On “Dancing in the Rain,” from Blu & Exile’s 2007 debut album Below the Heavens, rapper Blu describes a symbolic act of defiance. He clocks out of work in a rainstorm and discovers that he’s short on bus fare. In response to this stroke of bad luck, he turns up his headphones, kicks off his shoes, and stomps gleefully in the puddles near the bus stop. This spirit—of a resilient working-class bluesman, navigating the ups and downs of everyday life—animates Below the Heavens, which today remains a pillar of backpack rap, a union of two dedicated classicists who weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel but ended up paving their own lane. On Miles: From An Interlude Called Life, their first full-length album in eight years, Blu & Exile stay true to their roots…
London’s Tom Misch, 24, and Yussef Dayes, 27, are gifts to the modern jazz scene. Apart, they both stand as impressive musicians—singers, drummers, violinists, guitarists, you name it—but…
Today, Spotify for Artists is launching a new feature: the Artist Fundraising Pick. Just like artists can select any piece of music to highlight on their profile as an Artist’s Pick, they can now…
Nas appeared on the second season of the PBS program Poetry in America, discussing Walt Whitman’s poetry and the mark it left on the American canon. The episode is currently airing on PBS stations…
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