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.”

We’re sharing this to get you excited to listen and to open up the floor for feedback and suggestions. If you want to request a song, 

. 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.

If you want to know what the track sounds like, scroll down to find Spotify playlists for the new, Gold, and Variety adds. Don’t forget to 

This week on The Message on Carbon Sound, Sanni will be covering deep cuts - songs that cut you deep and really evoke a specific feeling. Deep in love, deep in thought, etc. Tune in to hear her every Mon-Thurs from 10a-1p.

Special shoutout to Derrick Stevens for helping make clean edits for some of our Gold adds this week! Never thought a clean edit of "Itty Bitty Piggy" was possible, but here we are.

Kennebec – “Tall Tales” feat. Hemlock Ernst & Sudan Archives

Lava La Rue – “Hi-Fidelity” feat. Biig Piig

Montell Fish - “Fall In Love With You.”

L.T.D. - “Love Ballad” feat. Jeffrey Osbourne

SahBabii - “Marsupial Superstars” feat. T3

Some classic house and jazz for our late-night listeners! 

Ron Trent - “Cool Water” feat. Ivan Conti (Azymuth) & Lars Bartkuhn

“Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco)” feat. Khruangbin

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


Julian Green

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of August 1, 2022.


Designed by Cornel Beard

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of August 1, 2022

Marcus Jade recorded his Tiny Desk Contest entry with a camera nestled among houseplants in his bedroom in New York City — a space that he hasn't always had. When submitting to this year's Contest, Jade told NPR Music he's "been houseless and homeless numerous times" and that recording his entry was "the first time [he's] been stable enough to make a video like that in a long time." His Contest entry, "Legs and Bones," a remarkable soulful blues song, is one of a handful of entries we're featuring this month on 

"[There] was a space and time where sometimes it just felt like I didn't know where I was going to go," Jade tells 

s Scott Simon. "There were people that did look out and offered me a couch or extra room when it was there. But a lot of that time, there was just wandering ... and I really held onto my music to help me always have a place to be. And so that kind of really made the difference."

Jade's music and support system eventually got him off the streets, but he still holds on to all the journals he wrote in during those hard times. "That's [what] I feel makes my story a little bit more valid," he explains. He says he also held onto his guitars and used them as "a vehicle to kind of keep me afloat when I couldn't have a job or didn't have a steady income." 

Jade's old journals include "pieces of poems, pieces of just real time, moments of resolution and moments of absolute uncertainty." He says those journals reflect how consistently he's been writing music over time, and how passionate he's been about wanting to tell his own story. "The more that I just try to write my own story, the more that I really feel free," shares Jade.

Reflecting on his journey now, he would like people to know that "even in the worst of my times, I was still trying to make the most of what was going on." He says, "That sense of resilience, even when I don't know where I'm going, is always something that my parents and my family really instilled in me."

He adds: "I am happy with just the way that things have been going. I really feel like my life has turned in some ways a complete 360, and I really feel like there was a lot of grace that has been given to me and I should be happy about that. ... The music really makes me happy."

 to read, listen and watch more from the 2022 Tiny Desk Contest.

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Scott Simon

Hiba Ahmad

The New York City-based artist Marcus Jade talks about his remarkable Tiny Desk Concert entry, the blues song "Legs and Bones."


Listen to the Story

Legs and Bones ( NPR Tiny Desk Contest Entry)

Marcus Jade's Tiny Desk Contest entry 'Legs and Bones' speaks to his resilience

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Danyel Smith, author of the book 

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women In Pop

All summer long, we've been hearing about how she's fallen in love and quit her job and needs new motivation and is building up her new foundation.

BEYONCE: (Singing) Oh, baby, baby, you won't break my soul. You won't break my soul. You won't break my soul. You won't break my soul.

SUMMERS: And today, we get to hear what Beyonce was talking about in that ubiquitous single. She has just released her new album, "Renaissance." And music journalist Danyel Smith joins us. She is the author of the book "Shine Bright: A Very Personal History Of Black Women In Pop." Thanks for being here, Danyel.

DANYEL SMITH: Thank you for having me, Juana. It's so great to talk to you.

SUMMERS: You, too. All right. So that single, "Break My Soul," and its samples and production - it had us all predicting that this new album would be dominated by dance music sounds, which it is, right?

SMITH: It really is. And it's so actually just very wonderful. I think we're living in a time of so much uncertainty right now. So many things can seem so scary. And I think Beyonce is giving us permission to say, but I can still sort of shake my groove thing; I can still claim my joy.

BEYONCE: (Singing) Everybody, everybody, everybody.

SUMMERS: This dance music from disco to house and all kinds of techno was often pioneered by Black, queer artists.

BIG FREEDIA: (Rapping) Release the love. Forget the rest.

SUMMERS: Beyonce is so clearly shouting out to that history. I mean, it's not even just the beats. If you look at the liner notes, there is Big Freedia. There is T.S. Madison. There is Honey Dijon. It is expansive.

SMITH: It's expansive. And I think she's just really making such a point of acknowledging people's contributions. She's saying to the Black, queer community, I see you. I feel you. I want to dance with you. I want to party with you. But most of all, I want the world to know more about you.

SUMMERS: This seems like something that for her is also quite personal. In the liner notes, she shouts out her godmother, Uncle Jonny, as well as her queer fanbase.

BEYONCE: (Rapping) Uncle Jonny made my dress. That cheap spandex - she looks a mess.

SMITH: One of the reasons that we love her so much is because she does give us this authentic part of herself. People can say, oh, that's just Beyonce being Beyonce. And the thing is that is Beyonce sharing herself with us in a way that we can all relate to. I love to see it. I love to feel it.

SUMMERS: Yeah. You know, this album is also a little physically explicit. It certainly - it's a little uninhibited about bodies. She talks about her bodies, flaunting bodies, sex. It's all in the first person. She's saying, like, I want this.

BEYONCE: (Singing) Nobody can judge me but me.

SUMMERS: From my first listen, one of my favorite songs is the song "Church Girl." Where does all of this come from? Let's talk about it.

SMITH: First of all, "Church Girl" is, like, my second favorite song on the album. I love it so much. The energy is just very like, yes, we all have to dress up and play nice a lot of the time, but hey; come Saturday night, come Thursday night, let's shake it. Let's talk about our bodies. When she talks about, like, the fullness of breasts and thighs and just, hey - just letting loose, yes, it is explicit. But let's be honest. She was explicit in "Drunk In Love." So Beyonce...

BEYONCE: (Singing) She gone shake them thighs and them pretty tig ol' bitties (ph). So get your racks up. Word. Get your math up. I'ma (ph) back it up, back it, back it up.

SUMMERS: All right. So I want to talk about a song I know you and I both love. And it's the last song. It is "Summer Renaissance," and in it, Beyonce samples and interpolating Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." And it is this incredible, electric moment. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUMMER RENAISSANCE")

BEYONCE: (Singing) Oh, it's so good. It's so good. It's so good. It's so good. It's so good.

SUMMERS: I can hear you snapping over there. This moment blew my mind. What did you make of it?

SMITH: I'm seriously going between snapping my fingers and wiping away tears. It is - like, I'm serious when I say that the erasure of Donna Summer's legacy is culturally criminal when you think about how she put an entire genre of music on her back. And we don't talk about Donna Summer enough. We don't listen to her music enough. So to hear Beyonce singing like her, sampling her - and I feel like this is a song on the album, too, where - we all look for that one or two songs on a Beyonce album where you want to say, oh, that's the song that she's really singing on.

SMITH: Like, she's really singing. Like, she's really singing on "Summer Renaissance."

BEYONCE: (Singing) I want your love. I want your spirit. The more I want, the more I need it. The more I want, the more I need it, need it, need it.

SMITH: It's beautiful. You know, you want to wish that Donna Summer was alive to hear it. Man, it's just Beyonce claiming the woman that came before her. Why does it take Beyonce to make us have conversations about Donna Summer, these women who changed pop culture? I try to talk about it as much as I can in "Shine Bright," but I want all of us to be talking about these women all of the time.

SUMMERS: That is Danyel Smith, the author of "Shine Bright: A Very Personal History Of Black Women In Pop" and host of the podcast "Black Girl Songbook." Danyel, thank you so much for being here.

SMITH: Juana, thank you so much for having me.

Juana Summers

Matt Ozug

Patrick Jarenwattananon

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Danyel Smith, author of the book Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women In Pop and host of the podcast Black Girl Songbook, about the new Beyoncé album.


Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Beyoncé's new album 'Renaissance' pays homage to Black queer music history

's long-awaited and highly anticipated seventh studio album, 

, is now available for the world to hear. The 16-song LP marks her first solo album in 6 years, following the pivotal visual album

including NPR Music's Sidney Madden and Ann Powers

 signifies a musical evolution for the global superstar.

, as well as a variety of credits from heavy hitters in the music industry, including several from The-Dream, a collaborator on the megahit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and producer Mike Dean, and features from Drake and Raphael Saadiq. 

, "This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic. A time to be still but also a time I found to be the most creative," an indication that the new release is the first of three parts.

Last month, she surprise dropped a single from the record, "BREAK MY SOUL," an energetic track rooted in dance music influences, featuring Big Freedia and sampling the 1990 diva house hit "Show Me Love" by Robin S.

"Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized far too long," the statement on her website continues. 

In typical Bey fashion, not too many details about the album were disclosed more than a week ahead of its release. She took to social media to update the world on the project, including its official announcement, which came after removing profile pictures across her social media pages. 

Despite a proven ability to give the world exactly what Beyoncé wants when Beyoncé wants to, no more and no less, the new album was leaked online just two days before its release; some fans alleged that they'd seen the CD for sale early in media stores in France and the Netherlands. 

She addressed the leak, and the backlash from patient fans it received on social media, in a post just ahead of the album's actual release, 

: "I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early ... we are going to take our time and enjoy the music." To that end, and the album is initially being released without videos, in contrast to the visual-heavy releases of 

 in 2016 and the self-titled album in 2013.

"My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment," Beyoncé's 

 on her website reads. "A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are."  

Ashley Pointer

More than six years after the lauded visual album Lemonade, Beyoncé returns, evolves and responds to a very different world.


Beyonce performing outdoors in Los Angeles

Mason Poole/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images

Beyoncé - BREAK MY SOUL (Official Lyric Video)

Beyoncé releases seventh album, 'Renaissance'

Fatima Rahman

If this is the kind of havoc killusonline can wreak on a Tuesday night, there’s no telling what their future holds.


Nicholas Nicome

killusonline turn the Entry Inside Out

Ruby Mitchell, formerly known as R.A.D, recently released her first project in almost three years, 

 On the project, she glides over west coast-inspired beats provided by executive producer 

 and producers Bobby Raps and Frankie Bash, croons with fellow Minneapolitan Corbin, and reflects on the past three years. It’s a promising step in a new direction for the veteran Minneapolis rapper. 

Ruby greets me over Zoom, sitting outside with a cloudy sky behind her. She had eaten a turkey sub from Jersey Mike’s earlier in the day. It is truly the superior fast food sandwich experience, we agree. Though she is shy in the interview, she’s excited to share about the new project. 

Ruby has been making music since she was in middle school, back when it was cool to wear ludicrously tight, colorful jeans and skip backward in place — or “jerk” as the kids used to say. Inspired by older brothers and friends who made music, she began to take music seriously in high school when she realized she was the only one of her friends still making music. 

 show her veteran status. She is a frequent collaborator of Minneapolis artists and producers like Corbin, Bobby Raps, and Frankie Bash. These days, she splits her time between Minneapolis and Los Angeles, where she met Al B Smoov, now a mutual friend of hers and Bobby Raps. Al B Smoov has produced tracks for Isaiah Rashad and Smino and was a frequent collaborator of the deceased LA rap legend Drakeo the Ruler. His role as the executive producer of 

 helped to bring the West Coast flavor that is so present in the project. 

, Ruby Mitchell’s latest release was 2019’s 

. It was well-received, with the intro “Damn Self” receiving over 105,000 plays on SoundCloud. The project attracted the attention of a U.K. record label that wanted to redistribute it. Unfortunately, according to Ruby, the redistribution process didn’t work out due to a lack of promotion from the label. This left Ruby in limbo, still in the contract but hesitant to release another project with the label that mishandled her previous release.  

In the three years between releases, Ruby was focused on growth. One of the biggest changes she made was to her own name. “I didn't want to promote myself under that name [R.A.D],” Ruby explains. “It didn't feel like true to the type of music I was trying to make anymore. It felt gimmicky, almost. The name is more shocking than the music, really. So, I was like, I'm just gonna try it the good old-fashioned way and see how it goes.” 

Releasing music under her real name is more personal than ever. The time between projects also gave Ruby time to sit back and reflect on past relationships and feelings. “I had to stop smoking weed for a while, so that brought me into it,” Ruby reflects. “I get a lot of help from my girlfriend – just teaching me how to feel my feelings and all that... Processing relationships with people makes you realize why you did this, why this hurt you, or why this happened.” 

Now that she’s clear of the label drama and has set a strong foundation under her new name with 

, Ruby plans on having a more consistent output. She wants to inspire the same feeling that her favorite song, “Can You Stand the Rain” by New Edition, gives her in others. “I want people to want to listen to it over and over again,” Ruby smiles. “To get that feeling where it just hits you in the center of your chest.” 

Ruby Mitchell, formerly known as R.A.D, recently released her first project in almost three years, ‘Try My Luck.’


Courtesy of Ruby Mitchell

Allow Ruby Mitchell to Reintroduce Herself

For each new track, I write a brief description. These aren’t meant to be in-depth criticism, they’re just off-the-cuff info about the tracks. If you ever want actual in-depth reasoning, just reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

I know I say this every week, but this is another big week for adds on Carbon Sound and maybe the best yet. This week on The Message, Sanni B. will be exploring her Mt. Rushmore of women in hip-hop and R&B - the most influential and impactful women artists in these genres in her opinion. This along with my desire for some feel-good summer anthems led to us adding great new tracks like Flo Milli's "Bed Time" and classics like "One Minute Man" by Missy Elliott. Shoutout to Sanni for always having great track recommendations!

Cardi  B - “Hot Sh*t” feat. Lil Durk & Kanye West

Cardi B is great at making music that makes you feel like the flyest person in the room. “Hot Sh*t” is no exception. Lil Durk recently brought out Kanye West to perform this song at Rolling Loud Miami, even though Kanye cancelled his headlining performance for the night. Weird. Anyways, good song. 

Danger Mouse & Black Thought - “Aquamarine” feat. Michael Kiwanuka

With lines like, “My Words should be studied up in Berkeley and Julliard / All my bars is hard as solid gold bullion / My Name in the Qur’an like the kingdom of Sulieman”. It would be a crime not to put this in the library. I’m not a “real hip-hop" kind of guy, but, man, this is some real hip-hop. This is the latest collaboration between Danger Mouse and The Roots MC Black Thought, who released “No Gold Teeth” earlier this summer. 

Flo Milli exploded onto the scene with her viral 2019 remix of Playboi Carti’s SoundCloud classic “Beef”. Since then, she’s cemented herself as one of the most exciting, talented young rappers out today. “Bed Time” is an aggressive anthem from her latest release “You Still Here, Ho?” Like “Hot Sh*t”, this is real feel yourself music, but with a darker bent to it. Check the whole album out if you have the time. It was tough deciding between “Bed Time”, “PBC”, and “Do It Better” for what to add to rotation. There was no wrong answer, though. 

Glorilla & Hitkidd – F.N.F. (Let’s Go)

Song of the summer. Yeah, I said it. It’s all there. Cool acronym to learn and repeat ad-nauseum? Check. Chantable hook? Let’s GOOOOOOOOOO. 

 that makes you wish you were a part of the friend group on display? Check, check, check. This is a track for listening to while hanging out the window with your ratchet ass friends, as Glorilla would say. 

Kid Kenn - “Want Not A Need” feat. Baby Tate

There’s a strong theme of summer anthems this week. Music for a pregame with your friends before you hit the town. Kid Kenn and Baby Tate rap with vigor over a creative sample of Beethoven’s 5th, giving you the confidence to throw your middle finger up to anyone who doubts your worth. 

Megan Thee Stallion - “Pressurelicious” feat. Future

Added to rotation as soon as I heard Megan say, “Stomping on hoes so hard I’m knocking out Mario tokens”.  

Monica - “Friends” feat. Ty Dolla $ign

This new release from R&B legend Monica is a smooth track that will hopefully balance out the more chaotic adds this week. Ty Dolla $ign and Monica complement each other well, harmonizing beautifully at the end of the track. It’s got a nice, summery feeling to it thanks to the acoustic guitar on the track. 

Rema is a rising Nigerian Afrobeats star who recently released his debut album “Rave & Roses”. Full disclosure, this is one of my favorite songs released this year. If it’s not my favorite song, it definitely has my favorite moment in a song released this year, when the strings come in on the chorus and Rema professes his love to the subject of the song. It’s a beautiful moment that will have you thinking of that special someone. 

Recurrent adds are adds that aren’t new enough to be new and not old enough to be gold. Sanni B’s theme of Mt. Rushmore of women in hip-hop and R&B for The Message on Carbon Sound influenced her picks for tracks to add. I heard “Time Today” by Moneybagg Yo while watching Issa Rae’s great new show “Rap Sh!t”, which you should check out if you haven’t already. 

SZA - “Love Galore” feat. Travis Scott

This week, Sanni B. will be exploring her Mt. Rushmore of women hip-hop and R&B artists – the most influential and impactful women artists in these genres in her opinion. I was also thinking about how good 

 was, then got sad about what MTV is like these days, so I added “Numb / Encore” by Jay-Z and Linkin Park. I would say it’s a guilty pleasure, but what’s there to feel guilty about? 

Aretha Franklin - “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”

Eve - “Ain’t Got No Dough” feat. Missy Elliott

Foxy Brown - “Get Me Home” feat. Blackstreet

Jay-Z & Linkin Park - “Numb / Encore”

Missy Elliott - “One Minute Man” feat. Ludacris

Outkast – “Movin' Cool (The Afterparty)”

Whitney Houston - “Heartbreak Hotel” feat. Faith Evans & Kelly Price

Some classic jungle, house, and jazz for our late-night listeners! 

Buju Banton – “Champion - Miami Mix”

DJ Rashad - “In Da Club Before Eleven O’ Clock”

Roni Size & DJ Die - “All The Crew Big Up (95 Relick)”

Sun Ra & His Arkestra - “Springtime Again”

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of July 25, 2022.


Carbon Sound New Music Adds Week of July 25, 2022

Carbon Sound Gold Adds Week of July 25, 2022

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 25, 2022

Kaj Johnson

A review and photo gallery of the best performers from Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park in  Chicago the weekend of July 15, 2022.


Morgan Winston

Nine Standouts From Pitchfork Music Festival 2022 - Review and Photos

This week, there are great new tracks like Steve Lacy’s “Sunshine”, new local music from Mati and Sahn, and great Gold adds recommended by host Sanni Brown. This week on The Message, she’ll be spinning “Straight up BANGAZ!” - in her own words. She’ll be going through the decades day by day playing her favorites.

I was also thinking about the movie “ATL” and how great its soundtrack was while looking for Gold tracks, so there are a few of those tracks, too.

There’s something about Brooklyn drill that really does it for me these days. “Walk Em” flips a sample of Freda Payne’s “I Get High (On Your Memory)” and pairs it with 26ar’s menacing delivery and classic drill bass. Without spoiling anything, the use of the sample adds a lot of meaning to the track.  

This short and sweet track from DaniLeigh features nothing but DaniLeigh’s sweet vocals gliding over a guitar loop. Simple and effective. 

Good song. In the library. It’s that simple, folks. 

Love when a song sounds like it should be playing during a montage or end credits sequence. “If You Love Me” fits the bill.  

Hailing from Brazil, LYZZA makes music that doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve heard before. “Lucky You” moves and morphs throughout its runtime, starting simple and blossoming into samba-inspired breaks toward the middle of the track. 

With every release, local artist Mati becomes more polished. His intentional releases of singles throughout the summer show that he’s focused on refining his craft. With the 

 looking as good as it does, it’s clear that he’s got a whole team behind him.  

Mykki Blanco – “French Lessons” feat. Kelsey Lu

Lots of sad adds this week! Sorry about that.  

Sitting on the ledge of First Avenue, Sahn’s smooth, confident delivery and the earwormy production draw in anyone who clicks on the link to the “VILLANOUS” video. It’s an impressive debut for this local artist. 

Steve Lacy - “Sunshine” feat. Fousheé

Another sad song! Worth it. Coming from Steve’s latest album “Gemini Rights,” “Sunshine” has a bouncy beat and memorable lyrics. 

 if you haven’t already, unless you’re afraid of heights. If that’s the case, you probably shouldn’t. 

This week on The Message, Sanni B. will explore bangers from the decades, starting with the ‘90s on Monday going through the ‘20s so far. Her recommendations for tracks comprise most of this list of tracks. Her recommendations made me think of the movie “ATL” for some reason, so I sprinkled in some of my favorites from that soundtrack. Check it out below: 

Fun fact: an alternate version of this track was used as the theme song for Nickelodeon’s show 

Big Boi - “Kryptonite” feat. Purple Ribbon All-Stars

Cherish - “Do It To It” feat. Sean Paul

Deborah Cox - “We Can’t Be Friends”

Dem Franchize Boyz - “I Think They Like Me” feat. Jermaine Dupri & Da Brat & Bow Wow

“Sacrifices” feat. 2 Chainz & Young Thug

Note: “Sacrifices” contains what many consider to be Young Thug’s best feature verse ever. I’m inclined to agree, but “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” might be my favorite.

Juvenile - “Back That Thang Up” feat. Mannie Fresh & Lil Wayne

Keith Sweat - “Nobody” feat. Athena Cage

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz - “Get Low” feat. Ying Yang Twins

“Lovers and Friends” feat. Usher & Ludacris

LL Cool J - “Hey Lover” feat. Boyz II Men

Shai - “If I Ever Fall In Love” (Original Acapella Version)

Somethin’ for The People - “My Love Is The Shhh!”

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of July 18, 2022.


New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 18, 2022

Check out Isaiah Stillwell’s photos of Sir Lucius and friends at Artspace Jackson Flats on Saturday, July 16.


Stories

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of August 1, 2022

Marcus Jade's Tiny Desk Contest entry 'Legs and Bones' speaks to his resilience

Beyoncé's new album 'Renaissance' pays homage to Black queer music history

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Beyoncé releases seventh album, 'Renaissance'

killusonline turn the Entry Inside Out

Allow Ruby Mitchell to Reintroduce Herself

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 25, 2022

Connect with Carbon Sound

Nine Standouts From Pitchfork Music Festival 2022 - Review and Photos

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 18, 2022

Photos: Sir Lucius, Zodiak, FruitPunchLoverBoy, Lightning Rager Zarek, and Nassir at Artspace Jackson Flats

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