The Formula Highlights The Art Of Collaboration In Hip-Hop

Plus, a Tiny Desk (home) concert from the cast of 'Jagged Little Pill'

View this email online by Marissa Lorusso NPR This week, NPR Music launched our second season of The Formula, a video series about the foundational elements of hip-hop. The new season focuses on collaborations between rappers and producers, and kicks off with a video highlighting how Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats made their joint mixtape, Anger Management. We asked the series’ host, Rodney Carmichael, to tell us a little more about what to expect this season: In hip-hop, people talk about taking it back to the essence a lot. For a genre that’s just reaching peak middle age, the nostalgia has always been strong. But one element that’s never waned within the culture is the art of collaboration. Of course, it’s true that no form of music would exist without it, but something about rap makes creative collabs the lifeblood of the genre.  There just ain’t many cats built like a Tyler, the Creator or a J. Cole or a Kanye West (fortunately) — ambidextrous creatives who can do damage on the boards and spit a hot 16 in the booth. The greatest MCs have almost always needed an equally great producer to bring the best out of them. So we decided to make a show about it. More to the point, NPR Video and NPR Music c-o-l-l-a-b-o-r-a-t-e-d — see what I did there — on The Formula’s second season and made some of the most respected artist-producer duos in rap our focus.  We drew up a dream list of our favorite musical conspirators — Rico Nasty + Kenny Beats, Isaiah Rashad + Kal Banx, Freddie Gibbs + The Alchemist, Westside Gunn + Conductor Williams, Tierra Whack + J. Melodic — and criss-crossed the country asking each duo for the lowdown on their creative process, in their own words. Since every collaboration is rooted in relationship, we tried to hone in on that creative interplay this season. And the results run the gamut, from hilarious to heartfelt. Over the next five weeks we’ll drop all five episodes, starting with this week’s premiere, “How Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats Became The Loudest, Unlikeliest Duo In Rap.” Stay tuned for Isaiah Rashad + Kal Banx next week, Rodney Carmichael, NPR Music   Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music The long-awaited debut from K-pop superstar CL, an ambitious release from John Forté and two albums about the end of the world: Hear all this and more on this week’s episode of New Music Friday from All Songs Considered. For the past decade, Ecuadorian-American musician Helado Negro has moved between genre and medium, creating albums steeped in house-tinged electronica and downtempo Spanish folk, as well as meditative sound art installations. He talked to NPR Music about creating his own sonic vocabularies and the influence of the desert on his album, Far In. Looking for some new songs for your playlist? We’ve got you covered with recent additions to the #NowPlaying blog, including tender folk from Tall Heights, propulsive pop from Stromae and ambient jazz from Fuubutsushi. (Plus, if you’re planning on getting some household chores done this weekend, check out Pop Culture Happy Hour’s mini-playlist for cleaning your bathroom.) Featuring Let It Be is a complicated album, initially intended as a simple way for The Beatles to get back to its rock 'n' roll roots. This week on All Songs Considered, hear Bob Boilen’s conversation with producer Giles Martin about the recently-released five-disc deluxe version of the record. This week on Jazz Night In America: Portland drummer Mel Brown shares stories about Motown in the 1970s and about how he returned to his hometown in order to build its scene. Plus, hear a 2019 set from the Montavilla Jazz Festival. Most orchestras emphasize music by composers we're all familiar with: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on. But the Boston Modern Orchestra Project has a different mission: “resurrecting, presenting, recording and disseminating pieces that had a moment and then disappeared," according to artistic director Gil Rose. The group was recently awarded a Special Achievement Award by the Gramophone Classical Music Awards for its work. This week, our friends at Mountain Stage shared a performance of "Lucid Lucy" by singer-songwriter Sunny War. Tiny Desk NPR Broadway is slowly but surely coming back. This week, Jagged Little Pill — the Broadway musical based on Alanis Morissette's 1995 album of the same name — had its first performance in 19 months, and the cast filmed a Tiny Desk (home) concert to celebrate. Also this week: guitarist (and Tiny Desk Contest alum) Yasmin Williams shared an incredibly inventive (home) concert, and Cha Wa performed a powerful set from Preservation Hall in New Orleans. One More Thing "So I'm you, I'm us, it's us." Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy