“What’s Going On” is MusiQology’s news round-up. Running every week or so, we curate a selection of relevant items from across the spectrum of popular culture, adding our own commentary and spin when it makes sense. With any luck, you’ll be able to spend a little less time browsing the web for what matters. We’ve got you covered.
Stars and Snubs
The 59th GRAMMY Awards was an evening of surprises pleasant and otherwise. Lost in the deserved furor over another snub for Beyoncé, the show itself was fairly lackluster and lacking its usual star power. Outside of one notable exception–A Tribe Called Quest– there was also barely any significant political statements. We hope you followed along with our live-tweet (some highlights should be coming soon), but there were a few other moments that deserve recognition. As we predicted, Chance the Rapper shone brightly taking home multiple awards and bringing his tireless positivity to a powerful performance. The aforementioned Tribe (along with Anderson .Paak and Busta Rhymes himself) broke down a wall in a cathartic performance. And of course, Beyoncé delivered a stunning performance of two Lemonade tracks, “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.” But on the whole, a forgettable night is largely memorable for what didn’t happen rather than what did.
Prince Didn’t 4Get U
The passing of “The Artist” still haunts us — a feeling of loss in a time when Prince’s uniqueness leaves a huge hole in our patchwork musical culture. We were hit even harder when much of his music was put behind the paywall of Jay Z’s Tidal, an expected but nevertheless disappointing step in the history of an artist who once scrawled “Slave” across his own cheek to protest his record contract dealings with major labels. As expected, there has been much legal wrangling since his passing, and this weekend, fans got a special treat — the return of Prince’s discography to Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services. It’s not perfect, and it’s probably not something Prince would have loved. But I will say this much — it’s great to have such easy access to Dirty Mind again.
Broadway Bound
After the runaway success of Hamilton, there will be more rapping on Broadway, this time with a project helmed by none other than Russell Simmons. The hip-hop mogul will bring The Scenario to New York later this year, with a 30-city tour to follow. The musical will cover a broad swath of hip-hop’s almost-forty-year history, with a proposed roster of songs ranging from Drake and Kendrick Lamar to Kurtis Blow and Sugarhill Gang. The show will also feature the audience, allowing for the kind of call-and-response improvisation that was a staple of early hip-hop. One of the most significant critiques of Hamilton has been its inaccessibility—the sold-out run’s high prices, some argue, have lent Broadway’s “Great White Way” nickname a bit of irony for all the wrong reasons. Simmons hopes to change that. “I want everyone to see it,” he told The New York Times. “I want kids in the ’hood in Detroit to see it. I want sophisticated theatergoers in New York to see it. And they’re going love it whether they’re 50 or 14.”
The Jazz Life
We frequently use “WGO” to tell you about upcoming concerts. For February, we wanted to feature the city’s many jazz clubs. The most prominent locale is probably Chris’ Jazz Café, the somewhat-stuffy but premier club in the city. Highlights this month include Joanna Pascale on Valentine’s Day and two shows from well-regarded saxophonist Chris Potter on February 17 and 18. Newcomer South (our favorite jazz spot in the city) has the Philly Ambassador Big Band on February 19 and two shows from Jeff Lorber on February 23 and 24. And of course, there are three more Mondays this month, which means three more Jazz Jams at World Café Live.
How Political Should Music (and Scholarship) Be?
Since the inauguration of the current President, a fierce debate has raged throughout cultural commentary circles. Simply put, politics has monopolized our discourse for months, cresting in 2017 to a point where even the Super Bowl felt like a political morality play. After Lady Gaga’s somewhat-political-but-not-as-much-as-we-expected Super Bowl performance, Ann Powers at NPR asked “Should Anyone Expect Pop Stars to Lead the Resistance?” BET had an interactive Black History month feature, “Does Rap Activism Really Work?” And Rolling Stone’s coverage of the GRAMMYs highlighted the show’s concerns about politics in “For Grammy Organizers, Caution and Fear in the Trump Era.” One thing we can guarantee at MusiQology is a continued willingness to talk tough topics and call it like we see it, despite the inherent privilege of our position within academia. This push-back against critical thinking and the politics of the everyday is an unacknowledged attack on marginalized voices fighting to be heard. We will not silence them.
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