Rocky Dawuni is one of Ghana’s best-traveled musicians these days. He lives between Los Angeles and Accra, but his signature “Afro Roots” sound—a blend of reggae, highlife, Afrobeat and more—brings him to concert stages and recording studios in places like Zanzibar, Nairobi, and Harare, Zimbabwe, as well as throughout Europe and the United States. Dawuni’s […]
Up Next is a FIERCE series highlighting rising Latina and Latin American women artists you might not know about but definitely should. As urbano music sets the globe ablaze, Melymel’s flaming rap en español is also burning vigorously. “La Mamá del Rap,” as the lyricist, born Melony Redondo, has been nicknamed in her native Dominican Republic, is […]
Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez gave our office audience a very quick lesson on why pianists from that island nation are so impressive: they treat the piano as the percussion instrument it is. Rodríguez immediately let fly with an intense flurry of notes that were as melodic as they were rhythmic. The mash up of European lyricism and […]
Austin-based singer-songwriter and producer David Messier has released the music video for his latest single, “Television is Better Than Love,” premiering exclusively at Paste. Serving as the lead single from Messier’s sophomore album Time Bomb, the track is full of cheesy, TV-influenced puns juxtaposed with the harsh realities of modern dating (in a world where “Netflix and chill” […]
xiuhtezcatl dropped the perfect soundtrack for indigenous peoples’ day The young activist/rapper discusses his debut album, ‘Break Free’ — and how he got Shailene Woodley to sing on it. Since he was six years old, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez has been an outspoken environmentalist. Born to an activist mother — she founded the conservation organization Earth Guardians in the 1990s — […]
Mayday! decided to make a move towards the islands for their latest album South of 5th, and it’s paid off. The veteran rap group, signed to Tech N9ne‘s Strange Music, gave their fifith album a heavy reggae influence. Fans responded, moving the record to the top of the Billboard Reggae Chart. Now, just as the crew is about […]
Hear Salsa King Rubén Blades Perform ‘Ban Ban Quere’ Live in Upcoming LP ‘Una Noche con Rubén Blades’ was recorded live with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra A nine-time Grammy-winner and all-star vocalist of the illustrious salsa label, Fania Records, Rubén Blades is a living legend. Following a 2017 collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as Salsa […]
Jenny and the Mexicats is a discovery from South by Southwest a few years ago that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind, and with good reason: The band’s high energy shows are unforgettable, as is its sound. Mixing flamenco, originally from southern Spain, with Jenny Ball’s jazz trumpet background and […]
Vision. Integrity. Fearlessness. These are characteristics that give an artist the edge to be great. The edge to succeed. The edge to stay relevant, particularly after arriving into the mainstream. Matisyahu has been a staple of the modern reggae community since his debut in 2004. His second studio album, Youth, released just two years later, debuted at #4 […]
The Monophonics’ set with French rapper Ben l’Oncle Soul at the 2015 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival was unforgettable. The California-based five-piece band laid down a funky, soul-infused backbeat to tight rhymes provided by the Parisian rapper. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen live and I was instantly hooked on Monophonics. Having seen three […]