Future Folk

MC Afrikan Boy

MC Afrikan Boy's 'Wot It Do?' is a call to action

MC Afrikan Boy, Olushola Ajose, returns with his latest track, "Wot it Do?" It’s a danceable, club-ready track that aims to bring people to the dance floor.

MC Afrikan Boy's 'Wot It Do?' is a call to action
Venezuelan musician Algodon Egipcio's is helping Venezuelan immigrants understand the crisis

Algodón Egipcio’s 'La Estrella Irregular' is another way to understand the ongoing crisis in Venezuela

Algodón Egipcio’s 'La Estrella Irregular' is another way to understand the ongoing crisis in Venezuela
Man in orang jumpsuit dancing in front of two people in army fatigues

This is a remix? Childish Gambino's 'This is America' has started a global wave of remix videos

This is a remix? Childish Gambino's 'This is America' has started a global wave of remix videos
Mela Murder holds her daugther Amethyst in the Hurray for the Riff Raff Music video for Palante

In song and video, 'Pa'lante' depicts Puerto Rico's resilience

In song and video, 'Pa'lante' depicts Puerto Rico's resilience
 Traditional Women’s Music from Ghana album cover

A Mother's Day to end all wars

A Mother's Day to end all wars
Egyptian men and Sufi Muslims practice ritualized Zikr (invocation)

Finding forms of devotion in Tuyo's Conselho do Bom Senso

Rituals and spring go hand-in-hand.

Finding forms of devotion in Tuyo's Conselho do Bom Senso
South London musician Cosmo Pyke

Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya capture the sound of travel with soul and surf rock

What does it sound like to travel? In this A-side B-side, we find it in two tracks.

Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya capture the sound of travel with soul and surf rock
Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives makes a new jig with the help of West African fiddling

Exploring Sudan Archives through the Smithsonian Archives.

Sudan Archives makes a new jig with the help of West African fiddling
South Korean girl group GFriend rehearse in Seoul

How Koreans put the 'K' in K-pop

A deep dive into the 'K' in K-pop and traditional Korean music.

How Koreans put the 'K' in K-pop
Artist Lakshmi Ramgopal poses in front of yellow flowers in this 2017 photograph.

Lakshmi Ramgopal is adding Indian classical music influences to her electronic-ambient projects

Lykanthea nestles comfortably in the electronic-ambient genre. But she's begun to add traces of her childhood training in Carnatic music.

Lakshmi Ramgopal is adding Indian classical music influences to her electronic-ambient projects
Late South African jazz great Hugh Masekela,

How South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela inspired band members

Former bass player, Bakithi Kumalo, remembers late legendary South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela.

How South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela inspired band members
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

From Indonesia to Peru, these folk songs weave voice and instruments together

RIYL, or recommended if you like, helps us understand tropes in genres like folk music. It's not perfect in this case, but the slight similarities in Beatriz and Stambul Naturil come out after a deep listen.

From Indonesia to Peru, these folk songs weave voice and instruments together
Congolese Collective KOKOKO! in yellow jumpsuits

KOKOKO! makes experimental afropop with found objects

The Congolese collective KOKOKO! repurposes typewriters, coffee cans, CPUs and more to create afropop-infused experimental music.

KOKOKO! makes experimental afropop with found objects
Björk's latest album Utopia explores flutes, birds, and past loves

A-side B-side: Björk, Lullabies and in-between feelings

Björk’s latest album "Utopia" melds the sounds of a mythical world with familiar sentiments of longing and patience, just like a lullaby.

A-side B-side: Björk, Lullabies and in-between feelings
A woman

Singing in Choctaw, Samantha Crain aims to create new traditions

By singing and writing a song in Choctaw, singer-songwriter Samantha Crain is trying to push the culture past its colonial influence.

Singing in Choctaw, Samantha Crain aims to create new traditions
Native children sing "Ten Little Indians" at Albuquerque Indian School.

The Wabanaki people are taking back their narrative

"Dawnland," an upcoming documentary film, follows the stories of several key individuals involved in the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Wabanaki people are taking back their narrative
A boy in a Pikachu hat plays a Nintendo game console

A Jewish folk song is preserved in a Japanese video game

How 'Mayim, Mayim,' an Old World Jewish song, made its way into Japan is a mystery, but how it stayed is a geopolitical mess from the 20th century.

A Jewish folk song is preserved in a Japanese video game