At Take Magazine, we take music seriously, regularly featuring New England’s coolest, most unusual and most diverse set of musicians and music-adjacent artists. In the past two years of publishing, we’ve brought you everything from Grammy-award winning pop stars to musicians crafting their own experimental instruments. As the music industry reinvents itself, and people continue to subvert and transcend genre classification, we promise to continue to scour basement shows, online forums, and music festivals for the region’s best.

In the meantime, we’re upping our music game to bring new music right to your ears. Each time we feature a musician, we are going to ask them what they’re listening to and then create a playlist for that artist on our Take Spotify channel. Though not all the artists on these playlists are from New England, several New Englanders have already made the cut. For example, Vermont’s own bedroom pop crooner Bella Ortiz-Wren, aka bella, shared a Ruth Garbus track on their playlist. Garbus is also a super confessional dreamy pop crooner from Vermont like Ortiz-Wren…who knew there were so many!

Some of these playlists feel like a personalized mixtape (see The Rap Scholars‘ playlist or the picks from Home Body), while others are lists of full albums from different artists. Either way, you’re guaranteed to hear something new or fun and familiar.

In addition to these custom playlists from featured artists, Take Magazine staff curated a playlist of some of our favorites. The strange diversity of tracks on the Staff Picks playlist mirrors the eclectic tastes of our staff as a whole. You’ll find catching pop tunes from New England heroes, classical chamber music, sad bastard indie, neo soul, and much more. We’ll be adding more tracks to the playlist each week, so be sure to check on it frequently.

But wait there’s more. We want to know what you’re listening to as well.

Submit your favorite songs right now to pr@takeindustries.com email or get us on any social media platform with the hashtag #heytakealisten with an artist name and the title of the track you’re currently obsessed with. Check our Spotify channel soon and see if your pick made it on our list. Extra points for New England bands and songs we haven’t yet heard.

Playlists From Across New England

The Rap Scholars

David Seidel aka Mysterybear

bella

Soggy Po’ Boys

Jenn Van West

Molly Brown

Home Body

Top image: Hannah Mohan of And the Kids, featured on our staff Spotify playlist | Photo by Montgomery Sheridan

The post Take a Listen: A Spotify Playlist Just for You appeared first on Take Magazine.

Nasir Thato Marumo and Alfred “Freddie” Kimani host The Rap Scholars podcast, an audio collage out of Western Massachusetts that seeks to facilitate “a new generation of rap criticism,” using “podcast as pedagogy.” As you can tell by the podcast title and tagline, both Marumo and Kimani are academically-minded when talking about hip hop and rap music. However, their approach to criticism and podcasting in general is quite inclusive. The Rap Scholars feels more like a conversation between learned friends rather than an elitist cacophony of buzzwords and academic jargon. Their scholarship and deep knowledge of hip hop and rap music is real, but never isolating.

The Rap Scholars podcast covers a broad range of topics and artists, analyzing everything from the current Jamaican trend in rap to the emotional side of trap. Soon, they’ll have even more voices on the podcast with a new feature called Reason Battles where the hosts and guests face off about pertinent topics in rap and divisive artists within the genre.

We chatted with Marumo and Kimani about their contemporary approach to rap music criticism, misconceptions about the genre, and the true origins of hip hop. This Q & A has been edited for brevity and content.

Podcasting as pedagogy: please explain.

NTM: For me, this means that we want to use the framework of a podcast and the casualness, tangentiality, and conversational quality of [podcasting] as a way to teach. I had a mentor who basically showed me that the way that I existed was already a form of study. I think black kids are always taught that we don’t know anything and that the knowledge we do have is not legitimate. So podcast as pedagogy is trying to legitimize a conversational study of hip hop culture that is accessible and not elitist, and prioritizes conversation.

Especially when talking about rap music and hip hop in academia, there’s certain ways you’re supposed to talk and certain kinds of things you’re supposed to say. To me, those are the least interesting things that are happening in rap. I learn the most about rap from the people who are actually creating this music, which is young black kids in high school and middle school even. Like 21 Savage—he’s basically a baby.

AFM: I love the diasporic aspect of the podcast. Tying all these conversations back to its roots either from an African Diaspora or Jamaican Diaspora. I think when people get to see where these roots and diasporic vibrations are coming from, it can maybe lead to a more interesting conversation.

Why use podcasting as a primary medium for your message?

AFM: I firmly believe that hip hop is mainly an audio format. I didn’t see any video format being able to highlight hip hop as well as a podcast. Also, podcasting gives us the option to throw in music, dedicating time to the entire audio of a song and being able to speak on that. Listeners can enjoy the song and listen to the narrative we’re building around it. [Podcasting] just seemed to be the clearest way to present these topics.

NTM: I want to be a rap critic and a cultural critic. Podcasting, to me, is the most contemporary way to engage in that kind of analysis. It’s really important to me that we play the entire song we’re talking about and that we bring in other voices, and podcasting allows us to do that.

Once I realized performing was more a way for me to think about and understand what rappers are doing, rather than my personal career path, I immediately jumped to podcasting. For me, it was the next logical step after realizing I didn’t want to be a rapper, because I had the skills to do it. Also, I was having so many in-depth and inspiring conversations with scholars around me who think about rap. There’s not a lot of millennial rap critics; it feels like there’s a hole in the criticism. For example, most of the people talking about trap music in media are shitting on it, calling it “mumble rap,” and saying it’s meaningless.

What are the biggest misconceptions about hip hop and rap music that have prevailed since the beginning of hip hop? Also, what new misconceptions are starting to grow that you have to battle when talking about hip hop and rap music?

AFM: Right off the jump, throughout the decades there’s been this misconception, [spun] by a lot of media outlets, that hip hop leads to violence. It’s pitched as a clear correlation by so many representatives and so many leaders. It’s wrongly become this harmful visual and that misconception itself can cause harm. If you’re a person who truly loves this music and sees yourself identifying with a lot of the verbiage behind it, then it’s hard to see yourself fitting into a society that sees this thing you love, and so many do love, as leading to violence. That’s something that’s a constant struggle and has been perpetuated throughout the decades from rap groups like N.W.A. and films like Boyz in the Hood, to rappers now like Kendrick Lamar.

NTM: I feel like there’s so many misconceptions. For me, every time we talk about the origins of hip hop, it starts with DJ Kool Herc who was Jamaican, but that’s where the story always begins and ends, which to me is so false. Hip hop and more generally Black American music and Jamaican music have been in this really interesting cultural conversation since at least the 1940s. Part of my mission is to do a little bit of a revisionist history of hip hop to give credit to Jamaica where it’s due, which is all throughout the entire culture and especially in the history of rap.

In terms of new misconceptions, rap is still a pretty young genre and is made up of so many sub genres. Every five or six years there’s a new kind of rap being made. A new misconception is that the priorities of hip hop are always going to be the same or that the things that make you a good rapper are always going to be the same. But those things are changing as our culture is changing, as new young people are innovating in our culture. There’s a disconnect between what critics expect rappers to do and what their priorities actually are. With the podcast, we want to usher in the new generation of rap criticism that meets contemporary rap music on its own terms.

Want to hear what Nasir and Freddie are listening to? Head to our Take A Listen Spotify channel for a curated playlist from Nasir and Freddie.

Nasir Thato Marumo, Alfred “Freddie” Kimani, co-founders, The Rap Scholars
Massachusetts
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Top image illustration of Marumo and Kimani by Madda Illustrations

The post Rapping with the Rap Scholars appeared first on Take Magazine.

It seems as if podcasts are having yet another moment with the staggering success of S-Town, another home-run from the Serial and This American Life crew (hosted by Connecticut’s own Brian Reed). With that in mind, we decided to take a look in our backyard for podcast stories and discussions made right here in New England. We’re sure you won’t be surprised that they lean cerebral, a little off-kilter, and often outright hilarious. Perfect for that morning commute or afternoon run, podcasts are a great way to deep-dive into a topic or theme, as they are usually more intimate and deliberate than the usual radio show.

Connecticut Podcasts:
Literary Disco
Writers and readers Rider Strong and Tod Goldberg of Southern California, and Connecticut’s Julia Pistell, join up from their respective coasts to rehash and review works from long ago and today. Shrewd and funny, they tackle literature that ranges from Sweet Valley High to Ayn Rand. Their summer reading list and “best of” shows are a don’t-miss.
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Massachusetts Podcasts:
Lore
Aaron Mahnke is the creator behind the huge hit Lore, and this two-years-and-counting, insanely popular podcast of everything terrifying, creepy, and supernatural continues to grow. Expect solidly produced, researched, and riveting tales of fact-based myth-origin pieces exploring topics such as where werewolves come from. Sometime later this year, Lore is coming a screen near you with help from the producers of The Walking Dead.
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Judge John Hodgman
This is a weekly podcast where John Hodgman, yes that John Hodgman, listens to real life disputes on sometimes insignificant issues. It’s where your internal shower thoughts get discussed with signature brilliant nuance and deadpan delivery. We’re all a little judgy; Hodgman owns it. Tune in to find out if chili is a soup or a stew.
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The Rap Scholars
This recently launched ‘cast, produced and hosted by “black-ademic/rap-ademic” Nasir Marumo and DJ Alfred Kimani, delves in the culture of contemporary rap and its influence on culture around us. Listen for ‘caviar’ rap explanations and the intersection of black culture, trends, and criticism.
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15 Minutes
Host Jamie Berger conducts short, sharp interviews with artists, musicians, and writers in his Massachusetts circle of friends about what fame means to them. Listen for an authentic and intimate quick-shot of meaningful conversation.
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Maine Podcasts:
What’s with You? Scooby Doo!
Host ‘nic’ brings his eclectic group of Maine friends and fans to the studio and the stage to discuss life, drinking, and pop culture—all facilitated by a viewing of that crime fighting dog and his meddling kids’ crew. It’s as off the wall as it sounds. Gives good ear.
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New Hampshire Podcasts:
Sci-Fi Saturday Night
An out-of-this-world group of friends and nerds gather around the microphone to discuss—and argue—the finer points of science fiction media. Horror, time travel, aliens, and the undead are all on the agenda. The news of the day about the latest books, movies, television, upcoming cons, and graphic novels are discussed as well as other stuff these super nerds are into. They seem to have a connection to everything, and their finger on the pulse—if zombies had pulses.
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Rhode Island Podcasts:
Terrifyingly Beautiful
David Robert and Kevin O’Connell drink and discuss their anxieties, and instead of rolling your eyes, you’ll find yourself screaming, “same!” and “me too!” Food, unearthly travel, your favorite childhood toys—everything is treated with extreme suspicion, to hilarious effect.
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Vermont Podcasts:
Rumble Strip
Host Erica Heilman meets and gets to know Vermonters and Vermonty places, and wrangles poignant stories of everyday life that are unique and infinitely relatable from her subjects. Her in-depth profiles have garnered her fans around the world.
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The post Thanks for Listening: Quirky New England Podcasts We Think You’ll Love appeared first on Take Magazine.