09/23/22
By Kierstyn Pryor From Sun’s J.M. Van Eaton to Stax’s Al Jackson, Jr. and Hi’s Howard Grimes, Memphis has a long history of producing world-class drummers that help to define the beat of their particular era. Enter Alex Pruitt, a 26 year old drummer whose work is being showcased in cities and countries across the…
09/10/22
By Ezra Wheeler To put it mildly, it’s been a tumultuous few months for Lawrence Matthews, the multifaceted artist better known as Don Lifted. Since the release of his critically-acclaimed album 325i in October of last year, Matthews watched much of his planned tour schedule dissolve, amicably split with his record label Fat Possum, resigned…
08/09/22
by Zachary Corsa Emily White wants you to have fun. The driving force behind Memphis noise-punk juggernaut whit3corset makes art that is an open nerve of vulnerability and rage, marrying raw pathos with beats that can whiplash from terrifying to tender at a moment’s notice. Imagine the best Xiu Xiu album you’ve never heard as…
08/05/22
By Ezra Wheeler Within days of the release of Beyoncé’s newest album Renaissance, critics were already hailing it as “a landmark expression,” “revolutionary,” and “a masterpiece.” In other words, Queen Bey had done it again, this time taking inspiration from the rich history of Black and queer dance music. Given the album’s focus, it should…
07/20/22
By Ezra Wheeler (Cover photo by Buck Billings) A few years ago, I heard someone claim that Memphis is “so far behind, it’s ahead.” While I chuckled at the clever wordplay, there was also an undeniable truth to the sentiment. We Memphians cling tight to our cultural traditions and are often late to the party…
06/28/22
Memphis is known as the origin place of so much American music. It’s easy to wax poetic about the topic in an overly general way– locals and visitors alike know Beale Street as the home of the blues, and many know Memphis as a place where labels like Stax Records, & Hi Records (Royal Recording…
06/26/22
It’s no surprise that Memphis is full of talented musicians in the Black community. What you may not know is many of them happen to be tied to each other in one way or another. Whether they are close friends, met a few times at a local concert, or happen to be family, this is…
06/24/22
By Jayne Ellen White As a top session and touring saxophonist, Kenneth Whalum rose quickly in the music industry working with artists that are household names— but he has also carved a deep and unique niche as a modern solo artist. Whalum’s genre may be most related to alt-soul, but his secret to songwriting is…
06/15/22
By Zachary Corsa It might be a bit circumspect to call the legendary Memphis hip-hop scene an ‘anomaly’, but in the context of a dangerous, complicated city with such a towering musical legacy, the term makes sense. The rap game’s flourished here entirely on its own terms, far from Sun and Stax, far from Graceland…
#BringYourSoul to be featured on our social media
