The big-voiced soprano is in her mid-thirties, and she didn't even hear an opera live until she was in her twenties. Now, she's a sought-after opera singer.
The Norwegian songwriter's new album interrogates what it means for her self-image to be centered on her art, while grappling with the way capitalist forces threaten to mute its radical possibilities.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the death of rapper Christopher Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G. His rhymes were hugely influential and resonate, especially with those in his hometown of Brooklyn.
For the occasion of its half-centennial, cultural critic and poet Hanif Abdurraqib takes the measure of Stevie Wonder's unmatchable artistic achivements in the early-to-mid '70s.
After Louis Armstrong reigned as King Zulu in 1949, musicians began writing music specifically for and about Mardi Gras. These early songs paved the way for the sounds of Carnival for decades to come.
For a new album, Lighten Up, the singer-songwriter brought her broadly empathetic piece of mind to to Topanga, Calif. to gain a light wash of psychedelia.
Invited to write a new work for Houston's Rothko Chapel, the composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey created a work that is both intimate and vast, like those Mark Rothko paintings.
The hip-hop duo made its new record in the shadow of the pandemic and racial justice protests in Atlanta. Yet as ever, its music is focused on the resilience of its home city and its larger community.
Grammy-nominated recording artist and chef Kelis talks to urban gardener Ron Finley about growing your own food, the relationship between Black people and the land, and how to handle a mean rooster.
Ukrainian musicians are turning away from Russia, and sometimes the Russian language, as they try to reassert their country's identity. Some who used to sing in Russian now only perform in Ukrainian.
A New York City opera company created an updated version of Fidelio for the Black Lives Matter era. The performance features singers who are incarcerated in real life.
For a new long-player of an album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You,the four members of Big Thief decided to let the spaces they were recording in help shape the record's creative direction.
The Ghanaian singer would vocalize and dance all night long to send off the departed. On the verge of his long awaited first trip to perform abroad, he has died, reportedly of COVID.