There are a lot of angles to the unfolding story of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and Lil Nas X. The situation is summarized at NYU Local, the...
Category - Hip-Hop
My son sent me the above freestyle rap. It raises all sorts of interesting issues and questions. The rapper is Black Thought, who was born Tariq Luqumaan...
HT: DW A Tribe Called Quest, which is considered by some to the best hip-hop group ever, was formed in 1985 by childhood friends in St. Alban’s Queens. It...
It’s fun on a random day to check out whose birthday it is. June 8 is pretty random — James Comey’s testimony in Washington notwithstanding...
HT: EAW At its core, Cuban music relies on “calidos.” That, according to Insight Cuba, refers to “a type of social unification” that...
I heard this on the radio the other night. Very nice.
Here is more on Lucius.
Homepage photo: Sachyn
The best Christmas song ever. And not by a little bit. Also check out “King of Rock,” featuring old David Letterman stooge Larry “Bud”...
I was certain, when I heard this song on the radio yesterday, that I was getting in on the ground floor of what would become a big hit. I got back home, looked...
Here is the bio from new music from hip hop artist Freddy D: Born on March 5, 1982, an artist by the name of Freddy D from Long island, Ny. Frederick Smith aka...
Airick Smith is a hip hop artist in Los Angeles. Smith, who records using the name Quest Soul reached out to me through Twitter, probably after seeing The...
Reading Music
The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.
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Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.