Top Stories
Stories in Beat that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Have you heard of Medidance?
2020 was the year. That year. A year that sounded as preposterous as it turned out to be. We were afraid to leave our houses, afraid to go to the supermarket, to see dear friends. And we were right to be, things were getting worse, and fast. We needed to protect ourselves, be safe. Stay home.
Music To (Not) Write To
Music is something I feel deep within my body. It isn't that I have some irresistible urge to break out into 'Free Bird' at the crack of dawn every morning or make a habit out of strumming 'Wonder Wall' on an acoustic guitar that materializes in my hands anytime college kids start drinking. I get absorbed by music, though. If I'm cleaning or cooking this isn't a problem. It's easy to throw shapes in an empty apartment while sweeping, even if that does mean I'll end up kicking at least one pile into oblivion in the process.
John DodgePublished 4 months ago in Beat
To the Beat: March 2021
If everyone is a product of this society, who will say the things that need to be said, and do the things that need to be done, without compromise? -Lauryn Hill
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 4 months ago in Beat
BTS achieved these 7 massively impressive milestones in 2020
It's a bit wild to think it has been a full calendar year since countries went into strict lockdowns and our respective "new normal" of social distancing began.
Ghezal AmiriPublished 4 months ago in Beat
4 Rockstar Classical Composers
Classical music is dull as dishwater, isn’t it? The stuffy, well educated middle-aged, reverentially filling concert halls, following etiquette as mysterious as it is non inclusive. If you infiltrate this world, you will hear talk of modal fifths, the importance of madrigals, and secret whispers that the flautist was a beat early at the beginning of the recitative. The truth is that, even for those who enjoy Classical music, there is layer upon layer of snobbery and study that can often make the world seem entirely inaccessible.
Dominic McGowanPublished 4 months ago in Beat
DRAKE’S SURPRISE RELEASE ‘SCARY HOURS 2’
If one thing has become evident over the past decade, it is that Drake can’t lose. Joining his vast catalogue of smash hits is his new release, Scary Hours 2. None of us saw it coming, but yet again he has gifted us with a pleasant surprise.
Millie DiazPublished 4 months ago in Beat
Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues
The Jazz Age Jazz music and dance styles became highly popular across America during the 1920s and 1930s, now known as the Jazz Age. America is the birthplace of jazz, and the Jazz Age was a fantastic period that gave rise to many famous singers and musicians performing in that genre.
Terry MansfieldPublished 5 months ago in Beat
Wanna see a party trick?
From a very young age, my mother discovered that I had perfect pitch: the ability to recall the names of notes without being given a reference point. It is quite uncommon as only 1 in 10,000 people possess this trait. My family broke the scale with that one as both me and my mother had it. This ability may not seem like much, but it could be useful. Whenever the repairman came over to check out our furnace, my mother would always entertain him by playing different notes on the piano and having me name them for his amusement. Hell, whenever I hear a random noise emitted, whether it’s the hum of the refrigerator or the buzzer on a gameshow, I could definitely shoot up and tell you hey that sounded like a B-flat!
Grace LinnPublished 5 months ago in Beat
Music Genealogy
Spectrum City is a music genealogy project that attempts to trace the ancestral influences of modern popular music. Music follows the same Darwinian principles as life. Natural selection ensures successful mutations are replicated and thrive, whereas sonically flawed mutations become extinct after a few generations.
Ricky ChopraPublished 5 months ago in Beat
To the Beat: February 2021
Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well. - Aretha Franklin
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 5 months ago in BeatI Was Raised by Barbie and The Acid Queen
Music has always been a vessel for the African American experience. In the beginning, it was traditional biblical gospel to cope and communicate within the Antebellum South. Since, it has transformed into multiple genres, from the blues during the Great Depression, describing the trials of down trodden Americans. To rock and roll alongside the flower children of the sixties.
First Place in Black Women in Music Challenge
Heather Lowery is Normalizing Female Leadership
Heather Lowery was at a major music event, waiting to meet with a music manager, when a male passerby mistook her for a groupie. At the time, she was Vice President of Talent and Touring for Live Nation Entertainment.
