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R&B/Soul

Alicia Keys Wants You To Know You're Doing Great

Alicia Keys' seventh album, Alicia, is out now. Milan Zrnic/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Milan Zrnic/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Alicia Keys Wants You To Know You're Doing Great

Keys speaks with Audie Cornish about delivering her seventh album, Alicia, during the pandemic, and the strange new resonance of songs written before anyone knew what this year would be like.

Alicia Keys Wants You To Know You're Doing Great

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'Why Am I Treated So Bad' Special On Mountain Stage

Pops Staples, Rhiannon Giddens, Mavis Staples and Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers perform on Mountain Stage. Mountain Stage Archives hide caption

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Mountain Stage Archives

Mountain Stage

'Why Am I Treated So Bad' Special On Mountain Stage

West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Hear a special episode of Mountain Stage featuring Pops Staples, Rhiannon Giddens, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Paula Cole and more singing about the experiences of African Americans.

'Why Am I Treated So Bad' Special On Mountain Stage

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Ronald Bell, Co-Founder, Songwriter And Producer Of Kool & The Gang, Dead At 68

Ronald "Khalis" Bell, performing with Kool & The Gang on March 29, 1974. ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty hide caption

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ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty

Obituaries

Ronald Bell, Co-Founder, Songwriter And Producer Of Kool & The Gang, Dead At 68

Ronald Bell, along with his brother, Robert "Kool" Bell, brought generations of music fans together on the dancefloor with hits like "Celebration," "Get Down On It" and "Jungle Boogie."

At A Time Like This: Twinkie Clark's Gospel Of Everyday Blackness

The Clark Sisters in August, performing an online concert from a church stage in Detroit. Left to right: Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Jacky Clark Chisholm, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Karen Clark Sheard. Stephanie Kamera hide caption

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Stephanie Kamera

Editors' Picks

At A Time Like This: Twinkie Clark's Gospel Of Everyday Blackness

Black life is more than crisis. Black women are more than slogans. Listen close to Detroit gospel greats The Clark Sisters and their singular leader, and you'll hear the lessons this moment demands.

Don Bryant On The Art Of Songwriting

Don Bryant Lawrence Matthews/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Lawrence Matthews/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

Don Bryant On The Art Of Songwriting

XPN

The esteemed Memphis, Tenn., songwriter discusses his 50-plus years in music and performs live.

Don Bryant On World Cafe

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Bettye LaVette Might Be Just What You Need Today

Bettye LaVette Joseph Rosen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joseph Rosen/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

Bettye LaVette Might Be Just What You Need Today

XPN

LaVette just released Blackbirds, an album of reinterpretations of songs popularized by some of her favorite jazz singers.

Betty Lavette On World Cafe

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Devon Gilfillian Thinks The Pandemic Has Exposed The 'Cracks In The Ceiling'

"I think it's OK to have different views as long as you can come together and talk to each other with love," Devon Gilfillian says. "Me and my friend agreed to come together and have that conversation." Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Morning Edition Song Project

Devon Gilfillian Thinks The Pandemic Has Exposed The 'Cracks In The Ceiling'

The soul singer talks about his entry for the Morning Edition Song Project which considers how the pandemic created space for a national dialogue on race after pausing many aspects of regular life.

Devon Gilfillian Thinks The Pandemic Has Exposed The 'Cracks In The Ceiling'

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