Music

Walter Brown creates the perfect soundtrack for your summer with his new album—Saturdaze. The LP produced by the Free Thinkers Union music group drops June 24. Brown’s artistry has been inspired and empowered by what this Mt. Pleasant, SC native calls “rock bottom.” He dropped out of high school in the 11th grade, and later served a five…

By Hakim Abdul-Ali The Spoleto Festival USA has a reputation of showcasing some of the world’s greatest entertainers and performers covering many genres. This year’s programmatic format was definitely a continuation of that process with the inclusion of jazz saxophonist giant Charles Lloyd, tap dancer Ayodele Casel and the esteemed pianist Henry Butler and trumpeter…

By Hakim Abdul-Ali Saturday night, June 3, 2017, at the College of Charleston’s famous outdoor Cistern was an invigorating and simmering place to be at if you were in attendance while witnessing Terence Blanchard and his The E-Collective band. It was all of that and a bag of chips as the hip and colloquial street…

By Hakim Abdul-Ali      The sounds of Afro-Cuban soul hit the Spoleto Festival USA 2017 stage last Saturday night with the appearance of the Pedrito Martinez Group. This dynamic quartet brought traditional and soulful rhythms, mixed with other musical vibrations, to the Spoleto audience with a soulful exuberance that hasn’t been seen nor heard…

The benefits of music education are endless. Studies have associated music education with higher test scores, improved concentration and more. But if you are a parent, you probably know how it goes: many children will begin a music program with enthusiasm, only to complain about practicing a short time later, sometimes even asking to quit.…

By Erica Veal [Twitter: @Indigo_Grio | FB: facebook.com/erica.veal.7 | Instagram: Indigo_Grio] Charleston is losing a dedicated community organizer and a talented musician. Anjali Naik, known by the stage name Diaspoura, is about to graduate from the College of Charleston and finished off her last live show as a local to a standing ovation at the Charleston…

By Natalie Prioleau, contributing writer New hip-hop artist Quis KingSoul has been reigning over the ears of listeners from the upper to lower regions of South Carolina since the debut of his mixtape, “Godis.” Following the release of his soulful, romantic hit single, “Girrrl” back in December of 2016, the mixtape embodies Quis’ life journey…

By Dwight Brown (NNPA Newswire Film Critic) Bee Bop. Jazz. The 1950s and 1960s were a hotbed for cool music, and the hip musicians, who played those genres on records and in smoky, dimly lit nightclubs, were a special breed. Years later, most people still revere legendary trumpeters like Miles Davis and Chet Baker and…

Millennial artist and social justice activist, Whitney Parnell, emerges as a new voice in the Black community with the debut of “The Talk,” a new music single and video. Composed and performed by Parnell, The Talk’s soulful rhythm with its haunting “hands-up” lyrics expose the all too often frank dialogue African American families have about…

By Vaughn Postema The dimly lit Tin Roof was packed with bandana bearers and throwback jerseys. You could see the enjoyment as the crowd was captivated in a wave of nostalgia when a young Lil Wayne boomed from the speakers or when hands shot up to the sky when a skillful Mystikal rang through the…