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Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart, live from the WNYC studios in Soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. Whether you're listening on the radio or live streaming or on demand, I'm really grateful you're here today. On today's show, we'll talk to Ophira Eisenberg about her new one-woman show at Soho Playhouse. We have David Berger, the co-author of The Public Domain song anthology. Our February gilet author Marlon James will be here to preview what we're reading this month, Black Leopard Red Wolf. We'll speak with the director of a new documentary about the late great NBA star Bill Russell. We'll be talking to Sam Pollard. That's the Plan. Let's get this started with some music.

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Let's talk about some artists, the boldface names that took home Grammys, and the Superstars of Tomorrow. First, the Grammys were last night. Beyonce broke a record for most Grammy wins of any artist ever at 32 awards total with winning in best R&B song for Cuff It and the album Renaissance honored as best dance electronic album but they did not get that elusive Album of the Year nod. That went to Harry Styles, with Record of the Year going to Lizzo, and songwriter of the Song of the Year, which is a songwriter's award, went to all-around class act Bonnie Raitt at 73 years old. Viola Davis got the G in EGOT, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, winning a award for her audiobook. Plus there was this epic hip-hop at 50 performance featuring Salt-N-Pepa, Flavor Flav, Method Man, Questlove, Scarface. So many you have to go watch it. It was a great night honoring the past but we start today by looking at the future of music. Recently, Pitchfork Magazine published an article, 25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023. Some of the names on the list include Ayra Starr who the publication called Afro Pops Latest Electric hit Girl. We'll say that again. Afro Pop's latest electric hit girl. Let's take a listen. This is Rush.

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It's one of my favorites lately. Pitchfork's list features a little bit of everything from Indie pop, Latin folk, drill, rock, and roll. Our guest is Pitchfork's features editor Ryan Dombal. He has been writing and editing the magazine since 2005. Ryan, nice to meet you.

Ryan Dombal: Hey, thanks for having me.

Alison: Listeners, we are interested in hearing some of your new music recommendations. Who are you listening to right now? How would you describe the type of music that person makes? Which song is your favorite? What do you like about them as an artist? We are going to turn each other on to our favorite new artist today. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. You can hit us up on social media @AllOfItWNYC. We are looking to hear about who you're listening to today, who's a new artist you're very excited about. We want to hear about that music. 212-433-9692. A lot of these artists, Ryan, are highlighted because they are unique or they have a unique approach to creating their music. Have you been able to figure out if there are any-- I don't like this word a lot, but I actually think it works for this conversation. What some of the trends are? What you're hearing from artists.

Ryan: I think that one big trend that's happening now is this Jersey Club music like this high octane, like super uptempo jersey Club music being woven into rap music. This isn't new, but it's really having a moment at right now. One big song is Lil Uzi Vert's song that is just-- I think that's the most popular song in this style at the moment but one artist that we put on our list is this Newark, New Jersey rapper named Bandmanrill who also does that style and is from Newark, where a lot of these sounds originated. He pays tribute to that sound while also taking it to another level at the moment. We really pride ourselves on the list being like you said, all over the place just because that's where our tastes are like everyone on staff has different tastes. It's everything from there'll be that, to club rap, to drone music, literally, that's what sounds like you're in a church or something to a hardcore band. It's all over the map for sure.

Alison: Have you noticed any departures, sounds, approaches that are just going to be left behind in the 20 teens?

Ryan: That's a good question. One thing I've been thinking about is in the 2010s, a lot of indie artists went pop or like explored that route and I feel like now it's circling back around where people are more embracing the indieness of it all and letting the pop people just do that. I think there's a little bit of a loss of innocence maybe there. For independent music, they were maybe taken by the sparkliness of pop and now I do feel like it's maybe going the other direction more.

Alison: My guest is Ryan Dombal. He's the features editor at Pitchfork. Pitchfork's new piece is 25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023. We're going to dive into the list now, but listeners, we are interested in hearing some of your new music recommendations. Who are you listening to? How would you describe the type of music? Maybe you have a favorite new song right now. We want to hear about it. 212-433-9692. 212-433-WNYC. You can also send it to us via social media @AllOfItWNYC. By the way, no judgment zone. People like what they like. The heart wants what the heart wants when it comes to music, so don't be afraid to shout out something you like that's new. Let's talk about some people on the list. Ryan, Silvana Estrada. She actually was on All Of It last year for a listening party for her Breakthrough album Marchita. Why did she make the list? What's exciting about Silvana?

Ryan: Well, I think that she's just making this singer-songwriter music, that it's one of those things you-- it's almost just undeniable. When you hear her playing guitar and singing to you, in your ear, you can't help but be filled with emotion. It's one of those things, just the voice and the way her voice interacts with the guitar. Some of her songs are very simple and those are kind of the only elements. It's just a gut. It's just a gut feeling with her.

Alison: I'll play a clip of our interview with Silvana Estrada. She was explaining what music meant to her and what it means to her. Let's listen.

Silvana Estrada: This idea of music as something that you need only because it's beautiful and brings you joy. I think I learned that pretty young and I guess that's why I have this kind of relationship with music where I allowed myself to just create and to try new things all the time and to be really honest.

Alison: I love that idea of just being fearless and just trying new things.

Ryan: She's just starting out, but she's already covered a bit of ground. I think one of her albums was a lot more orchestrated sound and then one of them was a lot very stripped down. It's just really exciting to see what she'll do next.

Alison: Let's go to Dean, who is calling from a city famous for music Asbury Park, New Jersey. Hi Dean. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Dean: Hi. Thank you so much for taking my call.

Alison: Who are you listening to?

Dean: I am listening to a band called The Late Waves. I characterize them as happy punk rock maybe that early 2000s sound and like the pop-punk world. The lead singer has a way with his lyrics that he talked about mental health and going through things in his life and it normalizes that whole conversation but in a positive way.

Alison: That seems like you like both the music and the lyrical sensibility.

Dean: That's right.

Alison: Dean, thank you for calling in. Someone from Instagram is saying, "The music I'm listening to right now is an up-and-coming post-punk band out of Williamsburg called Catcher." Thank you for writing in. Since we're talking about Williamsburg, are there a lot of New York artists on this Pitchfork list? Is there something that is happening specifically right now in the New York City music scene that is making it a fertile place for young artists?

Ryan: Hopefully, there's something always happening in New York. As a New Yorker, I like to think that people haven't been totally priced out, artists haven't been totally priced out of being creative in the city. I think that there's a really thriving alternative rap and R&B scene happening in the city right now. One of my favorite personal artists on the list is this artist Liv.e. It's spelled L-I-V.E, but pronounced Liv.e. Her real name's Olivia. I think she was born in Dallas, but I believe she is in New York at the moment.

She's a, I guess alternative R&B artist. Her new album called Girl in the Half Pearl is out this week and it's just really a phenomenal combination of electronic music. It's psychedelic. There are these R&B moments, hip hop. There's some J Dilla influence on a lot of the production, and she just has this great perspective. There's one song called Wild Animals. It's a single from the album and it's all about how she is high standards and she's not afraid to say that. One of the lyrics is she's talking about these other guys who might not meet her standards. She says most of these dogs don't deserve a meal, which is just a great lyric and probably true.

Alison: Let's, how about Yaya Bey, is out of Brooklyn, R&B Singer-songwriter. What's something that she offers that's different if we think about R&B at the time, in the time?

Ryan: Well, her album, her recent album Remember Your North Star is just very diaristic. It deals with past traumas, relationships, and family. Really coming at it from, I guess maybe a perspective that maybe a lot of people would more associate with like singer-songwriter stuff but really giving this bespoke R&B feel. Similarly, she's hearkening back to a lot of R&B of the past, there's a big hip-hop influence on that album as well, but it's so personal. I remember there's one song about her relationship with her mother. She hasn't really had a great relationship with her for a long time. It just hits you everyone has those kinds of relationships where you fall out. Someone you're really close to. She's just really putting it out there and you can't help but be amazed by it.

Alison: We were just talking about. Yaya Bey. We're going to move on to Grace Ives, a New York-based singer-songwriter. Let's listen to a song called Lullaby. It's from her latest album, Janky Star.

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Alison: That's Grace's Ives, Lullaby. What are some of the themes that Grace likes to tackle?

Ryan: She handles love and relationships in a funny way. She wears it pretty lightly. She also talks about some music industry nonsense that young artists may have to go through. Also similarly, handles it lightly. It's not like she-- It doesn't ever feel like she's complaining. It's more like this is a ridiculous thing. That's her perspective. There's another song from her that I really like called Shelly, which is named in honor of the Twin Peaks character, the waitress in Twin Peaks. It's a great song about a crush that reminds her of Shelly from Twin Peaks. Great reference and nice little twists to her lyrics. Musically it reminds me of Haim or even Jessie's Girl like Rick Springfield that bubblegum '80s pop.

Alison: It sounds like she's clever describing.

Ryan: For sure.

Alison: Let's talk to Dimitri, calling in from Harlem. Hi, Dimitri. Thanks for calling All Of It. Who are you listening to?

Dimitri: Hi, thanks for taking my call. Love the show. Love the topic. I'm listening to Kamauu, K-A-M-A-U-U. He's a singer and rapper. Really, really great. It's hard to talk about music sometimes. There's some influences of Outcast, I think like early Outcasts especially the weirdness of Andre 3000.

Alison: Got you.

Dimitri: -that kind of vibe.

Alison: Got you. Oh, wow.

Dimitri: I'm curious also if your guest has heard of this artist and if he can comment on.

Alison: Are you familiar with Kamauu?

Ryan: No, but I'll look it up right after this.

Alison: I'm checking out. Kamauu looks cool. I think I'm into this. Thank you for the recommendation. This is why callers call in, it's great. Let's talk to Jermaine from Brooklyn. Hi, Jermaine. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Jermaine: Hi, this is Jermaine. I'm calling from Flatbush, Brooklyn. I want a big-up arm shot, the artist. I'm listening to him right now. This type of music is called drill beezs like R&B, but it's drill and it's very nice. I'm listening to that right now and he's very consistent. I like that he's doing this thing. This project is called Chi-Town. You guys should check it out when you get a chance. He's only 22.

Alison: Just as you were talking, I just followed him on Instagram. That's interesting. Thank you so much, Jermaine, for calling in. We got Reid on Instagram, said, "Something I've been listening to lately and not necessarily new, but always working and producing things is Sonny & The Sunsets, a little bit of West Coast, Jonathan Richman vibe, the humorous and the tragic, all rolled into a beautiful continuous sunrise and sunset."

That was poetic. My guest is Ryan Dombal from Pitchfork, he's features editor. We are talking about pitchfork's list of 25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023. If you want to call in and tune us on into somebody you are listening to, we just got two great recommendations from callers we want to hear 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC, or hit us up on social media @AllOfItWNYC, that's both Twitter and Instagram.

All right. We've arrived at Ice Spice. Last week, the Cut called Ice Spice, New York's princess of rap, Ice Spice. I think she had a big piece in the New York Times recently. When did Ice Spice really start to break through?

Ryan: It was last summer. I can remember it like it was yesterday.

[laughter]

Ryan: It was last summer her song called Munch just all of a sudden became everywhere and for a good reason, it's a very good song. It's a New York drill like a caller was talking about. It's more of the rap end, but she does dabble in some R&B. Her voice is sing-songy. I remember reading that Erykah Badu. I think Lauren Hill or some of her formative artists. When you think of a New York rapper, I think she's the definition of a New York rapper.

It's 2023 just like has that swagger doesn't, just no nonsense. Will tell you what she thinks, isn't going to mince words, and that's what we want. That's what we want from our New York rappers.

Alison: Let's listen to Ice Spice, Bikini Bottom.

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Alison: You heard the ginger hair. People don't know Ice Spice has this head foot of red Orphan Annie curls. [laughs] She's a light-skinned black woman. She's 23s from the Bronx, but that red ginger curls, you can't miss her. Let's talk to Linda, calling in from the Upper West Side. Hi Linda.

Linda: Hey Alison. I'm calling to shout out to Samara Joy who won the Grammy last night for the Best New Artist. Pretty amazingly given how different her music is from everything that you've been talking about on this segment. She's a straight-ahead jazz singer, she's I think about 23 years old but her voice is so much more mature than that, and she has two albums out and I just looked her up this morning because I saw her win the Grammy and I hadn't heard of her and I think she's terrific.

Alison: Yes she's gorgeous and has a gorgeous voice. Thanks for shouting out Samara Joy. Ryan let's switch gears a little bit. How about some dance punk from New Orleans, Special Interest?

Ryan: Yes, Special Interest. Here is a political like you said dance-punk group that is incorporating the history of house music into this kind of ragged guitar sound. You can dance to it, you can probably mosh to it if you wanted to. You can definitely bang your headlight to this music. I guess bodily it just gets your body several almost your-- it's a full body, full body workout for a band but yes, very exciting and just kind of another one. It's like once you hear their 10 seconds of a song it's like all right they mean it.

They mean it, they're talking about community in America, how that can sometimes feel like an abstract concept but they're trying to make it concrete in their music and I think if you go to their show I think you'll leave even more concrete, can't deny that.

Alison: Let's hear Special Interest.

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Alison: Is a full body workout I get it, totally get it. Let's talk to Memish calling in from Long Island. Hi, Memish.

Memish: Hi. How are you?

Alison: Doing great.

Memish: Long-time listener, first-time caller.

Alison: Glad to hear from you.

Memish: I wanted to shout out the band, Oxymoron. They're sort of an alternative hip-hop group from Queens. I'm a big ' 90s hip-hop head and listening to something a little bit different. I learned about them just a month or two ago and their music is great so wanted to shout them out.

Alison: Oxymoron from Queens. Thank you for calling in. Let's go to Jenny from Norwalk Connecticut. Hey, Jenny thanks for calling in. Who are you listening to?

Jenny: Hey Alison, I just happened to see the band a jam band called Neighbor opening for another jam band a couple of weeks ago, and the lead singer used to be in a cover band called Pink Talking Fish which covered Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Fish and he is just amazing. His name is Richard James and the energy that they brought to the jam band scene is really just terrific at just a wide variety, much wider variety kind of than normal. I love Goose too but Neighbor was just fresh and new to me and I want to get their name out there.

Alison: Jenny, thanks for calling in. Nora is calling us from Brooklyn. Hey, Nora.

Nora: Hi, there. How are you?

Alison: I'm doing great. Who are you listening to these days?

Nora: I have been listening to a group from New York called Black Rose Burning, and they are a post-punk and rock band. Their style is like it's really new and refreshing but it also has like old influences like the Cure, the Church, Tears for Fears, Sisters of Mercy, [unintelligible 00:24:49]. I started listening to them during the pandemic. I found them online just exploring band camp and I've seen them around town. They play at the Mercury Lounge quite often and they're going to be on the road soon, and I'm just excited to see them live again.

Alison: Black Rose Burning, thank you, Nora. Let's talk to Tara calling in from Pennington New Jersey. Hi, Tara.

Tara: Hi Alison. Long time listener, first-time caller. Thank you so much, every day listening to your shows. I just called to put three names out and three rappers from Iran that currently are in jail since the Woman, Life, Freedom Revolution Movement started in Iran. Toomaj Salehi, Saman Yasin and [unintelligible 00:25:39], both are three artists, not just three [unintelligible 00:25:43] artists. Any artist, any musician that are in not just Iranian any part of this world that they are in jail and they are controlled by government, but their government that they cannot be free to express themself and be the voice of their people. just wanted to shout them their name out. Thank you

Alison: Tara, thank you for calling in. We've got, "Hey, Alison, a great new recommendation is Plastic Palms, a garage slacker punk band from Turin Italy were American Italian, and British cheers. Author and Punisher, a mechanical engineer and creates wearable machinery to change the sounds of his voice. Also wields metal machines to create intense metal Industrial Doom Music album to listen to is Crueler." Like that one. Before we let you go we're going to go out on the original first band you mentioned, but I did want to get what is your top line on the Grammys. What's your headline, Ryan?

Ryan: The Grammys are over.

[laughter]

Alison: Last night officially.

Ryan: No, it was like a mixed bag. I love the hip hop history, the medley that was definitely my highlight just seeing my entire youth flash before you sort of thing. That was definitely my highlight. It was great to see Beyoncé break the record although I would've liked it more if she would've gotten one of the bigger awards of the night. I was disappointed. I wasn't really rooting for Harry Styles, seems like a lovely guy but I didn't think his album was the strongest, he won Album of the Year. As always a mixed bag.

Alison: Mixed bag, always is. Ryan Dombal has been my guest, you've been my guest as well. Thanks, everybody for all of the fantastic music recommendations. You should check out the list, 25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023. We're going to go out on an artist that Ryan mentioned at the top of the segment. This is Liv.e.

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