Paa Kow’s jazz fusion life
Paa Kow’s high life is Cirque du Soleil for the ears. The music isn’t strictly divine, it didn’t come out of thin air. And yet its buoyancy gives it a heavenly aura. Ghanaian high life comes …
Features
Imprecise words on “Nowhere Nobody” by Earl Sweatshirt: Reconstruction of race and gender
Earl Sweatshirt’s new video, “Nowhere Nobody,” delivers dense imagery to explore personal themes of gender and race. The video contains clips from seven of his songs from his …
“Yo, can I skate this?” An experience involving the art of Jen Stark, and others
On a cold and dark Friday night, the good people in the development and outreach division of the Vans skateboarder apparel company opened the doors of their House of Vans building to provide …
Pairing wine and vinyl with Cinderblock People, part II
A Harlem store pairs wine with records, creating realness in an age of political disconnect and tyrannical clouds. This is part two the mini series. Why pair records with wine? Earlier in …
Pairing wine and vinyl with Cinderblock People, part I
A Harlem store pairs wine with records, creating realness in an age of political disconnect and tyrannical clouds. Cinderblock People, a record store in northwest Harlem, is wedged between …
Femdot is on a mission to out-rap everyone like it’s ’94
“My foundation is that I am trying to out-rap everyone like it’s ’94 or something; I can rap over anything. I want to interest you, even if I am just talking about going to the store,” says …
Jo Mersa Marley: Following the calling
Though he bears the Marley surname and has been heavily influenced by his father, Jo Mersa does not walk in the shadows of his musical lineage – he walks beside it, guided by it – as he …
An Evening in with the boys from Post Animal
Riding under the 606, I pass through a graffiti underpass and pull up to a house on the border of Logan Square and Humboldt Park. The gentlemen from Post Animal have invited me over so we …
Manifesto is on a mission to give voices to the hip hop community
Manifesto is an organization built by activists, artists, and creatives with the goal of bringing people together into a collective that not only hosts a major hip hop culture festival in …
Reggae Sumfest brings best of reggae legends, new acts, and a few surprises to Jamaica
Admittedly, like most people, when planning to travel for a music festival I’m likely to head out to Texas or some of the more eclectic corners of Europe but this year I’ve experienced …