Baltimore music

Wordsmith, aka Anthony Parker, is an award-winning, Baltimore-based hip hop recording artist, performer, educator and global music ambassador. (photo credit: Wordsmith)

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"The Purple Tape": Wordsmith's new play celebrates hip hop's 50th

Tom Hall

The Baltimore-based rap artist and two New Song Academy student actors talk about Wordsmith's original theater piece spotlighting the history of hip hop.

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Mark Cudek and The Peabody Consort

Tom Hall

Mark Cudek and members of The Peabody Consort perform live on Midday.

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Lane Moore's new memoir is also a guide to making & keeping friends

Tom Hall

Writer/podcaster/comedian Lane Moore's latest book — part memoir, part self-help — has tips, dos and don’ts and funny insights on making and keeping friends — and punting the ones who are no longer doing what friends need to do.

Programs

New records revive Baltimore's magical Left Bank Jazz Society

Sheilah Kast

Baltimore's rich jazz history comes alive on three new releases covering performances from legendary musicians Sonny Stitt, Shirley Scott and Walter Bishop Jr. on the hallowed stage of Left Bank Jazz Society.

Programs

Wordsmith: Sharing the power of his music with local students

Tom Hall

The celebrated hip hop and spoken word composer, recording artist and educator discusses his local youth training projects and his non-profit educational venture, Rise With a Purpose.

Tierney Sutton is a jazz vocalist and recording artist who has received a “Best Jazz Vocal Album” Grammy nomination for every project she has released in the past decade. Acclaimed during her 25-year career for her unique voicing and imaginative treatments of The Great American Songbook, Sutton has been heralded as both a standout jazz storyteller and a vocal educator. (photos courtesy Tierney Sutton)

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Jazz singer Tierney Sutton is in town, and she stops by for a chat.

Tom Hall

Ahead of her weekend gigs at Baltimore's Keystone Korner, the acclaimed jazz vocalist joins us to reflect on her 25-year career as a standout song stylist and vocal educator.

Dessa is a Minnesota-born singer, rapper, and writer and a member of a the Minneapolis-based hip-hop collective, DoomTree. A genre-defying performance artist, science advocate and intellectual, her writings have appeared in the New York Times and National geographic Traveler. Her résumé as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and top-200 Billboard hits. (courtesy photo)

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Artist Dessa on music, writing and her unique performance art

Tom Hall

The genre-defying musician, rapper, poet and podcaster discusses what fuels her many passions, and her concert at Baltimore's Ottobar.

People walk in front of row homes covered in holiday decorations along the "Miracle on 34th Street" Hampden Christmas Street Holiday Show, on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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Midday's 2022 Christmas Eve Special: our gift of word and song

Tom Hall

Our annual offering of seasonal music, poetry and narratives to celebrate the holiday spirit.

WYPR Podcast

Rapper and Singer Beth Banger

Jason V.

Baltimore rapper and singer Beth Banger discusses her most recent project, It Girl.

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Dessa, on her music, her writing and her unique performance art

Tom Hall

The genre-defying musician, rapper, poet and podcaster discusses what fuels her many passions, and previews her Thursday night concert at Baltimore's Ottobar.