It was great to have Lupe Fiasco on campus today to talk about “The Current State of Rap Theory.” Lupe Fiasco (Wasalu Jaco) is a Distinguished Visiting Artist at Peabody and part of our new hip-hop degree—the first of its kind anywhere. Here’s one of my personal favorites from Lupe’s music, “Around My Way.” The message (“Freedom Ain’t Free”) is more important than ever.
In Search of Planet X (excerpt)
It was a pleasant surprise to come across this excerpt of a performance of my trio, In Search of Planet X, which took place at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. Part of Penn’s “Whale of the Voice” series (a play on George Crumb’s iconic work), this series featured music of composition faculty—past and present—and alumni. This splendid interpretation features my dear friends Bill Kalinkos (clarinet), Yuki Numata (violin), and Matt Bengtson (piano). A performance of the complete work, also featuring Bill and Yuki, along with pianist Michael Djupstrom, can be found on YouTube.