Here's a new one: experimental old-school synth, live drum breaks, spoken word lyrics...and is that a motherf**kin' tabla? This is Berlin's Grand Pianoramax, a duo, with a slice of spoken word artists Black Cracker and Mike Ladd, with some eastern hints from the Karsh Kale we've come to love.

West Africa has become home to some of Hip Hop's most cutting edge musical styles, especially those that blur the line between artist and activist. Some might attribute it to political instability, others might say that its a natural response to abject urban poverty. Most West Africans, especially

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Sola Rosa is more than just a pretty name. Every track on the Auckland group's recent album Get It Together is a tight blend of old and new. Head producer Andrew Spraggon has a keen eye for the pluckier, adaptable parts of jazz, soul, Latin, R&B, hip hop, and spoken word, which he then wraps...

Young dubstep DJ Hiatus has teamed up with legendary dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson for a history lesson you will actually want to listen to. Johnson is known for his spoken word, performed in Jamaican patois over dub reggae. Over the decades he mostly worked with reggae producer Dennis Bovell. But

Sola Rosa is more than just a pretty name. Every track on the Auckland group’s recent album Get It Together is a tight blend of old and new. Head producer Andrew Spraggon has a keen eye for the pluckier, adaptable parts of jazz, soul, Latin, R&B, hip hop, and spoken word, which he then wraps...

  True to their moniker, hip-hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage pays homage to the spoken soul of poetry and its journey through the power and tribulations of long-awaited social liberation. The women behind the group are fueled by much more than creative rhymes and story telling. Their newest

If you though poetry was dead, perhaps you’re not listening to Humble the Poet, the Canadian spoken-word artist who skillfully weaves vivid imagery with

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It's too bad Madison didn't release her EP in time for all the new year's day parties -- it would have made great background music to the fizzy hiccups of champaign bubbles popping. "Effervescent" is probably the single word that describes the EP, The Noise Some People Make, which features the

A world traveler of Senegalese ancestry, vocalist/producer Zakee is currently based in Philadelphia. He just launched his debut album Assimilations from this perch but it sounds like it could have come from anywhere, and, in some ways, it's coming from a lot of places. Assimilations starts out with

With a name like Fother Muckers you might expect a grungey garage rock band. You would expect something aggressive, confrontational. You would expect something other than the totally sublime, jangley indie rock these Chilean's play.

A good and trusted friend passed me this mixtape, September 9th, by Canadian Rapper Ian Kamau. The mixtape is serving as a warmup and introduction for Ian to a wider audience in preparation for the release of his album proper on (yes you guessed it....) September 9th. In all truth, it is almost

The beauty of alternative country group Blitzen Trapper is the way the silky smooth vocals and the seamless lyrics can melt away a long day. Their classic single "Furr" off of an eponymous album (2008) is the perfect example. Lead vocalist Eric Leary and the harmonious voices of his band give the

American indie rock band Grand Archives formed in Seattle and carries on the proud tradition of innovative west coast groups from Nirvana to Modest Mouse. With a penchant for dreamy, free-flowing melodies, Grand Archives conjures up a gentle storm of echoing guitars and smooth vocals on their 2008

Broken Bells is a new, highly anticipated collabo between producer Danger Mouse and The Shins' guitarist James Mercer. Their light, loungey, electro beats with falsetto vocals weren't exactly right for a particularly fratty crowd at Austin City Limits Music Festival (see our review!), but we

If you aren't sold when three cockroaches do the wave, then maybe the mix of Bossa Nova and Samba backed with some turntable scratching and an eclectic combination of all types of voices may be what gets you. Whatever hooks you, the video for N.A.S.A.'s "O Pato” featuring Kool Kojak & Dj Bab...

Featuring the combined talents of Iggy fave Mos Def and R&B crooner Bobby Womack, the track is a down-tempo, electro-backed rap meant to hypnotize. Womack told RS that he turned down the project until his daughter chimed in. “The only thing that convinced me was my daughter said, ‘Dad, you got

LA duo the Broken Bells is a collaboration between notorious Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton and James Mercer, lead singer of the shins. Check out the rolling fogs and sense of emptiness in this atmospheric video! ...

Oregonian troubadour Logan Lynn backs his emotive vocals with glitchy techno, resulting in bare synth pop that’s somewhere between Moby and Pedro the Lion. He’s playing at New York’s CMJ fest on Tuesday October 20th @ midnight at the Bowery Electric.

Watch free trailers, read the latest news and plot synopsis, and see photos of the cast and crew of Spoken Word on MTV.com.

Watch free trailers, read the latest news and plot synopsis, and see photos of the cast and crew of Slam Nation: The Sport of the Spoken Word on MTV.com.

Watch free trailers, read the latest news and plot synopsis, and see photos of the cast and crew of Poetry on Fire, Vol. III: The Power of Spoken Word on MTV.com.