ARtistry @ Somerset
This hybrid showcase of home-grown music is styled like a treasure hunt. To watch augmented reality (AR) performances by acts such as rapper Yung Raja and singers Rriley and Iman Fandi, you have to search for QR codes in the Somerset area.
Look out for them on the floor at Skate Park, Youth Park, Triple One Somerset, Cineleisure and *Scape. After the codes are scanned, the artistes will "come to life" via the Instagram or Facebook apps.
Organised by music company Zendyll, National Youth Council and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the QR codes also unlock AR performances by DJ Intriguant and singer Feez, which will feature sneak previews of their upcoming songs.
There are also QR code giveaways on the artistes' social media accounts.
Where: Skate Park, Youth Park, Triple One Somerset, Cineleisure and *Scape
When: Until the end of 2021
Behind The Music
In the 1990s, American broadcast company MTV produced Behind The Music, a popular music documentary series that aired on the VH1 channel.
You can now listen to a selection of its episodes in the form of podcasts.
The first two episodes feature rappers Ice Cube and Dr Dre, tracing their beginnings as members of the notorious hip-hop group NWA to their eventual rise as major players in the entertainment industry.
New episodes will be released weekly, featuring music stars from different genres ranging from Madonna and Duran Duran to Guns N' Roses and New Kids On The Block.
Where: Various podcast platforms, including this website.
R&B/Soul/Funk
Welcome 2 America
Prince
4 stars
This is the first posthumous album from American music icon Prince, released five years after his death.
The famously prolific singer was known to have amassed a large number of songs and even complete albums that were not released.
Welcome 2 America's 12 tracks were apparently recorded in 2010 for his Welcome 2 tour, which took place from 2010 to 2012 and spanned North America, Europe and Australia.
For reasons unknown, Prince shelved the songs.
Recently, an archivist found this lost album in CD-Rs kept at a Los Angeles storage space.
Like a lot of Prince's catalogue, the tunes are sensationally groovy. Recorded in his legendary Paisley Park studio, they have a distinct, raw vibe.
The socially aware lyrics are eerily prescient, exploring race issues, cultural clashes and the dark side of technology - topics that do not sound out of place in 2021.
