The stillness roars. A quiet, restrained delivery of surprising beauty imploring his listeners to do one simple thing: stay alive. Mustafa is a Canadian poet, singer, and rapper. Born to Sudanese parents, Mustafa got an early start at the age of 12, his powerful poetry and growing popularity leading to guest spots on Canadian TV, songwriting credits on music from fellow Canadians Shawn Mendes and … Continue reading Mustafa – “Stay alive”

What do you do when the music press says you’re “the best band in the world” and you have only put out a couple of tracks? For London’s Black Country, New Road, its strategy has been to hunker down during the pandemic and patiently wait to unveil its music to the world. When the album “For the First Time” finally arrived, it seemed like it had … Continue reading Black Country, New Road – “Track X”

Is the comedian and singer Bo Burnham a living oxymoron? Is it possible for something to be disconcertingly comforting? Burnham’s latest release, “All eyes on me”, represents the emotional climax of the Netflix stay-at-home Covid series ‘Inside’ and offers a peek into the mind of someone who has hit rock bottom. It’s shockingly intimate, including a spoken word section where Bo confesses to his struggles … Continue reading Bo Burham – “All Eyes on Me”

Never escaping your hometown or amounting to anything. The Academic have taken this angst and distilled it into a super catchy rock song ‘Kids (Don’t end up like me)’ that may catapult the band into the mainstream. With hooky vocal lines and an infectious beat, the Irish rock quartet borrows from early 2k NYC rock revival, Talking Heads and Elvis Costello and reinvents the mix … Continue reading The Academic – “Kids (Don’t end up like me)”

It’s that time. The time when an artist can see the crack in the door, with the light beyond, the light that leads to recognition and a career. South-East London soul man Joel Culpepper is at that inflection point. His latest track, Tears of a Crown, was just given the Abbey Road treatment on Later…with Jools Holland. Imagine a muscle-bound, half-naked version of Al Green … Continue reading Joel Culpepper – “Tears of a Crown”