🎧 He’s creating Philly’s new sound | Morning Newsletter
And frustration builds in overcrowded schools
The Morning Newsletter
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It’s a Sunday once again. It’s chilly and cloudy with a high near 41. There’s a chance of rain and some patchy fog.
Parts of the Philadelphia region saw some snow on Saturday, but the record snow-deprivation streak continues for the city. As a rule, expect anything in Philly winters.
Philadelphia has always been a pioneer in music and culture, and now, it’s undergoing a renewed musical charge and influence. Our lead story introduces you to one key producer behind this new wave of musical talent.
— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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🎤 I’m passing the mic to features reporter Earl Hopkins.
Philly has always had a stronghold in music and culture. Whether it was the Philadelphia Sound of the 1970s, the inception of gangsta rap, or the piercing jams of the neo-soul era, local artists were charting new musical styles and creative paths.
Continuing the tradition is a new legion of Philly-bred stars — like Lil Uzi Vert, Tierra Whack, D Sturdy, and others — who are mixing pop-rap, trap, and Jersey Club music.
One of the architects of the new sound is Ben Thomas. The 27-year-old audio engineer and producer recently worked on Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock,” which landed him a Grammy nod for best rap song.
Thomas is partly a curator and partly a connector. He has linked the city’s biggest artists and helped craft their solo or collaborative projects. He tells me he’s happy to play his “small part” in the sound’s evolution, and his hand in the early careers of Philly artists.
I was initially drawn to Thomas’ story because of his musical accolades. The New York native has worked on projects by Justin Bieber, Jazmine Sullivan, Meek Mill, Post Malone, and others, but once we connected, I realized how little the music credits and Grammy nominations mean to him.
While he’s hopeful Uzi’s name will get called on Grammy night, Thomas is equally invested in community development. He spends his time mentoring Philadelphia youth, and hopes his voice will inspire others to reach similar personal and professional highs. I think he will be someone to keep an eye on in the years to come. — Earl Hopkins
Keep reading to learn more about Thomas’ role in crafting a new phase of Philadelphia music.
While some schools across the Philadelphia School District are under-enrolled, many others don’t have enough space to accommodate their growing populations. This is especially the case at schools in the Northeast area of the city.
A unique problem: The Northeast is the only area of the city where district enrollment is growing, according to a district spokesperson. Much of this growth is fueled in part by gentrification and immigration patterns.
For instance, Lincoln High hosts more than 2,000 students in a building designed to hold 1,586. Its library was carved into six classrooms to make room for the extra students.
But that design makes for poor learning conditions. There are no real walls or ceilings separating the spaces, so noises carry, students can’t concentrate, and dividers fall out of their frames.
Notable quote: “Kids hate it; they can’t concentrate,” one teacher said of the library classrooms. The staffer asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “I had a student say, ‘This is so ghetto.’ Sometimes, the kids yell at teachers to shut up in the next room because they’re just trying to concentrate. Physical conditions are just abysmal.”
Keep reading on the teaching and learning challenges at Lincoln and other crowded schools.
What you should know today
A 40-year-old man was charged with involuntary manslaughter after another man was fatally struck by a SEPTA train during a fight Thursday on the 34th Street Station platform.
Family members of eight people killed in a devastating fire in Fairmount in January 2022 have sued the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The suit alleges that the agency violated the victims’ constitutional rights by allowing overcrowding in the unit and neglecting to fix inoperable smoke detectors.
It appears that one of Mayor Jim Kenney’s last official acts was inaction. He quietly killed a 15-cent fee on paper bags and three other Council bills before leaving office.
A 22-year-old man who admitted to taking part in three shootings in one night that left two people dead and five others wounded was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison. The 2021 killings were part of a bitter yearlong gang war that gripped West Philly with fear.
A newly elected member of a Camden County school board resigned this week following mounting calls for her ouster over social media posts she allegedly liked that referred to Gaza as a “death camp” and described Israel as a “terrorist nation.”
Temple Health’s Episcopal Hospital will better train staff on the rights of people with disabilities to use service animals following a federal investigation into a discrimination complaint, prosecutors said this week.
In nearly half of U.S. states, the lowest paid workers got a raise earlier this week. Pennsylvania wasn’t one of them, despite attempts in the legislature last year to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Philly bargoers are still waiting on refunds for a New Year’s Eve crawl that never happened. Owners and managers of four bars listed as stops on the crawl told The Inquirer this week that they never agreed to participate, and the organizer has become unreachable.
❓Pop quiz
Even if you didn’t listen to a single song by 2023′s most-streamed artist on Spotify, you may have still paid for their royalties.
Who was it?
A) Beyoncé
B) Taylor Swift
C) Drake
D) Bad Bunny
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Serene nature in Northwest Philadelphia
COW LAVISH SNEAKILY
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Stacy Stone who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Philly Loves Bowie Week. The hint was “Celebrating Ziggy Stardust from Jan. 5-13.”
Photo of the day
🎶 For today’s Sunday track, we’re listening to: “Are we really over now? Maybe I can change your mind?” Here’s to hoping the Paramore breakup rumors are hopefully just rumors.
👋🏽 It’s time to take my tree down now that Three Kings Day has come and gone. Ashley will bring you the latest news to start your week off right on Monday. Stay warm and take care!