Minneapolis-based artist XINA visited Carbon Sound's studio for an interview and live performance of three tracks. Watch the full video above and visit our YouTube channel for videos of her performances of “Lullaby by Whitenoise,” “Runnin,” and “Emotion.”

Background Visuals: Rhianna Hajduch and XINA

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Watch Minneapolis-based artist XINA do an interview and live session in the lab with Carbon Sound


Carbon Sound

XINA in The Lab with Carbon Sound

XINA - "Lullaby by Whitenoise" (in The Lab with Carbon Sound)

XINA - "Runnin" (in The Lab with Carbon Sound)

XINA - "Emotion" (in The Lab with Carbon Sound)

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Awa Mally

View Awa Mally’s photos from redveil’s sold-out show in St. Paul


Awa Mally for MPR

Photos: redveil brings fire to St. Paul

Joely Kelzer

The fairytale theme, costumes, and each performer made the night one to remember. A wish come true.


bearBOI Photo for MPR

Review: Once Upon A Time at Ratchet St Entry was a Fairytale

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

“What You Gonna Do? // arts & metiers”

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the weeks of April 24, 2023.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

Natalia Toledo

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week April 24, 2023

“I am the originator, I am the emancipator, I am the architect. Rhythm and blues had a baby, and somebody named it rock ‘n’ roll.”

So announces Little Richard in a pivotal moment in the new Lisa Cortés documentary, 

. Cortés and the people interviewed in the film make it abundantly clear Little Richard was the spark that ignited the Big Bang that gave us rock ‘n’ roll. And the universe where that spark ignited may change everything you thought you knew about the origins of rock music.

Little Richard: I Am Everything - official trailer

 follows a linear progression of the artist’s life. From his birth as Richard Penniman in Macon, Georgia, in 1932, to his death in 2020, Cortés tracks Little Richard’s artistic evolution, including pivotal moments, triumphs, and pitfalls. We also get a portrait of Little Richard the person: the loving son and sibling, the supportive friend, and the conflicted soul. To help interpret the story, Cortés hands the mic to a deep roster of musicians and, vitally, of LGBTQ+ people of color who provide insightful commentary informed by both first-hand experience and studied knowledge.

Cortés lets her interviewees and a treasure trove of archival footage tell the story. At pivotal moments in Little Richard’s artistic development — which reverberated throughout popular music — Cortés emphasizes the innovation by focusing on dust dancing in the light, then using effects to add a shimmer of stardust to the scene, connecting Little Richard’s personal magic to the Big Bang of rock ‘n’ roll. As Mick Jagger says, “Little Richard is the first thing I remember as far as rock and roll is concerned.”

Despite the adulation of people like Jagger, Paul McCartney, and 

’s Dick Clark, Cortés shows the racist policies and attitudes that pushed Little Richard to the fringes of a genre he was a principal designer of. For example, in the late 1950s when Little Richard was turning out hit after hit, industry executives forced the repackaging of Little Richard’s songs by white artists like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. Cortés illustratively juxtaposes Little Richard’s performance of “Long Tall Sally” with Boone’s bowdlerized cover; set starkly against Little Richard’s original, Boone’s take is not only stilted and soulless, it’s nearly nauseating. These covers were produced in an effort to rein in Little Richard’s success and to keep his music away from white teens — even as Little Richard’s concerts were effecting real change by integrating audiences.

Meanwhile, Little Richard faced struggles with how to own his sexuality in public for his entire life — sometimes publicly saying disparaging things about or completely turning his back on the LGBTQ+ community. Nevertheless, he was a friend and supporter of people like transgender artist and activist Sir Lady Java. Some of Little Richard’s inner conflict stemmed from his vacillation between a faith based on love and compassion versus one of judgement and condemnation that came out of the spiritual, emotional and physical abuse he suffered as a child. Commentator Dr. Zandria Robinson says, “I know he knows when he is fully himself, he is closest to God.”

And as Cortés shows, whenever Little Richard felt safe and supported, he could embrace and be his true self — and in those times, Little Richard soared. Those are the moments Cortés sprinkles with stardust. 

 shows us rock ‘n’ roll emerged not only from Black communities in the South, but also from queer spaces. That’s the power of Little Richard’s legacy, and it is supported throughout the film by LGBTQ+ commentators including Billy Porter, who says, “The reason I can show up and do whatever I want is because of him.” The influence of Little Richard continues to reach widely into music; we see it in past performances by Prince and David Bowie, and in today’s acts like Lizzo, Janelle Monáe, Harry Styles, and countless others.

In archival clips from the 1970s and 80s, Little Richard is seen onstage calling out for recognition; there’s some biting humor to it, and audiences laughed. “On one hand they might be laughing at him,” critic Tavia N’yongo observes. “They also might be laughing because they’re uncomfortable. He’s speaking truth to power.”

 plumbs history, its themes remain relevant today, particularly in the inequities faced by people of color and by LGBTQ+ people. At a time when many states in the U.S. are advancing legislature to further those inequities, 

is available to stream starting April 21 on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Redbox and many other platforms.

Luke Taylor

‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ shows us the Big Bang of rock 'n' roll.


Little Richard: I Am Everything - Official Trailer | Documentary by Lisa Cortés | Opens April 21

Alamy Stock Photo/courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

The new Little Richard documentary is 'Everything'

The elusive R&B star Frank Ocean, known for avoiding the spotlight, performed on the largest stage at Coachella on Sunday night.

Ocean was a headliner this weekend alongside Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK — forming one of the most diverse line-ups in the music festival's history. 

In his set, Ocean performed reworked versions of some of his most iconic songs like his debut hit "Novacane," "White Ferrari," and "Bad Religion" — giving a rock or electronic spin to fan favorites. 

Ocean's show was long-anticipated — in part because the singer-songwriter was scheduled to headline at Coachella in 2020 when the music festival was postponed due to COVID. 

There was also some suspense that Ocean may use the platform to debut new music like some artists have in the past. While that was not the case, Ocean did hint at the possibility of a new album.

"I want to talk about why we're here because it's not because of a new album, it's because — not that there's not a new album," Ocean said.

As the crowd cheered in excitement, he clarified: "But it's not right now."

Fans had other disappointments in the set — which closed out the opening weekend of Coachella. Ocean, who performs live sparingly, came onto the stage late and had to cut his performance short because of "curfew," he told the audience. His show was also not streamed online, unlike other performances.

Still, the mounting hype over a possible new album shows Ocean fans still have an appetite for more music — regardless of the wait.

The singer-songwriter has not released new songs since his 

"Dear April" and "Cayendo" in 2020. His last album, called 

, dates back even further, to 2016. That album was an immediate hit, reaching 

 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the week it was released.

On the biggest stage that Coachella has to offer, Ocean also used the opportunity to pay homage to his younger brother, Ryan Breaux, who 


"My brother and I came to this festival a lot," he said on Sunday night. "I know he would have been so excited to be here with all of us."


Juliana Kim

Frank Ocean closed the opening weekend of the music festival Coachella. He was originally slated to headline in 2020, but the show was postponed due to COVID.


Man in durag performs with video background

Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun/USA TODAY Network via Reuters 

Why Frank Ocean's long-anticipated Coachella performance was a mixed bag

View Awa Mally’s photos from Yeat’s concert in Minneapolis.


Photos: Yeat beams up at the Armory

You may already be a fan of Yeat, whether you know him for his unique style, or for his viral singles “Sorry Bout That,” “Monëy so big,” or “Rich Minion”. You may know him by one of his other aliases: Twizzy, Luh Geeky, Kranky Kranky, or Luh Tonkem. However you know him, Yeat has become one of the biggest names in rap. He has created his own language he uses in his songs and as part of his online persona. It takes a devoted Yeat listener to decipher his lexicon. Yeat himself said, "I don't understand myself, I don't fuck with nobody at all," on his song "Nun id Change”.

To understand Yeat and his music, you must pay close attention to his word choices. I have listened to Yeat’s five most popular studio albums twice and analyzed the lyrics to each song, about 10 hours of listening to Yeat. I watched his few interviews on the internet, I consulted his social media, r/yeat and even #yeatlations on TikTok.  With my newfound expertise in hand, let’s explore the lexicon of Yeat together.

Your ‘twin’, a close friend, so close you would call them your best friend, your bestie. 

Starting with maybe my favorite Yeat word, he uses this to refer to his besties. A very loving and wholesome Yeat word. Always love to see a new word for “best friend”. 

A big car, usually referring to a Mercedes G Wagon or  a Lamborghini Urus, an SUV, a ‘big boy’ car, a fast car, just any big car. 

If you imagine those toy construction cars little kids play with and how in public they point to them and say “tonka truck”, there’s something similar going on here. Yeat does the same thing with big, fast cars. Yeat is known to sport a diamond-encrusted chain with a Tonka truck on it.

(I eventually realized he mentions Tonka too many times to even include in this article) 

 “I will not go to the club unless we pull up in the Tonka.” 

A very, very high person. “High as a kite,” one might say. Can also be used as a verb to describe the act of becoming intoxicated. First popularized by Atlanta rapper Fabo.

(In a recent interview, Yeat himself said his favorite of his made-up words is ‘luh geeky’)

Comes from the word ‘Lil’, which is slang for ‘Little’, also sometimes is used in place of “the”

Fun fact: Yeat started off his rap career in 2015 with the name ‘Lil Yeat’ and eventually simplified it to just ‘Yeat’ in 2018.

“I’m a big dog, you are a luh puppy.” 

A large sum of money, some speculate $100,000 = 1 honeybun

“I heard his house cost him 5 honeybuns.”

Another common Yeat-ism heard across his discography is adding an -ey,  -ie, -eezy or an -elly to the end of a word. This is often done to contribute to a song’s rhyme scheme, but can be used in conversation for fun’s sake.

Here is how to use all of the words in a sentence together: 

 “I am going to drive a car with my friend to go have fun at a party.”

 “Me and luh twizzy gonna hop in the Tonka, pull up in Margielly-elly like it’s nothin’ honeybun (honeybunny).”

Yeat is always inventing new words and phrases for us to decipher. Each Yeat song is sure to confuse you at one moment or another, but that is the beauty of it all. Now that you have the knowledge of Yeat’s lexicon, you, too, can begin to better understand Yeat’s music. 

Unpack the eccentric rapper’s unique lexicon with our resident Yeat expert Joely Kelzer.


Yeatology 101

Yeatology 101: Learn the vocabulary of Yeat

“NA MONEY” feat. The Cavemen and Angelique Kidjo

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the weeks of April 10, 2023.


New Music on Carbon Sound - Week April 10, 2023

Rappers Key Glock and TiaCorine kept the crowd hot during a historic blizzard in Minneapolis. Click to view Awa Mally’s photos.


Stories

XINA in The Lab with Carbon Sound

Photos: redveil brings fire to St. Paul

Review: Once Upon A Time at Ratchet St Entry was a Fairytale

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New Music on Carbon Sound - Week April 24, 2023

The new Little Richard documentary is 'Everything'

Why Frank Ocean's long-anticipated Coachella performance was a mixed bag

Photos: Yeat beams up at the Armory

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Yeatology 101: Learn the vocabulary of Yeat

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week April 10, 2023

Photos: Key Glock and TiaCorine heat up The Fillmore

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