In a black leather notebook — or its iPhone equivalent, the Notes app — Dessa jots down an idea in one of three piles: Song. Poetry. Essay. Dessa does them all. A satisfying sonic pattern lands in song. A well-drawn image might get filed under poetry. An idea about the state of political rhetoric? “That’s going to ask for some real ink,” Dessa said. “That’s going to ask for 5,000 words — which would make for an insufferably long song.” Dessa started in slam poetry, made her name rapping with the Doomtree crew. Now, her essay writing is getting its due. The New York Times recently published her evocative travel tales from London and New Orleans and, this week, New York publisher Dutton Books will release her debut memoir, “My Own Devices: True Stories From the Road on Music, Science and Senseless Love.” Dessa, 37, writes like she raps like she talks — with a sharp vocabulary, an eye for telling detail and a … [Read more...] about Dessa gets ‘frank, candid and vulnerable’ in new memoir
Sunshine and city lights lyrics
The Underrated and the Forgotten: Seven L.A. Bands Way More People Should Know About
The tender years in Tucson, Arizona, stealing money from my big brother’s busboy tip jar and buying Circle K money orders with the coins to send to Zed Records in Long Beach for all the Dangerhouse sides, The Eyes, The Bags, the mighty Weirdos, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, The Alley Cats, The Deadbeats, etc. Bands I’d hardly heard but knew were godhead. I was an outcast kid, beat up sometimes, mocked, laughed at. Later, at 15, I’d be living mostly at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, a young bike racer recently named to the junior national team. Was in SoCal for a bike race. Somehow, I wound up in a car with Axxel G. Reese from The Gears and some punk-rock college dude from Tucson. My fake ID, ordered from the back pages of Creem, worked. Bike racing makes you look older.It was Club 88 in West L.A. Dark, a lighted rosy glow, tiny stage, cigarettes, dirty Converse, fouled hair. Big people drinking in a half-full club. Clash on the PA. I … [Read more...] about The Underrated and the Forgotten: Seven L.A. Bands Way More People Should Know About
Akwaaba chooses theme for West Philadelphia bed and breakfast
As soon as I rounded the corner on to Baring Street Wednesday afternoon, the jazz-infused notes of Teddy Pendergrass’ “When Somebody Loves You Back,” woke up my groove thing. I was in the right place. So I boogied my way down the tree-lined University City block and joined more than 300 hot and sweaty folk spilling out of the mansion onto the the front porch and into the backyard of Akwaaba Philadelphia. They arrived in their bold-hued summer finest to glimpse what will be the only African America-owned and operated bed-and-breakfast in Philadelphia. >> READ MORE: Akwaaba Philadelphia: The bed-and-breakfast that speaks to black people opens in West Philadelphia Owner and a former editor of Essence magazine, Monique Greenwood promised us last week not only would she have a portion of the three-story, 5,000-square-foot mansion complete, she’d unveil the inn’s Philly-centric theme. And it is — drumroll, please: The Sound of … [Read more...] about Akwaaba chooses theme for West Philadelphia bed and breakfast
The Weekender: Alanis, Art, Alcott, and opera over ice
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page By Michael Andor Brodeur Globe Correspondent May 10, 2018 Want the Globe’s top picks for what to see and do each weekend e-mailed straight to you? Sign up for the Weekender newsletter here. Oh! Hey there Weekenders, sorry, I didn’t see you there. I was a little distracted watching this Boston University kid break the world record for joggling — a.k.a. juggling while jogging. Zach Prescott joggled a mile with three lacrosse balls in just four minutes and 43.2 seconds — which certainly calls into question whether this can legally be considered jogging at all. Does Spotlight subscribe to this thing? Spotlight! You seeing this?In any case, I’d say that’s a thing you can do this weekend, but you probably can’t. So I’ve got some backups. Let’s do this thing! YOU, YOU, YOU OUGHTA GO: First up: How many … [Read more...] about The Weekender: Alanis, Art, Alcott, and opera over ice
Slingshot: The New Artists You’ll Love In 2018
Slingshot NPR Music has always highlighted the work of emerging musicians, but we never had a name for it before. Welcome to Slingshot, a collective effort among taste-making music stations to introduce exceptional up-and-coming artists. Keep an eye out for new additions throughout the year. Loading... Nilüfer Yanya A preternaturally talented young songwriter from London with a gorgeous and complex voice. Enlarge this image Hollie Fernando/Courtesy of the artist Hollie Fernando/Courtesy of the artist Goes well with bar lighting, breakups, eating your feelings. Should open for: Michael Kiwanuka, Lianne La Havas, Feist Smoky, subtly emotive, and underpinned by a gorgeous falsetto that cracks on command, Nilüfer Yanya's voice is a stunning instrument. And it pairs incredibly well with the English singer's minimalist pop music, which revolves mostly around jazz and r&b-influenced guitar arrangements that allow her vocals to stretch out and … [Read more...] about Slingshot: The New Artists You’ll Love In 2018