Official Blog
Music Tuesday: Lateef the Truthspeaker and more
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
It’s been a busy week on
youtube.com/music
, with video premieres from
Kings of Convenience
and
Kina Grannis
, a
Q&A
with
Florence (+ The Machine) Welch
, and a look at the strangely
growing world of singing athletes
. We also celebrated what happens when
dance troupes team up with musicians
. This week we turn to a new album by an alternative rapper, a suite of videos directed by musicians, and another video premiere.
Lateef the Truthspeaker
The Oakland, California-based rapper released a mixtape earlier this month, and he now returns with a new album,
FireWire
, that stretches the boundaries of rap so far they may actually snap. As one-half of the influential duo
Latryx
, Lateef has been an integral part of the region’s hip-hop scene for years, co-founding the underground hip-hop label SoleSides, which launched the likes of
DJ Shadow
and
Blackalicious
, and which would later become the equally prestigious
Quannum
. As Oakland garners national press for its contentious Occupy protests, this son of two Black Panthers shares a musical guide to the sounds of his native city.
Self-Directed Videos
Creativity knows no boundaries -- if you’re somebody who needs to create, you’ll find a way, never mind the medium. Today we take a look at what happens when musicians get on the other side of the cameras and start directing their own videos. Froth-pop star
Enrique Iglesias
delivers a surprisingly funny, off-the-cuff video for “I Like How It Feels” which features a lot of celebrity cameos (because who else does Enrique hang out with, right?), while more under-the-radar artists like Oakland rapper Casual, indie’s darling tUnE-yArDs and beatmaker Raleigh Moncrief deliver videos that are by turns jumpy, dreamy, and charming -- and always original.
Jonathan Coulton: Nemeses
If you don’t know Jonathan Coulton, think tech. The guy was a computer programmer before he became a musician, and his jokey songs have explored the pain of being a “code monkey” and other sci-fi/geek concerns. But after an extended hiatus from music, he was coaxed back in by John Flansburgh of
They Might Be Giants
, who convinced him to up the musicality quotient and try new things -- like duets and recording with a full band. (Flansburgh also produced the new album,
Artificial Heart
.) Check out the debut single, which hides a snarky heart inside its congenial pop-rock clothes.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched
“Akron/Family - So It Goes.”
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