The rapper, previously best known for his work with his brother in the acclaimed duo Clipse, hits the stage to perform songs from his just-released solo debut, My Name Is My Name. Visit Microphone Check to see the video for “Nosetalgia”, featuring Kendrick Lamar.
 
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Omar Souleyman on Facebook | Omar Souleyman on Soundcloud | @OSouleyman on Instagram | @OSouleyman on Twitter | Omar Souleyman on Bandcamp

Hailing from Syria, Omar Souleyman has become a worldwide sensation in modern world and electronic music circles.

Souleyman, who has collaborated with Björk and Four Tet, began his career as a prolific wedding singer, releasing nearly 500 live albums before civil war broke out in his native Syria in 2011. He then moved to Turkey and in 2013 released Wenu Wenu which NPR called, “…a jam so visceral, thrilling and intense as to make the mysterious matter of earthly borders seem hardly worth the time to contemplate.” Souleyman’s new album, To Syria, With Love, is set for release June 2 via Mad Decent. The follow up to 2015’s Bahdeni Nami marks Souleyman’s third full-length studio record.

To Syria, With Love is a departure musically and lyrically from his previous material, with focus on more elaborate keyboard and techno elements. Completely setting politics aside, Souleyman consciously shares this personal ode to his native country with an emphasis on his emotional connection to the land and people but not without heartache in view of the nation’s current state.

“It’s been six years I’ve been away, and I’m tired of looking for home and asking about my loved ones. My soul is wounded and it’s like having dust in my eyes,” Souleyman sings. “We are in exile, and our nights are long. Our homeland is our only comfort. Life caused us so much pain—our wounds are too many and every wound calls out, ‘We miss Al-Jazira’” (Omar’s native region in northeastern Syria)

Souleyman has bolstered his growing status as a world and electronic music icon establishing an extensive international following after touring widely and performing at major festivals. Since its founding in 2013, Souleyman has been an advocate for the charity “Our Heart Aches for Syria,” which operates in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders. In that same year, he performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Norway.

A day after the release of its sophomore LP Static, the alt-pop duo celebrates on its home turf with NPR Music. Fans can get ready to sing along and coordinate dance moves by streaming the First Listen now.
 
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Photo credit: Olivia Malone

DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad is a hip-hop icon. As one-third of legendary hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, his influence and impact on the musical landscape is still felt today. The soft-spoken and contemplative Brooklyn native began a life of music at an early age, spending years DJing parties in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood before co-founding Tribe in 1985. The group’s socially conscious lyrics and unique production style heavy on ‘60s and ’70s jazz, funk, and rock samples sound as innovative today as they did two decades ago.
 
Muhammad carried that classic sound into the production unit The Ummah with Jay Dilla and Q-Tip, and continued working with artists including Faith Evans, Mos Def, D’Angelo. In 1999, he co-founded the Grammy nominated all-star trio Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue, and Raphael Saadiq, of Tony! Toni! Toné! The group’s organic and sexy fusion of funk, rock, R&B, and hip-hop revealed Muhammad’s growing musical maturity.
 
After Lucy Pearl, Muhammad focused his attention on his production company and developing new talent. In 2004, he released the very personal and adventurous solo debut LP Shaheedulah and Stereotypes, featuring some of his new proteges. Steadily working on material for a follow-up solo album, Muhammad set up a studio with Martin “Doc” McKinney of Esthero and Weeknd fame a few years later and continued writing and collaborating with other artists as well.
 
Last year, Muhammad received an invitation from Adrian Younge to work on fellow Golden Era legends Souls of Mischief’s There Is Only Now project. He narrated the album, playing a DJ for fictional local Oakland radio station K-NOW, while providing background music to accompany the narration. The results were impressive enough to ignite a creative burst in the two producers that quickly produced an album’s worth of material in a matter of weeks. Muhammad shares his thoughts on Younge, “He’s such an easy person to work with, he has such vision when it comes to music. We really get each other, and that’s the other fun part of creating and finding a partner you’re on the same wavelength with.”
 
Excited to support the There Is Only Now album, Muhammad got to work on a ten-track remix album that carefully re-imagines the original. Looking for a different mix and sound, Muhammad shares, “I wanted to make it as emotional and moving as the original compositions. So even though it’s a remix, it has the feeling of an original work. But bringing something else to the sound.”
 
As Muhammad and Younge ready their debut collaborative effort, their musical bond only grows stronger. The duo’s studied and immersive brand of hip-hop brings both a sense of musicianship to the genre, and a DJ sensibility to contemporary music making. The sound is a sophisticated blend of Muhammad’s warm jazz-inflected chord progressions and Younge’s heavy psych-drenched soul leanings that brings jazz, hip-hop, and soul into this century. With appearances including Marsha Ambrosius, Bilal, and Cee Lo, the album is slated for release later this year. In the meantime, Muhammad continues to share his musical vision with the world on remixes by the likes of Broken Bells and Maroon 5, and performing as a DJ around the globe.
 
Bio written by Andre Torres
 
Photo credit The Artform Studio