam, whose uniquely diverse boardroom aims to change the culture - for good. |
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WURD Radio |
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| The History of Freedom Music, With Guthrie Ramsey |
| by Tiffany Bacon and Dr. Guthrie Ramsey |
| Music historian, pianist, composer, and professor at the university of Pennsylvania, Guthrie Ramsey, discusses the History of Freedom Music. |
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Lefsetz Letter |
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| The Bob Lefsetz Podcast: Irving Azoff |
| by Bob Lefsetz and Irving Azoff |
| A man who needs no introduction. |
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Billboard |
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| How YouTube Serves 2B Monthly Music Users Without Human-Curated Playlists |
| by Micah Singleton |
| The world’s most popular streaming service is the only major platform to rely solely on algorithms to create its playlists. |
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NPR |
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| Celebrating Juneteenth And Black Music Month With Classical Classics |
| by Rachel Martin and Vince Pearson |
| NPR's Rachel Martin talks to pianist Lara Downes about new recordings to mark Black Music Month and Juneteenth. It's part of Downes' recording project to highlight the work of Black composers. |
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Variety |
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| How Pharrell Williams Helped Virginia Make Juneteenth a Holiday -- Through the Governor’s Blackface Scandal |
| by Shirley Halperin |
| A year ago, in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic, Pharrell Williams braved air travel to head to his home state of Virginia and stand beside Governor Ralph Northam as he called for Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last slaves in Texas learned of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, to be declared a state holiday. |
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The Ringer |
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| ‘Lumberjack’ Is a Reminder Tyler, the Creator Can Rap His A** Off |
| by Justin Sayles |
| The MC returned Wednesday (Jun. 16) with a new single that pays homage to Golden Era hip-hop and shows that even if he can make great pop music, he’s not done with rap yet. |
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The Independent |
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| Manchester Arena attack inquiry: Terrorist should have been identified as threat before bombing that killed 22 |
| by Lizzie Dearden |
| Man concerned Salman Abedi would ‘let a bomb off’ raised alarm with security guard minutes before attack. |
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Billboard |
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| My First Show Back: Canyon Club Owner Lance Sterling on Hosting the Foo Fighters |
| by Taylor Mims |
| Canyon Club owner Lance Sterling talks to Billboard about hosting an intimate Foo Fighters concert in this installment of "My First Show Back." |
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Talkhouse |
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| Edgar Wright Talks with Ron and Russell Mael (Sparks) on the Talkhouse Podcast |
| by Edgar Wright and Sparks |
| The British director sits down for a delightful, movie-centric chat with the subjects of his new documentary, "The Sparks Brothers." |
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Rest of World |
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| In Argentina, cheap government-issued netbooks sparked a musical renaissance |
| by Juan José Relmucao |
| Working-class teens turned junked machines into musical instruments. |
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The New York Times |
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| For a Composer, the Final Minutes Are Critical |
| by Seth Colter Walls |
| Flowering into lushly affecting patterns, Christopher Cerrone’s new album is part of a burst of activity over the past year. |
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Country Queer |
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| Following Kacey's Arrow: Do We Still Need Queer Country Icons? |
| by James Barker |
| Why would Musgraves appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences? One answer is her assertive allyship. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| Everyone's crazy about Bo Burnham's Netflix special, but is his music actually good? |
| by Mikael Wood |
| Whether it's Weird Al or Lonely Island, even the best comedy-rock presents a challenge: Does it stand up to repeated listens? Enter one-man-band Bo Burnham. |
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Music x |
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| A music service based on zero-knowledge proofs |
| by Maarten Walraven-Freeling |
| When a technology is new, it allows us to imagine all kinds of utopias. It also means we often don't quite understand it yet. While I try to explain a little how zero-knowledge proofs work, I’ll also compose a utopia that will make even the most ardent Equitable Remuneration supporter come running for this utopian door. |
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Variety |
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| Why Amazon Traded a Big Concert for Prime Day Mini-Musicals With Billie Eilish, H.E.R. and Kid Cudi |
| by Chris Willman |
| The three specials-within-a-special, about 25 minutes each, represent an unprecedented level of cooperation and synergy between Amazon Prime, Amazon Music and the division that produces original filmic content, Amazon Studios. |
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them. |
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| Kehlani Is Looking Forward |
| by Ann-Derrick Gaillot |
| Coming out was a natural progression in Kehlani’s life that could change their career forever. |
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The Independent |
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| Meet Mahmood – Italy’s answer to Bad Bunny |
| by Roisin O'Connor |
| The Italian son of Egyptian and Sardinian parents came to global attention when he placed second at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, but there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. He speaks to Roisin O’Connor about his new album, "Ghettolimpo," and why he’s still avoiding labels. |
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NPR |
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| Jazz Elder Statesman Anthony Braxton Continues To Defy Expectations |
| by Nate Chinen |
| Maverick jazz composer Anthony Braxton was set to spend his 75th birthday performing at events around the world, but then... well, you know. He has two new boxed sets out this month. |
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The Root |
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| Miles Davis, Brown Liquor and a Night I Didn't Want to End |
| by Lawrence Ware |
| As a kid, I would hear noise coming from the living room after I'd gone to bed. I was a light sleeper then, so the sound of trumpets and saxophones would keep me up well past my bedtime. I made a habit of sneaking out my room after my mother laid down for the night to sit with my father as he sipped on something brown. |
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The Root |
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| Can I Get a 'Soul Clap'?: A Musical Journey In a Cadillac With Pop |
| by Dustin Seibert |
| We had a tricked-out black Cadillac XTS that felt like rolling on a waterbed, thanks to pop’s access to fleet cars as a then-General Motors employee. I insisted on proper tunes. Enter “Soul Clap 2.0,” an Apple Music playlist of old soul music from the 1960s and 1970s that I’ve been building for years. |
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| Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech |
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“REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” |
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| Jason Hirschhorn |
| CEO & Chief Curator |
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