Baby Queen, Powfu, Mae Muller, and Dylan Fraser discuss why there’s always a little bit of “theft” in trying to sound like your heroes, why writing a song is multiple moments over extended periods of time, the snowball effect of starting in one place and ending in another, and how putting your phone down will inspire you.

Music Life this week – once again – covers the musical spectrum in one show. Baby Queen is a South African pop singer who got her record deal during the first lockdowns of 2020. Her music covers themes of insecurities and self-esteem, and this this year she made the longlist for BBC’s Sound of 2022 in the UK. Lo-fi Canadian singer, rapper and record producer Powfu’s lyrics talk about the perils of adolescence. His track Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head) dominated TikTok in 2020, and achieved over a billion streams on the big music platforms. English singer-songwriter Mae Muller's soulful blending of pop and R&B is turning heads, and her lyrics are known for being frank and funny. Scottish musician Dylan Fraser's 2020 debut EP received 5 million global streams, and earned him fans including Sam Smith and Sir Elton John. He makes brooding alt-pop inspired by everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Joni Mitchell.

366 w/ John McWhorter and Glenn Loury "Racial Identity, Abolition and Reckonings"