Louder: Black, Female and Paving Their Own Path in Country Music

February 19, 2021

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

Sarah Rodman convened a video meeting of five Black women singers and songwriters working in country music weeks before news broke that the Nashville star Morgan Wallen was caught on video using a racial slur this month. They talked about the challenges (and outright racism) they’ve faced standing at the intersection of two marginalized communities in the genre, but that was only part of the conversation. Mickey Guyton, Miko Marks, Rissi Palmer, Reyna Roberts and Brittney Spencer celebrated their wins, made clear their determination to be true to themselves and emphasized the need to support each other. “These white men at these record labels, they’re not going to do it for us,” Guyton said. “But Black women will do it for each other, and that is literally the only way.”

Also this week: Tiny songs have a tendency to become huge hits on TikTok — so where do big-name artists come into play? Jon Caramanica explains how superstars have been parachuting onto remixes. Ed Morales explored 15 recordings by Johnny Pacheco and the artists on his Fania Records label (known as the Motown of Salsa) after the influential musician died at 85. And our special projects team produced an incredible package on Carnival that includes this link (which you need to open in Instagram) that lets you watch Don Letts break down what makes a great Carnival song (a pick by Mad Professor) in augmented reality.

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Black, Female and Carving Out Their Own Path in Country Music

Five singer-songwriters discuss the challenges of becoming the change they want to see in a famously homogeneous segment of the music industry.

By Sarah Rodman

THE CRITICS & POPCAST

Critic’s Notebook

How Do Pop Stars Come to TikTok? Hat in Hand, Grasping at Buzz

After a song by an unknown gains attention on the app, a trend-hopping remix with a superstar usually isn’t far behind.

By Jon Caramanica

Critic’s Pick

Pink Sweats Harnesses the Power of Niceness

With his debut album, “Pink Planet,” the singer and songwriter from Philadelphia builds a musical refuge.

By Jon Pareles

Remembering Sophie, Architect of Future Pop

Exploring the legacy of a producer and performer who imagined an approach to music without borders.

In ‘Liner Notes for the Revolution,’ a History of American Music With Black Women at Its Center

Daphne A. Brooks proposes an expansive lineage that includes Zora Neale Hurston, Pauline Hopkins, Rhiannon Giddens and Beyoncé.

By Jennifer Szalai

FEATURES

Takashi Seida/Paramount Pictures/Hulu

Billie Holiday’s Story Depends on Who’s Telling It

There are almost as many interpretations of her short life and enormous legacy as there are books and films about her, including the new biopic starring Andra Day.

By Robert Ito

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One Album Released by 44 Labels. Is This the New Global Jukebox?

For a decade, Senyawa has helped redefine how Indonesian music sounded. Now, the duo wants to revolutionize how it gets heard.

By Grayson Haver Currin

Daily Express/Pictorial Parade, Hulton Archive, via Getty Images

How a Trinidadian Communist Invented London’s Biggest Party

The Notting Hill Carnival was canceled last year. But it likely wouldn’t exist at all without the efforts of Claudia Jones.

By Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff

What Is Missed When Carnival Is Canceled: Sun, Joy, Freedom

Loyal enthusiasts on what they missed in a year they needed Carnival the most.

By Geneva Abdul, Pierre-Antoine Louis, Sandra E. Garcia and Sharine Taylor

Carnival in Winter

From J’Ouvert in Brooklyn to Caribana in Toronto and Notting Hill in London, Carnival has come to be a full-tilt joyfest of renewal, resistance and remembering for Caribbean immigrants. Welcome to the party.

The Fun Police: Law Enforcement Comes to Carnival

Events like J’Ouvert in New York and Carnival in London have seen violent incidents. But the way they are policed says a lot about what happens when Black people gather.

By Mychal Denzel Smith

Feathers and Female Power: The Costumes of Carnival

A vibrant, skimpy ensemble worn at a Caribbean Carnival is so much more than a visual delight: “It’s a celebration of women’s glory in themselves.”

Text by Ashley Southall

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How a Scrappy Arts Group Survived the ’90s

Bang on a Can, a contemporary music organization, fought government cuts with an innovative crowdfunding program.

By William Robin

Opera Singers Help Covid-19 Patients Learn to Breathe Again

A six-week program developed by the English National Opera and a London hospital offers customized vocal lessons to aid coronavirus recovery.

By Andrew Dickson

To Express the Sound of a Country’s Soul, He Invented New Instruments

The Guatemalan composer, inventor and writer Joaquín Orellana’s creations are the subject of the Americas Society exhibition “The Spine of Music.”

By Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

Olly Alexander Is Done With Shame

Like the character he plays in “It’s a Sin,” the actor and singer struggled with being gay. Now, he tells the world everything.

By Anna Leszkiewicz

OBITUARIES

Chad Batka for The New York Times

Johnny Pacheco, Who Helped Bring Salsa to the World, Dies at 85

A Dominican-born bandleader and songwriter, he co-founded Fania Records, known as the Motown of Salsa.

By Elias E. Lopez

Chad Batka for The New York Times

Playlist

15 Essentials From Johnny Pacheco and Fania Records, the ‘Motown of Salsa’

He packaged New York attitude and a new spin on Afro-Cuban beats, and changed Latin music forever. The flutist, composer, arranger and bandleader died this week at 85.

By Ed Morales

Prince Markie Dee, Founding Member of Rap Trio Fat Boys, Dies at 52

The group’s lighthearted rhymes and winning comedic approach helped speed hip-hop’s absorption into pop culture.

By Jon Caramanica and Michael Levenson

NEWS

Obscure Musicology Journal Sparks Battles Over Race and Free Speech

A scholar’s address about racism and music theory was met with a vituperative, personal response by a small journal. It faced calls to cease publishing.

By Michael Powell

‘You Are Not Alone’: Spanish Rapper’s Arrest Sparks Free Speech Protests

Pablo Hasél had been sentenced to prison after a conviction on charges he voiced support for insurgents and insulted an ex-king. His case set off a national debate over free speech.

By Raphael Minder and Mike Ives