Music Features

BBoy B, Flash, 38 Slugs and Skol's 'Frankie Knuckles' tribute mural is displayed in the Fulton Market neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois on July 6, 2019.

Music & Culture

From the Warehouse to the world: Chicago and the birth of house music

11:01am March 02, 2023

For the people who were there when it was invented in small clubs and basement parties in Chicago in the 1980s, house music was a force of nature. Four decades later, its impact is bigger than ever.

Niang encourages young Senegalese to stay in the country.

Senegal's artists are fighting the system with a mic and spray paint

6:38am February 28, 2023

A cultural center in Senegal is creating a safe space where artists can use their platform to speak about climate change while also finding opportunities in the art and music scene.

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"It's not all just about anger and aggression," Zulu's Anaiah Lei (far left) says, "I'm kind of tired of being expected to express that when I want to express love."

Music & Culture

Zulu's soul-sampling powerviolence shifts the pit toward love

10:47am February 27, 2023

by Laina Dawes

Meaty riffs, disembodied screams and... Curtis Mayfield? Anaiah Lei carefully curates samples to acknowledge past freedom fighters and provide windows of hope.

Colombian pianist Teresita Gómez is a legendary figure in that country's classical music scene.

At 3 she snuck in to play piano, at nearly 80, she's a Colombian classical legend

4:43pm February 18, 2023

by Betto Arcos

Teresita Gómez learned piano in secret at the exclusive fine arts school where her parents worked. She's now a celebrated classical pianist and a longtime promoter of music by Colombian composers.

The documentary Wattstax celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. It will be returning to theaters alongside a new box set called Soul'd Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection.

Music & Culture

50 years later, the celebrations and contradictions of 'Wattstax' still resonate

4:15pm February 15, 2023

by Ashawnta Jackson

The documentary returns to theaters this month alongside the release of a new box set. It's a chance to consider what it captures (and doesn't) about music, race and justice in the 1970s and today.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 6, 2021. Last week, the mayor of Philadelphia declared it "Philly Loves Yannick Week," in celebration of him extending his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra for four more years.

Music & Culture

From Beyoncé to Debussy, Yannick Nézet-Séguin shares music that inspires him

2:18pm February 15, 2023

by Terry Gross

What do great conductors listen to when they're not on the podium? Nézet-Séguin made a playlist, specifically for Fresh Air, of music that inspires him (plus one of his cats' favorite songs).

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Rebecca Black, whose debut album Let Her Burn is out Feb. 9.

Rebecca Black leaves the meme in the rear view

9:02am February 09, 2023

She scored a much-maligned hit at the age of 13 with "Friday." Now 25, Rebecca Black is finally releasing her debut album, Let Her Burn.

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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

Music & Culture

Lil Yachty's delightfully absurd path to 'Let's Start Here'

1:17pm February 08, 2023

by Matthew Ramirez

The singsong rapper began as an oddity. His new "psych rock" album feels representative of his career arc.

J. Ivy, onstage during at the Grammy Museum on Dec. 11, 2022 in LA.

Poetry finally has its own Grammy category – mostly thanks to J. Ivy, nominee

7:59am February 04, 2023

by Mandalit del Barco

Poet J. Ivy is a nominee for the Grammys' Best Spoken Word Poetry Album award — a new category he helped create, after petitioning the Recording Academy.

A few years after winning a prestigious jazz vocal competition while still a college student, 23-year-old Samara Joy is now a multiple Grammy nominee for her album Linger Awhile.

Music & Culture

Samara Joy's polyphonic stardom

5:00am February 04, 2023

by Nate Chinen

Don't be shocked by the 23-year-old jazz singer's breakneck rise from precocious college student to best new artist Grammy nominee. In those few years, she's been building three careers at once.