Farewell to Andre Williams, R&B Singer and Godfather of Rap

Singer, songwriter and arguably the inventor of rap

Zephire “Andre” Williams—singer/songwriter and arguably the inventor of rap—has passed away in Chicago at 82 years old. Nicknamed Mr Rhythm, Williams worked in the music industry in various positions since the 1950s, from procuring and developing new talent to songwriting and producing. He co-wrote “Shake Your Tail Feather,” produced for Parliament-Funkadelic, teamed up with the Dirtbombs—his desire to make and explore music was, by all …

New York Public Library’s Lou Reed Archive

Before NYC rock icon Lou Reed passed away in 2013, he did not give instructions on how to handle the large collection of recordings, photographs, notes and other artifacts from his prolific career. His wife, Laurie Anderson, decided to donate the collection to an institution that would display it for the public—and to “present raw material and let people make up their own minds.” Two …

Mitski: Let’s Get Married (Bleachers Cover)

As part of Terrible Thrills, Vol. 3—a vinyl-only collection of covers from Bleachers’ 2017 album Gone Now—Mitski recorded a version of “Let’s Get Married.” The song is minimal but layered. It’s stripped away all the big and joyful production from the Bleachers version—which is actually how it sounded originally, according to Jack Antonoff. Since the recording will never be available digitally, it’s appeared online as an mp3, …