News of Beyoncé's first solo tour in more than six years has her many fans celebrating — and stressing out about whether they'll actually be able to get tickets. 

 to cities across Europe and North America between May and September, opening in Stockholm and ending in New Orleans. 

Fans have been eagerly awaiting her return to venues since 

Beyoncé's last solo tour was "Lemonade," though she performed with her husband Jay-Z on his "On the Run Tour II" in 2018. She took to the stage for the first time since at the end of January, when she headlined a private show at the opening of a 

The first round of ticket sales will open to members of Beyoncé's official fan club on Monday through Ticketmaster, which is already facing heightened scrutiny for its botched Taylor Swift presale in November. 

 say Ticketmaster's problems run much deeper than the one concern, accusing it of being a monopoly (which its executives have denied) and calling for changes in the ticketing industry. 

The company has apologized for the Swift presale chaos, which it blamed on outsize demand and bot attacks. Live Nation President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold told lawmakers at last month's hearing that "we need to do better and we will do better."

Many are wondering (and in some cases, doubting) whether sales will go more smoothly this time around. 

, as Beyoncé's fandom is known, is bracing for what could be another frenzy. 

Fans are flooding social media with their simultaneous excitement and concern about the prospect of snagging tickets to the highly anticipated tour. Some are 

 to discourage potential buyers, others are 

 Ticketmaster is facing from devotees like themselves.

The stakes are high: Senators slammed Ticketmaster's market power at the  hearing and have expressed interest in pursuing antitrust legislation, while the U.S. Justice Department 

 investigating its parent company, Live Nation — which 

 over allegations of fraud and antitrust violations.  

"Has Ticketmaster learned who run the world? Girls. Beyoncé. Taylor Swift. Fans. All of us are watching," tweeted  

 (D-Conn.), a vocal advocate for antitrust reform and critic of the company's behavior (and no stranger to 

Ticketmaster doesn't expect to meet demand

Ticketmaster and Beyoncé also appear to be bracing for overwhelming demand, trying to prioritize her biggest fans and warning that some will inevitably be disappointed. 

The North American leg of the Renaissance tour is using Ticketmaster's 

 system and starts with an exclusive sale to BeyHive members. 

That's presumably anyone who signs up for Beyoncé's mailing list through her official website (though 

 that the signup page had disappeared from the site after the tour announcement). 

The Verified Fan system aims to get tickets to real people and away from bots and professional resellers, by having fans register in advance for their preferred shows and vetting them individually.

But just because you're verified doesn't mean you'll get a ticket. When demand is high, the company uses a lottery system to determine who gets an access code for the sale and who gets put on a waitlist.  

"We expect there will be more demand than there are tickets available and a lottery-style process will determine which registered Verified Fans receive a unique access code and which are put on the waitlist," 

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour wasn't Ticketmaster's first controversy

Ticketmaster's Renaissance tour warning has echoes in the 

 its executives issued after Swift's Eras Tour presale. 

At the time, it said more than 3.5 million people registered as verified fans, with 1.5 million chosen to buy tickets and the other 2 million placed on the waiting list. It sold a record 2 million tickets on the first day of presale, but ended up experiencing more technical issues on the second day before canceling the general sale altogether. 

Swift said in a statement of her own that she had been assured multiple times the company was prepared for the demand.

"It's really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse," wrote Swift, who has been otherwise quiet about the issue (while her fans have been extremely vocal). 

While company executives blamed bots, Ticketmaster's critics say their issues with the company go far beyond what happened in November. Artists like Bad Bunny, BTS, Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles have had issues with ticketing too, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 

At the hearing, lawmakers from both parties, smaller entertainment company executives and a musician spoke about how the lack of competition in the ticketing industry hurts artists as well as fans. They fear that will be the case  as long as Live Nation remains both the dominant concert promoter and ticket platform in the U.S. 

Beyoncé fans "have reason to be concerned," says  Daniel Avital, chief strategy officer for CHEQ — a cybersecurity company focused on protecting businesses from bots. 

"If a scalping attack of these proportions occurred once on Ticketmaster, it is likely to occur again," unless more robust security measures are put in place, he told NPR via email.

What to know if you're looking for tickets

Ticketmaster seems to be running things a little bit differently this time. 

It's divided registration into three groups of cities (though it says people can register for multiple groups). Each has its own deadline to register for presale tickets, starting Thursday night and ending Feb. 16.

There are other steps fans can take to try to up their odds. Citi cardmembers can access presale tickets by registering with their credit or debit card number, and members of the Verizon Up rewards program can participate 

 for anyone trying to snag presale tickets, including: add your eligible card to your Ticketmaster account ahead of time, sign in early and from a strong Wi-Fi network if possible and only refresh the page in very limited circumstances. 

If you feel exhausted at the thought of strategizing, you're not alone. Music writer Corbin Reiff put it this way 

"Hey, remember when concert tour announcements were exciting news drops instead of harbingers of an impossibly complicated and bewilderingly expensive buying process that ruins the entire experience before it ever kicks off?" he wrote, thanking Ticketmaster sarcastically. 

It's not yet clear how much North American tour tickets will cost, and it's worth remembering that Ticketmaster's controversial "

 adjusts the price of tickets based on consumer demand.

The first tickets for Beyoncé's five United Kingdom dates went on sale Thursday, and the 

 that standard prices were roughly the same as the 2018 tour. 

It said customers of the telecommunications provider O2 were the first to get access, and some reported problems with its app and website. People who did buy tickets reported paying between the equivalent of $68 to $245 for standard tickets and up to nearly $2,940 for VIP "on stage" seats.

The U.S. and Canada are next. Be sure to double check the dates and locations of tour stops, as 

 some have changed (and fans are speculating — and hoping — on Twitter that more may be added).   

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Rachel Treisman

The first round of tickets to Beyoncé's highly anticipated Renaissance world tour go on sale next week. Ticketmaster is under pressure to avoid a repeat of the Taylor Swift debacle in November.


Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Beyoncé's Renaissance tour is Ticketmaster's next big test. Fans are already stressed

Fans packed First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis on Friday night to see their picks for some of the hottest new talent to rise in the Twin Cities in 2022.

Carbon Sound Correspondent Liam Armstrong brought his camera on that chilly night to capture the performances of a few of the great local artists that performed.

 to watch interviews, live performances, and more.

Read Carbon Sound Correspondent Fatima Rahman’s review of the show here

Liam Armstrong

Carbon Sound Correspondent Liam Armstrong brought his camera to First Avenue on Friday, Jan. 27 to capture some of the great Twin Cities artists featured in First Avenue's annual Best New Bands showcase.


Obi Original stands in the middle of the stage with a hand to the side

Darin Kamnetz for MPR

First Avenue Best New Bands of 2022 - Obi Original, Mike Kota, Killusonline

Joely Kelzer

Robert Glasper and his band brought a full weekend’s worth of jazz, humor, and skill to their residency at The Dakota.


Zoe Challenger

Review: Robert Glasper makes it time for jazz at The Dakota

Happy New Year! Carbon Sound has been adding tracks and getting some very special things ready for you ;)

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.

“Medley: Ike's Rap III / Your Love Is So Doggone Good”

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 January 30, 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 January 30, 2023

NEW YORK — Barrett Strong, one of Motown's founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the company's breakthrough single "Money (That's What I Want)" and later collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "War" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," has died. He was 81.

announced Sunday on social media by the Motown Museum

, which did not immediately provide further details.

"Barrett was not only a great singer and piano player, but he, along with his writing partner 

, created an incredible body of work," Motown founder Berry Gordy said in a statement.

Strong had yet to turn 20 when he agreed to let his friend Gordy, in the early days of building a recording empire in Detroit, manage him and release his music. Within a year, he was a part of history as the piano player and vocalist for "Money," a million-seller released early in 1960 and Motown's first major hit. Strong never again approached the success of "Money" on his own, and decades later fought for acknowledgement that he helped write it. But, with Whitfield, he formed a productive and eclectic songwriting team.

While Gordy's "Sound of Young America" was criticized for being too slick and repetitive, the Whitfield-Strong team turned out hard-hitting and topical works, along with such timeless ballads as "I Wish It Would Rain" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)." With "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," they provided an up-tempo, call-and-response hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips and a dark, hypnotic ballad for Marvin Gaye, his 1968 version one of Motown's all-time sellers.

As Motown became more politically conscious late in the decade, Barrett-Whitfield turned out "Cloud Nine" and "Psychedelic Shack" for the Temptations and for Edwin Starr the protest anthem "War" and its widely quoted refrain, "War! What is it good for? Absolutely ... nothing!"

"With 'War,' I had a cousin who was a paratrooper that got hurt pretty bad in Vietnam," Strong told LA Weekly in 1999. "I also knew a guy who used to sing with (Motown songwriter) Lamont Dozier that got hit by shrapnel and was crippled for life. You talk about these things with your families when you're sitting at home, and it inspires you to say something about it."

Whitfield-Strong's other hits, mostly for the Temptations, included "I Can't Get Next to You," "That's the Way Love Is" and the Grammy-winning chart-topper "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (Sometimes spelled "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"). Artists covering their songs ranged from the Rolling Stones ("Just My Imagination") and Aretha Franklin ("I Wish It Would Rain") to Bruce Springsteen ("War") and Al Green ("I Can't Get Next to You").

Strong spent part of the 1960s recording for other labels, left Motown again in the early 1970s and made a handful of solo albums, including "Stronghold" and "Love is You." In 2004, he was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which cited him as "a pivotal figure in Motown's formative years."

The music of Strong and other Motown writers was later featured in the Broadway hit "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations."

Strong was born in West Point, Mississippi and moved to Detroit a few years later. He was a self-taught musician who learned piano without needing lessons and, with his sisters, formed a local gospel group, the Strong Singers. In his teens, he got to know such artists as Franklin, Smokey Robinson and Gordy, who was impressed with his writing and piano playing. "Money," with its opening shout, "The best things in life are free/But you can give them to the birds and bees," would, ironically, lead to a fight — over money.

Strong was initially listed among the writers and he often spoke of coming up with the pounding piano riff while jamming on Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" in the studio. But only decades later would he learn that Motown had since removed his name from the credits, costing him royalties for a popular standard covered by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many others and a keepsake on John Lennon's home jukebox. Strong's legal argument was weakened because he had taken so long to ask for his name to be reinstated. (Gordy is one of the song's credited writers, and his lawyers contended Strong's name only appeared because of a clerical error).


"Songs outlive people," Strong told The New York Times in 2013. "The real reason Motown worked was the publishing. The records were just a vehicle to get the songs out there to the public. The real money is in the publishing, and if you have publishing, then hang on to it. That's what it's all about. If you give it away, you're giving away your life, your legacy. Once you're gone, those songs will still be playing."


The Associated Press

Barrett Strong was one of Motown's most gifted songwriters who collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "War" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone."


A man smiles for photographers on arrival at an awards event

Louis Lanzano/AP

Barrett Strong, one of Motown's founding artists and known for 'Money,' dies at 81

It only makes sense that musician Maria Isa would eventually become a politician. Born and raised in St. Paul, she has municipal engagement in her blood. The newly elected 

, serving District 65B in the Minnesota House of Representatives, is the daughter of the first Latina appointed to direct the office of equal opportunity by former Gov. Rudy Perpich. Speaking the language of the people has aided her prolific career as a youth worker, as an activist, and, especially, as a rapper. 

The same day Maria Isa was sworn into office, she also released a hip-hop EP, 

 inspired by her campaign run, motherhood, community, and day-to-day living. The action serves as a bold statement to the public: music and diversity are what she represents — and she is here to see those entities thrive and flourish. 

Local Show host Diane spoke in-depth with Isa about her relationship with hip-hop and community, and what motivated her to run for office. 

Transcript edited for clarity and length.

It is Diane here, host of The Local Show on The Current. Sitting across from me is Maria Isa, hip-hop artist; and also just sworn in as state representative for Minnesota in our district. And is now just kind of making history. Talk to me about how you're feeling.

It's been a week. And I will tell you that I feel like we're in movement for our people. I feel like the goals that were set from those that have survived so much, in my lifetime and beyond the years of my life, are actually seeing what hip-hop gave birth to. And so it's about time that there is a hip-hop artist sworn into office. It's about time that there's any field of work that's coming from our BIPOC community leadership that are taking those steps. We were appointed by the people. So whether you're a teacher — and I'm a youth worker — whether you're a lawyer, whether you're a doctor, whether you are a customer service rep, you are a citizen that has the ability to choose to run for office. I was answering a call of action for my community and my people, and in particular, the hip-hop community that has raised me.

It's so exciting too because artists aren't always viewed as professionals and people that contribute to society in ways that give immense value. And so sometimes look at — "What's a hip-hop artist doing in politics?" It's like, are you kidding me? How much does music mean to our community and how much value and economic stability it adds. I think a lot of us here in the music community, myself included, are celebrating and are so happy. And you dropped an album the same day you were sworn in. That is so rad. 

. It means “capitol” in Spanish, like the building. Not like the profit, but the building, the location, the symbol of the people, this house.

And it's an eight song hip-hop record. Fierce, amazing. 

Dance music, soul. Of course it has Puerto Rican influences, and is also a bilingual album. Tell me more of the inspiration behind this record.

The inspiration was the campaign run, and just also reminding myself to hold on to myself and hold on to my people and my daughter. There's a song called "Nena" that I dedicate to her and to the little girl that lives in me still – not to let go of what you've survived as a child, as a young girl, and now as a woman and a mother. Running for office — she was my inspiration. I live in the district that I represent. My entire life I've lived here. I love my community. And now she's born and raised in this space that I have been appointed by the people of my district. And I was appointed by the people of my district because I believe in people. I believe in diversity. And I believe in democracy. And I believe in her to have opportunities that we're still fighting for. I believe in her and all children that deserve equity, that deserve safety, that deserves opportunity. And 

 is also a reflection of women empowerment and having fun. You could be in politics or working policy, you could be working at the club. It's all politics. It's all economics. It's all justice. It's all trying to just live your life to the highest potential and as peaceful as possible. And being a human being, it's human rights. So being an artist for me is my right, and defending a community of people in so many different backgrounds, so many different sectors, but also so many different career paths. 

Artistry and being a professional artist has to be respected. And this is a step of that. This is a step of saying to all the teachers that told me, "You're never going to do anything. Stop messing around writing — what are these raps?" And tearing down my Nas posters in my locker room. All of those things is like, "Nah, we're here." Hip-hop is a culture of the people, and it is me. It is Puerto Rican, it is Black. It is all the shades of representation. It's vogue, it's diversity. It's queer, it's love. And it's survival. And so 

 is all of that. It's a decade of me — I shouldn't say decade. It's been over a decade since I've been in this hip-hop community. But it's a reflection of where I believe women and non-binary folks that are now elected into positions of leadership, have a way to celebrate that. And that's what 

 is. It's like, let's legalize what we need to legalize. Let's fight for what we demand. And let's have a clean environment while we could groove at the club after legislation passes.

I want to get more into music specifically. I think of hip-hop as such a powerful genre of music, especially because it kind of has a — well, it's edgy. And there's an unapologetic aspect of hip-hop that's so fierce and in your face, and so tough. And that's one reason why I'm attracted to it too. And it also represents that diversity, for me as a person who's BIPOC and queer. I've always been attracted to it. And I want to hear more of your connection with this specific genre because you own it so well.

Oh my gosh, thank you. Wow. Well, it's been a wild ride. Especially coming from the Twin Cities hip-hop scene. Especially coming from being a woman of color, especially being bilingual, and all these boxes that they want to check us off. And the inequities of surviving a culture that has been uplifted and owned by patriarchy without understanding where it was born from. I know hip-hop to be woman. I know the symbolism of Rosie Perez being the first hip-hop choreographer to get a check from a label as a hip-hop choreographer by Def Jam touring with LL Cool J and inventing the famous Bobby Brown — you know, everybody knows the Bobby Brown pump. And I know hip-hop too, before that, being Sylvia Robinson, who is the president of Sugar Hill Records and the producer of the Sugar Hill Gang. There would be no "Rapper's Delight" without a woman. And I'm like, this is all the equations of what that means and the dominance of empowerment of women of color and survival. And it's just so magical to be in this presence, because the people believe in it. The people are hip-hop. And that's what this album is. 

For folks who's like, "Well, you got a song like 'Bad Chicks.' You talkin' heavy." I'm like, yeah, because I have that right. That is the First Amendment. I have the freedom of speech. "Well, you talk about calling St. Paul, St. Philando." I was like, yeah, because Philando died. He was tragically killed. And he was someone that I personally knew that was a leader for nutrition for children in our education system. So if you call Paul of the Bible a saint, somebody labeled him as a saint for what he did, I will tell you Philando did a lot more to benefit my community than Paul did. So let's talk about what symbolism means to our children who are surviving an education system that needs funding, who are surviving the aftermath of Big Floyd, who we knew personally, being killed by somebody who worked in the same spaces as us. 

So it may just be a groove and a dance for folks who don't understand where we come from in the state or in Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minneapolis. But for those of us that are here, and that have been living through it, or that have been at a hip-hop show, that want to know how to build a studio in their closet so that they can financially afford it because they can't afford studio time. Because that was me, recording in the closet with little microphones or Fisher Price mics and recording your demos on there. You can do that. And you can demand your respect. And let's try to help opportunities for folks who believe in the arts, just as much as they're trying to pass standardized testing. Nah, F that. Let's capture how we can help these children like the kid that was in me, and now the kid in my daughter, the best ways that they want to learn it. Music and arts is such a point of the mountaintop for all of the other things in this agenda from education to health to healing to economics to housing. So we bring in hip-hop to the house.

And I just got to point out that the opening monologue in 

 is with the legendary Bernie Sanders, such a grassroots hero to so many folks, and I know especially in Minnesota. Gosh, to know that you've built relationships with so many important figures and are continuing to do so. But also, I just was like, that's incredible having Bernie so passionately knowing your power and passing on his wisdom to you in almost like a rapper way. He was just like, "Tell them to go F themselves."

It was real. Yeah, I opened up (for him) when he was running for president at his rally. It was one of the last performances before COVID shut the whole world down. Like literally right after that. Yeah, we shut the world down. It was March of 2020. He was running for president and his camp hit me up to open up, and I rocked it with my DJ — shout out to Tony Trouble — and because of his support for what I believe in. And then flash forward to two years after that, I decide to run for office, and my mentor [Attorney General Keith] Ellison in our community and what he stands for, the people, and everybody counts, everybody matters. What do you do? Well, we do a tour. And well, you can't do a tour without music. And the support of that coming from our camps was just awesome. Shout out to DJ Sophia Eris who's been such a strong support of all my work for years, and (DJ) Keezy. Everybody's touring, getting back. Eris is touring with Lizzo, and you're watching their Instagram stories, and she's watching me hitting the doors and getting with the kids and doing what we do, and then all of a sudden, they're like, "Well, how are you managing to do this?" And I'm like, I'm keeping the music together. 

But what I realized is folks like Bernie want music too. They want to continue to support everything that is humanity. And whether it's Bernie Sanders, or 10 years ago, 12 years ago, working with youth and touring with Nobel Peace laureates that I learned so much from —  Rigoberta Menchú. Rest in peace to Reverend Tutu. You've got the president of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias Sánchez. You've got all of these folks that have been influential to my artwork that I have opened up their keynote addresses. Dan Rather, the journalists of the world, with hip-hop. And with my music, it's all coming together. It feels like there's hope with hip-hop. 

Did you know that you were gonna eventually run for office?

I didn't. It's always been embedded. My mom was the first Latina appointed by Governor Rudy Perpich, by the state of Minnesota, to direct offices of equal opportunity. So when I was in her womb, that was her job. And then when I had my daughter in my womb, I was a part of the community equity project out of the Wilder Foundation that takes BIPOC community into the capitol to teach us about policy and how it works. And I'm an alumni of that. And I'll tell you, after I had my daughter, and after being around such amazing leadership that looked like me, that come from where I come from, and that support each other from medical fields to everything, and helping out with the Insulin Act and giving testimony. That was the trigger of like, time is now, time is here. Let's go. So I didn't see myself as doing this. I've been working an independent label my entire career.

And you don't just talk the talk, you walk the walk. You were just sworn in and already are working to get the Driver's License for All legislation passed.

Well, we're working on it. We just definitely got through our first hearing committee of transportation less than 24 hours ago. But we've got a few different other committees, but we're gonna get it. I mean, I talk the talk. So I'm talking.

In a nutshell, explain what that means, the Driver's License For All.

 means that undocumented folks and undocumented Minnesotans in our immigrant community have the accessibility to have a driver's license to be able to drive legally. Our immigrant community, our undocumented folks are our parents, our students, the leaders in our economy, are in so many different sectors of work, and help build Minnesota. They're Minnesotans. They just don't have citizenship, but they are such a big part of Minnesota that they deserve to get their children safe to school, or to emergency aid, or get themselves legally trained just like everybody else who's in a vehicle. So this only helps human rights as a human right, and it also helps our economy. Let's do it.

There's got to be this balance between being an artist, and I think you're probably still exploring this. How do you balance maintaining this professionalism between being a politician and being an artist?

The balance comes from finding space for yourself to reflect; but also, yes, it's only been a week. I mean, there's the difference of a campaign trail and recording and writing, which is difficult to find time. But shout out to producer Ymmi/Perfect Noize for making sure that I have a space to do that, and that I can still be what I've challenged myself to be. And there's also the importance of my daughter and balancing. And I have great parents — I have a great mother and phenomenal father who have always been supportive, even challenging. Because it's a challenge, right? But they have been supportive of doing what's best for the community. And my daughter is my village, and she's number one. And I conversated with my community to be like, how can I help her? And this is the next step, how can I help others like her. And I have a village of support, my family and my community. It takes a village for real. 

And so we all just doing our role right now and trying to figure this out. It's a new transition for not just me, but also my daughter, and my parents who have been supportive of making sure that she's safe while I'm here in these spaces as well. And my campaign and my friends. Real recognize real. And taking time to make sure that there is time for yourself. That was very important with this project. I literally won my campaign and was like, alright, I'm not door knocking. But that time that I spent door knocking, Ymmi's like, "We got to get the door knocks now in the bars and in studio." And so we got it in. And bringing folks like Bernie into that, like, can I do this? Yeah! You better do that. You know, you'll hear it on the first track, Tio Bernie. That means Uncle Bernie, tio. 

And then folks in the city to state to national politics that have been really supportive. They're like, "We needed this. We're listening to this. We're bumping this." People next to my office, my other colleagues that I'm just getting to know, and you walk out of your office and you hear your music, and you're like, oh, this is kind of weird, but it's also like, that's love. Thank you for making me feel home. Because it's a very big intimidating space. But it also is a space that I'm familiar with. It's been something that I look at every day, because I've been in this district every day. The capitol is in my district, and I love my city. And I love this state. Being born in Minnesota is crazy. So much things have been in like a tornado my entire life here. But there's opportunity here. And there's a strong sense of opportunity and with people who are still connected to hope. That's why there's so many doors opening, and we just got to make sure that we stay open and continue to build and not take things for granted and not slip so that those doors fall down. Or the

 house — I feel like Mirabel at that house trying to keep it from falling. 

Yeah, it's the most diverse legislature that Minnesota has seen.

Before we wrap, tell me about your thoughts on the evolution of hip-hop's sound. You've been in this scene for a long time and hip-hop seems to be taking so many different identities. And I feel like you're someone who's embraced the old school ‘90s hip-hop boom-bap beats to embracing like the real fierce trap stuff. I want to hear your thoughts a little bit on hip-hop.

It's jazz. Hip-hop is bomba. It's African. Yes, Latina. It's culture. It's soup. It's rice. It's noodles. So you get to play with different flavors. And that's what I always do. Growing up, the labels would be like, "Why don't you do this? And maybe we can talk about it." And I was like, nah, because that's me. So I guess I'm not gonna be labeled. I will do my own thing. And Doc McKinney, shout out to one of my mentors, he produces the Weeknd, he produces everybody. But Doc has been really influential for me to just say, "Be yourself." And the night that I won, he was like, "You never got signed to a major label because you created your own label, and you never let it stop you, and keep doing you." And so that's what this is. 

I feel like I'm like HOV and Beyoncé. Bey can go sing a ballad, and then she could rap better than her husband on it. And so like, nobody is skeptical, like, "Well, Beyoncé just stick to an R&B record." Like, no, I'm an artist, man. Literally, I paint with my drums and I paint with my lyrics and my bars. And I also do art. I'm a graphic artist too. I did the cover of the album. And that was all me. So that's how the record sounds. It might be all over the place, but it got something for each policy member. It's got something for each mama out there. For everybody who wants to go through whatever. You want to fly a plane? You got that. You want to ride in the whip? You got that. You want to take a cruise? You got that. You just want to chill, kick it in the sauna? It's the vibe.

Well, I also want to add, you sing beautifully too ... from the soul. And I love the Annie Lennox (nod) ... I'm just like wait a second?

That's right. Thank you. And that's hip-hop, like ‘80s, ‘90s, early 2000s. I was born in the ‘80s. And I was raised by the ‘90s and the early 2000s. And that's just what it is. You would listen to Sade. And you would listen to Gloria Estefan. And you had to clean when Mama had Mary J. Blige. It's Sunday, go clean. And Salt-N-Pepa. It's just like what the diversity is in my music is, is what the diversity of our world is. And that's what hip-hop is. It's global communications. 

Well, thank you so much, Maria Isa, for being here with me on The Current's Local Show. Anything else you'd like to add we might not have covered?

Just to everybody tuning in, thank you for supporting the movement and the music. And for those that want to learn how you can support your local artists' movement, there's ways and means of doing that. So feel free to reach out to those leaders that are out there fighting for our equity and rights of artistic means. Gracias, and thank you for what you do. I see you.

Diane

Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, now serving District 65B in the Minnesota House of Representatives, has released a hip-hop EP inspired by her campaign run, motherhood, community, and day-to-day living.


Maria Isa chats with Diane

Perfect Noize Ent / Sota Rico

A woman wears a black t shirt and stands with her hands on her hips

Courtesy photo

CAPITOLIO

Tío Bernie

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Fred White, who played drums for the era-defining and genre-defying band Earth, Wind & Fire, has died at the age of 67, his brother and the band announced on social media. 

"Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, our beloved brother Frederick Eugene 'Freddie' White," wrote his brother and bandmate 

 on Sunday. No cause of death has yet been released. 

Fred White was born in 1955 in Chicago into a family of musicians, including older brothers Verdine and Maurice White. He showed talent at the drums early in life — a "child protégé," his brother Verdine said — and even as a teenager found success playing drums in Chicago for acts including Donny Hathaway. 

"At home and beyond he was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous," his brother wrote. "We could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted."

In 1970, Maurice moved to Los Angeles and founded Earth, Wind & Fire, and Verdine joined a few months later. 

A few years later, they coaxed their younger brother to join the group as a primary drummer. 

Fred White went on to play the drums for the funk-soul-disco-R&B-fusion band in its heyday through the mid-1980s, including on all six albums in Earth, Wind & Fire's remarkable run of consecutive top 10 records on the Billboard pop chart. 

His tight and energetic beats made up the backbone of hits like "Shining Star," "Let's Groove" and – of course – the enduring mega-hit "September," which hit No. 8 on the 

 Hot 100 when it was released and has nearly 1.2 billion streams on Spotify. 



Fred White left the band in the mid-1980s, though he continued to perform with other groups over the years. In 2000, Earth Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including Fred as a member.


Becky Sullivan

White, the younger brother of the band's founder and principal songwriter Maurice White, joined the group in the mid-1970s and went on to lay the backbone for hits like "September" and "Shining Star."


Earth, Wind & Fire via Facebook

Fred White, drummer for the band Earth, Wind & Fire, has died

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