A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
6 cool things in music this week include Questlove, Jazmine Sullivan and Judith Hill
Pick Six shout-outs, too, to Omar Apollo and Genesis Owusu.
April 1, 2022 at 1:10PM
Carly Quast, Minnesota Daily A&E writer:
1 Omar Apollo, "Tamagotchi." Breaking out from his usual indie-pop, Spanish-guitar infused tunes, the Mexican American singer-songwriter goes in a riskier direction, one infused with bass friendly hip-hop beats, vulnerably risque lyrics and a feature by the emotionally exposed Daniel Caesar.
2 Genesis Owusu, Turf Club. The show tore at themes of racism, depression, understanding and renewal as the Ghanaian-Australian musician performed on his first U.S. tour with an energy expected from a sellout-stadium star, but with the ease of a natural-born performer. What an unforgettably bold, genre-defying performance.
3 AnnenMayKantereit and Giant Rooks, "Tom's Diner." The most recently added song of TikTok glory — and in the constant rotation of my thoughts — is this gritty, raw cover by all-male German musicians of the 1980s Suzanne Vega hit.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Judith Hill, the Dakota. Not only does she have the funkiest parents on the planet (Dad Pee Wee on bass, mom Michiko on keys) but the former Prince protégé is more open to her heart and soul and surrenders to her songs. She was on fire, a funky fire.
2 "Summer of Soul" wins Oscar for best documentary. Bravo to Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson for his vision, dedication and direction in bringing the story of the historic 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival to the world with context, insight and style. Too bad the Slapping Prince of Bel Air messed with Questlove's Oscar moment. Check out the recently issued soundtrack album for longer versions of songs by B.B. King and others.
3 Jazmine Sullivan, Fillmore, Minneapolis. With her glorious voice and frank lyrics, the Philly R&B star gave an intimate performance of conversational songs about love, life and S-E-X — with a club full of young Black women singing along with every single word.
To contribute: popmusic@startribune.com
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