Nicki Minaj is the preeminent female rapper. Her latest album Queen embraces a kind of girl power that has been criticised both within and outside the rap world.
Aretha Franklin performs at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 1989.
AP Photo/Mario Suriani
When record executives tried to mold Franklin’s sound to their liking, her career sputtered. Then legendary producer Jerry Wexler came along. His approach? Stay out of her way.
Critics say hologram tours exploit the dead for a quick buck. But there’s something about Roy Orbison’s ethereal mystique that makes this one a particularly fitting tribute.
Nagging can make learning music a misery for everyone. But there are better ways to encourage your child to play.
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Nagging or bribing a child to practise their musical instrument only makes the activity feel like a chore. Here’s how to support your child and bring back harmony to the whole family.
A top hit in 1975, Neil Sedaka’s song “The Immigrant,” proves its continuing relevance, with the rise in xenophobia in the United States. Here people on an Atlantic Liner arrive at what is probably Ellis Island, the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. from 1892 to 1954.
Library of Congress
Neil Sedaka’s song “The Immigrant” was a top hit in 1975, but today it seems even more relevant, as debates rage in the United States over immigration, repatriation and racism.
Michael Atherton’s new book traces the history of pianos in Australia from the First Fleet to modernity. Despite concerns over its demise, the instrument is unlikely to disappear any time soon.
Researchers analysed 30 years of British pop charts and found a trend towards sadness – but the days of judging music purely on stylistic measures is long gone.
R. Kelly at the American Music Awards in 2013.
PAUL BUCK
Music streaming services have stopped promoting R. Kelly as part of a crackdown on musician’s alleged conduct. But we should separate the art from the artist.
Rapper Skibkhan in the video for ‘Shob Chup,’ which condemns the culture of silence around poverty and inequality in Bangladesh.
YouTube
In voicing youthful outrage over inequality and violence, Bangladeshi rappers are creating a powerful form of protest music — just as American MCs have done for 40 years.
Singing increases breathing control and lung capacity, can improve your health, and release the happy hormone.
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