Inayah from SoulFlower stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound's host Sanni about how SoulFlower came together, the band's busy February, and more.


The Message - SoulFlower

Passion SoulFlower

John Kueppers | MPR

Interview: Inayah from SoulFlower

Chicago Ghetto House legend DJ Slugo graced the studio with a visit during his time in the Twin Cities for UNBOTHERED’s Parable rave last Saturday. Known as the King of Ghetto House, Slugo has evangelized the sound and ethos of the subgenre for decades. His productions, like his 

, have also lit dancefloors on fire across the globe.

We chatted with DJ Slugo about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I watched my cousin DJ for years and saw what he was doing. We grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes — the projects. I saw him get a lot of notoriety from it. So I told him, “teach me.” 

What was it like being in Chicago at the dawn of house music?

One of the best things that could have happened. I never would have figured DJing would be my  job. I had other aspirations and things like that, but I wouldn't trade it for nothing in the world. 

You are the King of Ghetto House, correct?

Everything. I live, breathe, everything ghetto house, you know? House music was cool. But for me and the guys that grew up with me and helped me pioneer the sound, it was too slow for us. It wasn't speaking to our lifestyle. It wasn't speaking to the things that we were experiencing in the neighborhoods we were growing up in. So, we decided to change the sound. That's why we put the word “ghetto” in front of it, because we was living in the hood.

We loved house music and we didn't mind playing it, but we wanted to ghetto-fy it. Put profanity in and say derogatory stuff because that's the stuff we was hearing. That's the stuff we grew up on. It's still house music. I tell people ghetto house is still house music. It's just hood. It's hood house music.

I've described ghetto house to people and it's almost like people feel like they have to be offended when they hear the term. Do you ever get that?

A lot of people get offended because they hear the word “ghetto.” I grew up in the ghetto. I grew up in the hood. Don't be afraid to be where you from. I embrace it. You said I'm ghetto, but I took the ghettoness of what you saying that I am and turned it into a business. So I guess I got a ghetto house business too. 

At the end of the day, I'm never offended. You know, whatever people want to call it, how they want to embrace it, but at the end of the day, it's what we call it and what we do with it that makes sense. So if people don't understand it that way, I'm not offended at all. I've even had people in Chicago who grew up there be like, “what's ghetto house music?” I'm like, man, have you been under a rock? That's the reason I keep doing what I'm doing, because it's a lot of people, even in Chicago, that still don’t know what this sound is. So, I keep pushing until everybody knows what the sound is.

It's funny that you mentioned people in Chicago not getting it because you're mentioned on [French duo] Daft Punk’s song “Teachers.” How did you feel when you first heard that?

I felt two ways: excited, because a lot of people were excited for us, but disappointed that they mentioned all of those people on that record and never did a record any of us. You say that we’re your teachers and we helped you build your sound, but you couldn't come back and get at least one or two of us? 

I was excited that they paid homage,  a lot of people do that pay homage, but the best way to pay homage is by going and grabbing that guy who inspired you, and saying, “hey, let's do something together.” That would be more inspiring than anything… So, I was excited that they gave us flowers while we were alive on there, but to not come back and do a record with either guy on the record on that they mentioned… I never understood it. I always wanted to ask them, “why y'all never came back and did a record with any one of us?” It’s like leaving the hood and then never coming back and bringing anything back to the hood.

That's a good point. It's funny that you mentioned that, because I feel like from the outside looking in, that's what your collaboration with Lauren Flax was. You obviously inspired her, so you two worked together.

Exactly. She's a sweetheart, too. She's one of those people. Somebody asked me about her, and I'm like she's 100 because she went and did music with the people that inspired her. So to even to be able to do music with people that inspired you, it's epic. But it's a lot of people who me and my colleagues have inspired who have never done anything with us… There are people who sampled us,  replayed our bass lines, our words, but never once called and said, “hey, let's do a record together.” Or, “hey, I want to remix your record.” But it'd be beautiful. I could remix your record and we put another one on there. Now, I'm in a situation with Sony, or I'm in a situation with Atlantic, and I want to make sure you get a part of that situation, because I want to redo your song. But no, we don't get that. It's like every man for himself in the house world, unfortunately.

You’re in town for a show. What are you most looking forward to about tonight?

I love this sound, like, love this sound. So, just being able to get it to a newer generation in there that ain't heard it yet. That gives me another five years as they’re growing up and getting into the sound. That's what I'm really looking forward to, bringing the sound to people who've never heard it. I mean, of course, the people who've heard it and and want to hear it, blessings with them. But my goal is to bring the sound to new people. 

I tell people my life is a party. I just want to have a good time, you know? I wanna leave this earth with a smile on my face. I had a ball, you know, and then have no regrets when I leave here, you know? So, that's what I'm looking forward to. Having fun.

What do you have in store for us in the booth today?

I never have a curated set. A lot of people do that, I don't. Whatever I'm feeling at that particular time, I'm gonna play it like. I might go back and critique this mix 100 times and it just prepares me for my next gig. When I'm doing sets like this, it's practice.

Stay tuned for new mixes on Carbon Sound every other Wednesday. If you’re a DJ and want to be considered for the series, email a mix of yours to jgreen@mpr.org.

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

DJ Slugo (2/19/25)

Man in gray hoodie posing in Carbon Sound's studio

Ghetto House from DJ Slugo | Carbon Sound

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11, 2022 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of Feb. 17, 2025.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

Natalia Toledo

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of February 17, 2025

We're proud to announce Tim Wilson as our first resident DJ curator! Tim Wilson is the owner and proprietor of Urban Lights, one of the few remaining Black-owned record stores in the US. 

Wilson has been a longtime pillar of hip-hop in Minneapolis through his work at the store, artist management, and hosting Faders Up - a weekly session for hip-hop DJs and turntablists.

Tim selected the four DJs that will be featured in Urban Lights' residency. Urban Lights' mixes will air every second Wednesday for through May.

Starting us off is Mickey Breeze, a DJ, producer, and educator from St. Paul. Mickey’s approach to DJing is highly technical, incorporating scratching, live drum pad usage, and stems to create wholly new works from recorded songs. Currently, he DJs for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Twins via his partnership with Generation Now. Mickey Breeze also teaches courses at Slam Academy.

We chatted with Mickey Breeze about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Getting to express myself live and on stage. I have a pretty decent background in instrumentation. I played piano, trumpet, drums and a couple of other orchestral instruments. I was making my own beats and wanting to perform them live, I figured DJing was the best conduit for me to hop on stage play my stuff.

Who have been some of your biggest influences as a DJ?

Scratch Bastid out of Toronto, Canada. DJ Jazzy Jeff — I know it's kind of a cop out. DJ Craze from Miami and a few other really good freestyle DJs have been big inspirations on my style.

How did you get involved with Tim and Urban Lights?

I've been making beats for about 15 years now. I was very heavily involved with with beat battles around the Twin Cities and I had met the Urban Lights team doing a couple of beat battles in their store. 

My mom was a really heavy promoter of my DJing when I was younger, via Facebook, or just walking me up to Urban Lights all the time, and going over my music exploits and stuff with Tim all the time. When I got of age to be getting in clubs and  studios with people, me and Tim kind of connected on our own. He signed me to Urban World Management and we've been connected ever since then.

I also teach for him at our creative arts program at a couple of schools in the Minneapolis Public School System, and he's been helping me make some music to license out to a few different companies.

A lot of things that I've been inspired by recently. I listen to new music every single day. I'm always trying to find new things, trying to mix new textures. It's a mixture of places that I've been in my life, places that I've been recently. Some techno, house, and different world influences.

Masterful mashups and turntablism from a young legend.


Urban Lights Presents: Mickey Breeze (2/12/25)

Man with glasses and beard smiling in Polaroid photo

Hip-Hop & EDM Turntablism and Mashups from Mickey Breeze | Carbon Sound x Urban Lights

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Sidney Madden

With the biggest captive audience of his career, Lamar's performance conjures a medley of hits that spans his 15-year discography, and featured R&B star SZA as a special guest.


Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Kendrick Lamar brought West Coast hip hop, Uncle Sam and Serena Williams to the Super Bowl

Our first studio guest of 2025 is Girl Blunt, a Minneapolis DJ whose Sunday Synastry residency at Green Room Minneapolis has platformed queer and BIPOC DJs and served as a perfect excuse to leave the house on a frigid Sunday evening. 

We chatted with Girl Blunt about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

I’ve been involved in music my entire life. I was inspired by the feelings and community in those musical spaces, but felt that there was still something missing that maybe I had the key to unlock it.

Music for me captures moments, spaces, and emotions. It's like a measure of time — one of the only real measurements of time we have. It felt like a lot of what I saw people were doing was selfish. They didn’t interact with the crowd enough or they weren’t feeling the emotions that the crowd was feeling. Emotion and connection was missing from what I was experiencing. I’m a really emotional person, so I wanted to be able to connect with people in that way. 

What have been some of your favorite events that you've done so far?

[Sunday] Synastry has been a huge blessing. I wasn't ready for it when it happened, but being able to have a space every single week to perform and share the stage with others has been really inspiring. Otherwise, all the random weird places that I've gotten to play — different people's basements, warehouse spaces, or just random sets in the middle of someone's apartment or screen printing shop.

Acid, electro, and more from the Sunday Synastry founder.


Girl Blunt (2/5/25)

Acid, electro, and more from Girl Blunt | Carbon Sound

 feat. Isabella Lovestory & PinkPantheress

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of Feb. 3, 2025.


New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of February 3, 2025

Every 1st of the month, we’re creating a roundup of our favorite tracks, projects, and music videos that were released by Minnesota artists from that previous month. 

Keep our favorite tracks in one place with “Carbon Sound’s 1st of the Month” Spotify playlist. Expect an updated 1st of the Month Playlist on……every 1st of the Month.  Mark your calendars accordingly.

One of the hardest workers in the scene, you can hear the hunger in Bigg Kiaa's voice on "Judge Judy." The layered vocals allow the song to be smooth and abrasive simultaneously. Just the right balance of both. Confident, self-assured, creative. I like this song a lot, if you can't already tell. - Julian Green

South Minneapolis artist Tufawon has been consistently releasing music for several years. The Dakota/Boricua rapper, singer, and producer has been venturing into the R&B world and returns with “Desert Girl”, a melodic tune dedicated to a love interest from the deserts in the Southwest, where he has a big fan base. - Natalia Toledo

Emanuel Carter is starting 2025 off strong with “Shallow.” From the spacey production that lets his unparalleled vocals shine, to the music video that helps bring his vision to life. I’m always going to be excited when Carter drops, and it’s been that way ever since I heard “Color Blind” in 2021. - John Kueppers

Check out Zora’s interview from March, 2024 

Essjay TheAfrocentricRatchet - 4 Tha Ratchets Deluxe

Breezy2Fresh - FREE GAME (feat. Essjay TheAfrocentricRatchet)

EASTSIDE GOT IT (CHIEFAUX & ‪@KayCyy‬)

G0ldilock - No More Talking (Music Video)

$ay - H3artless 🖤 | From The Cold Performance 🎙️🇪🇹

Libianca featured on new track with DeJ Loaf and Runtown

Author

John Kueppers

Highlighting Carbon Sound’s Favorite Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of January, 2025.


Best minnesota music from January 2025 graphic

Natalia Toledo | MPR

Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month

BELLAdonna

Most Suggested

4 Tha Ratchets Deluxe

Shine Forever

more sweet than bitter

Shallow (Official Music Video)

EASTSIDE GOT IT (CHIEFAUX & @KayCyy)

Fat Twin - DD (Official Music Video)

The K3ko "On The Radar" Freestyle

Up Or Down

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from January 2025

Derrick Stevens from The Current sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and looked back on 20 years of The Current, as well as his place in the Minnesota music community.


The Message - Derrick Stevens

Atmosphere - "Say Shh" (Live at First Avenue for The Current's 10th Anniversary)

Paula Abdul - Opposites Attract (Official Music Video)

Yakety Yak take it back - 35mm - "HD"

MC Skat Kat  - Skat Strut (featuring Paula Abdul) (HQ)

Interview: Derrick Stevens 

In 2006, Atlanta hosted BET's first annual Hip Hop Awards at the famed Fox Theatre, an unofficially official announcement to the rest of the world that Atlanta all but cemented its place as the epicenter of rap. The nominees read like a list of local high school yearbook superlatives with Atlanta-based artists and producers present in each category, and those same artists accounted for more than half of the stage performances — with major label-backed hitmakers Jermaine Durpi, Jeezy, Ludacris, Lil Jon and T.I. all taking space, some of them appearing more than once. But it was the closing performance from an independent rapper and local party starter that appropriately stole the show: DJ Unk doing "Walk It Out."

For the VIP visitors in the crowd, who likely went from the plane to the hotel, maybe to the posh Lenox Mall, and then to the show, Unk's presence at the star-studded ceremony was among the most authentic showcases of the city they would get. Yes, Durpi and Luda performed the city's theme song, "Welcome To Atlanta," that night, and Jeezy brought Magic City poles and dancers on stage. But Unk called back to the city's rich dance and fashion histories and had dozens of people "walk it out" down each aisle, dressed in customized airbrushed and painted t-shirts, literally throwing the energy of Atlanta into everybody's lap.

On Friday, January 24, 2025, Unk, born Anthony Leonard Platt, passed away in his sleep from a heart attack at 43, leaving people who still have memories of that performance and the time it represented heart broken. A proud "Grady Baby" — the endearing term describing anyone born in Atlanta's largest hospital, Grady Memorial — Unk's rise to stardom started as a member of the Southern Style DJs, a collective that worked under the umbrella of respected indie record label Big Oomp Records, founded by street entrepreneur-turned-businessman Korey "Big Oomp" Roberson. Big Oomp released "Walk It Out" in 2006, and the song went Top 10 on the Hot 100 and achieved platinum status. On the strength of "Walk It Out" and the follow-up single "2 Step," Unk became the biggest star the label ever had, standing as the brief but beaming culmination of its efforts. Together they represented a hyperlocal grassroots movement that reflected Atlanta as well as anything else, even in shifting the national zeitgeist.

Inspired by the popular "Poole Palace" dance and produced by Big Oomp's in-house beatsmith DJ Montay, who also produced "2 Step" and Flo Rida's "Low," the synth-driven bounce of "Walk It Out" gave listeners a passport to the hoods and clubs of Atlanta, coming at a time when regionalism was still a thing in hip-hop. The blatantly Southern hip-hop track dropped in year when local scenes across the country were pushing distinctive styles and sounds; fans were still able to get a sniff of West Coast G-Funk with Snoop Dogg's 

, a raw feel for mid-Atlantic street life on Clipse's 

a taste of NYC hardcore through Mobb Deep's 

an earful of jazz-sampling soul from the midwest with Lupe Fiasco's 

 and hit of Bay Area hyphy through E-40's 

 powered by the anthem "Tell Me When To Go" (ironically produced by Atlanta's own Lil Jon). Before the immediate accessibility of the internet played a part in spreading the culture wide, and flattening it in the process, "Walk It Out" was a shining example of how a song, and music video, could introduce you to a city and what the people in it actually sound like.

Unk released "Walk It Out" into a rap scene in the middle of a balancing act. Outkast was all but closing the book on their milestone career, releasing their final project, the movie soundtrack disguised as an album, 

. (Another ode to the staying power of "Walk It Out": the song's 2007 remix is the last time both members of Outkast appeared together on record.) T.I. and (Young) Jeezy were taking the once-underground trap music genre mainstream, while Ludacris, an artist known for his cartoonish approach to rap, cut off his braids and went for a more serious tone to release his eventually Grammy-winning album "Release Therapy." While rappers in Atlanta were still making hits, and on the cusp of shifting the hub of the entire culture south, the actual "fun" element of the music was starting to wane. With its hypnotic bass and synths, "Walk It Out" came with repeated instructions that put everyone in a trance. Unk's tunes helped keep the party going while many were deciding they were becoming too cool to dance.

As the songs exploded locally and then nationally, the hits on Unk's debut album, 

, resuscitated Big Oomp Records as a model for self-sustained success. Throughout the 1990s Big Oomp set a blueprint for how independent rap labels could thrive in a city known more for major label-affiliated R&B and rap artists. They broke artists on their roster by featuring them on Southern Style DJ mixtapes that were already widely popular for their meticulously-produced remixes and added bass frequencies. These efforts were further supported by the DJs spinning the records at the many nightclubs they played, instantly connecting them with the streets. Add this to Big Oomp's direct-to-consumer model established behind various brick-and-mortar record stores and flea market vendor booths and you had a company with its own ecosystem.

After enjoying some local and regional success in the late 1990s and early 2000s — with artists like Hitman Sammy Sam, Baby D, Lil C, Loko and Intoxicated — the label all but disappeared as Atlanta's rap scene kicked into overdrive post-9/11. Much of this can be blamed on many of their artists facing legal troubles or dabbling in the streets, halting their outputs and limiting their visits to the studio. But the company stayed relevant through their Oomp Camp Live TV show on UPN affiliate Channel 69 and growing their record stores that carried Hip Hop albums, mixtapes, DVDs and magazines that you couldn't find at your local Kroger or Best Buy. So even though their label side lay dormant for a spell, the infrastructure was in place to meet Unk's dance-inspired song in its moment, helping it take off during the peak of the "snap" era. Almost 20 years later, "Walk It Out" and "2 Step" are still guaranteed party starters, evoking a specific time in Atlanta. Staying prepared for the trendy marathon that is the music industry, Unk helped Big Oomp sprint to the top of the charts by staying in their lane.

Figures like Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, T.I., Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Future, Young Thug and Lil Baby presented themselves as rap incarnations of the city's long lineage of Black mayors, acting as a conduit between the city's music and the corporate interests looking to come in and capitalize. Visible, but not always touchable. But, as a company and crew, the always-independent Big Oomp Records was more akin to the late and beloved Atlanta activist Hosea Williams, who is often credited for creating the phrase "unbought and unbossed." Able to set their own pace and trends, Unk and Big Oomp maintained an eye-to-eye, hand-to-hand connection with the community it came from.

Maurice Garland

The rapper and DJ, who died over the weekend at 43, was the biggest hit for the indie label Big Oomp Records. Its brief but shining moment injected fun back into a scene in transition.


Stories

Interview: Inayah from SoulFlower

DJ Slugo (2/19/25)

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of February 17, 2025

Get the Carbon Sound app

Urban Lights Presents: Mickey Breeze (2/12/25)

Kendrick Lamar brought West Coast hip hop, Uncle Sam and Serena Williams to the Super Bowl

Girl Blunt (2/5/25)

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of February 3, 2025

Connect with Carbon Sound

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from January 2025

Interview: Derrick Stevens

Unk's 'Walk It Out' defined a fun, hyperlocal moment in Atlanta rap history

See more stories →