{"id":441988,"date":"2023-06-01T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T16:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/?p=441988"},"modified":"2023-09-08T17:22:53","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T21:22:53","slug":"brandee-younger-a-hip-hop-baby-transforms-the-harp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/nmbx\/brandee-younger-a-hip-hop-baby-transforms-the-harp\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandee Younger: A Hip-Hop Baby Transforms the Harp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dHpginjC-80?si=Ynq1JBWUOWuYmasm\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brandee Younger has carved out a very unlikely music career for herself. A classically-trained harpist but also a self-confessed &#8220;hip-hop baby&#8221; who loves popular music, Younger deeply immersed herself in jazz as an undergrad at the Hartt School and by the time she entered grad school at NYU was already established in that scene. Then shortly after forming her own quartet over a decade ago, Younger soon became a go-to collaborator not only for jazz artists such as Ravi Coltrane and Marcus Strickland, but also for creative artists across a very wide array of genres, including multiple Grammy winners rapper Common, singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill, and R&#038;B producer Salaam Remi.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted my instrument to fit into my personality; I didn\u2019t want it to be limited,&#8221; Younger explained during our recent conversation. &#8220;I knew I didn\u2019t want an orchestral career, but even as a kid I wanted to play other styles of music &#8230; Over time I finally became comfortable with blending those worlds together, but it took a long time to confidently try and put them together.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>How Younger has transformed the harp, which is typically associated with salons or angels, into such a malleable and yet still distinctive instrument seems without precedent. But she had two very significant role models in Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. Her love for Alice Coltrane, whose cascading harp sonorities matched the intensity of the free jazz improvisers with whom she performed, began in high school when her father gave her a Priceless Jazz compilation of her recordings. She was immediately captivated by &#8220;Blue Nile&#8221; and soon thereafter asked every jazz musician she encountered if they knew her. Brandee never actually met Alice Coltrane but she was invited to play at her memorial at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 2007. Dorothy Ashby, whom Brandee also never met (she was only two years old when Ashby died), has had an even more significant influence on her career trajectory. Ashby also led her own ensembles starting in her 20s and quickly leaped from jazz to a much wider stylistic palette that embraced a spectrum of pop and world music traditions. She even made a guest appearance on Stevie Wonder&#8217;s legendary <em>Songs in the Key of Life<\/em> and, as Brandee pointed out, has been heavily sampled in hip-hop, which is how she first became aware of her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The one huge HUGE thing for me in Dorothy Ashby\u2019s music, you listen to what she was recording, she was doing music of the time,&#8221; said Younger. &#8220;She was playing whatever she wanted. She was not jazz-specific. She was playing traditional Jewish melodies. She was playing the pop tune that came out. She was playing the soundtrack of the most popular movie that came out. And to think back as a kid and what I wanted to do, I wanted to play the pop music that I heard on the radio. I wanted to play these familiar tunes for my friends and family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So it makes sense that Brandee Younger would want to record an album acknowledging Dorothy Ashby. But that album, <em>Brand New Life<\/em>, which was just released in April, is a far-cry from an ossified compendium of covers. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was really important for me to make it 2023,&#8221; Younger explained. &#8220;It wasn\u2019t to be a tribute album, you know, it was to really celebrate her legacy but like moving along. &#8230; It was really important for me to collaborate with folks that shared a special kinship with her. And the first person to pop up was of course Pete Rock who was the first person I know of to sample her.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Brand New Life<\/em> also features a memorable contribution from Meshell Ndegeocello, who is featured on a reggae-infused version of &#8220;Dust,&#8221; an Ashby original which was originally released on her 1970 LP <em>The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby<\/em>. And Mumu Fresh, who is mostly known as a rapper, adds extremely soulful vocals to Younger&#8217;s original &#8220;Brand New Life,&#8221; the title track.<\/p>\n<p>Brandee is currently on tour, her first time traveling to different cities to perform since the pandemic shut down everything three years ago. It&#8217;s been a long wait, but she won&#8217;t only be playing material from <em>Brand New Life<\/em>. She&#8217;ll also be performing her extraordinary original <em>Unrest<\/em>, a turbulent composition created during lockdown. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019ll be doing new music and some of the stuff from the last album,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;I also will throw in an Ashby or Coltrane tune because that\u2019s my thing, what I\u2019ve been doing forever. And the tour is mostly going to be trio&#8211;Rashaan Carter on bass, Alan Menard on drums. So yeah, harp trio baby.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1527204688%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-kySgaQcOIf8&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/new-music-usa\" title=\"New Music USA\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">New Music USA<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/new-music-usa\/soundlives22-brandee-younger-a-hip-hop-baby-transforms-the-harp\/s-kySgaQcOIf8\" title=\"SoundLives22. Brandee Younger: A Hip-Hop Baby Transforms The Harp\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">SoundLives22. Brandee Younger: A Hip-Hop Baby Transforms The Harp<br \/>\nBrandee Younger in Conversation with Frank J. Oteri<br \/>\nMay 18, 2023, 10:00 AM via Zoom<br \/>\nIntroduction by Brigid Pierce<br \/>\nAudio production by Anthony Nieves<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"owl-carousel owl-theme\">\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>If you\u2019re on tour and you\u2019re going from state to state to state, the detuning and retuning and detuning and retuning, it\u2019s not healthy for the instrument either. So I don\u2019t think I would want to ship my harp so frequently. I just shipped it back from Chicago and I\u2019m like, \"Oh, poor baby, are you okay?\"<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>I wanted my instrument to fit into my personality. I didn\u2019t want it to be limited.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>My dad gave me Priceless Jazz: Alice Coltrane. It\u2019s a compilation series. So this particular record, the first track on it was \"Blue Nile,\" and I was like, \"What is this? Oh my gosh, because, whatever this harp is doing, it sounds really cool, it sounds really soulful, what the heck is going on and I wanna do this!\" So that was my introduction to: \"Okay the harp can sound different; it can do something different and it can sound really cool.\"<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>When I record something and I sit on it, I start to think, \"I have to do this, I have to change that\" And I start picking it apart. Some people wait for that moment. They wait for the pick apart so they can make it as perfect as they can. If I do that, I\u2019ll never get anything done.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>The one huge HUGE thing for me in Dorothy Ashby\u2019s music, you listen to what she was recording, she was doing music of the time. She was playing whatever she wanted. She was not jazz-specific. She was playing traditional Jewish melodies. She was playing the pop tune that came out. She was playing the soundtrack of the most popular movie that came out. And to think back as a kid and what I wanted to do, I wanted to play the pop music that I heard on the radio. I wanted to play these familiar tunes for my friends and family.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>You\u2019re a woman in jazz. That\u2019s a strike. You\u2019re black on the harp. That\u2019s a strike. And then you\u2019re putting the harp into jazz. That\u2019s like a trifecta! Things are hard now, but then? Forget about it.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Even though this is her music, this needs to come across through my eyes, with my voice.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>It was really important for me to make it 2023.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>In keeping my mind on Dorothy Ashby and her legacy, and me just being a New Yorker hip-hop baby, just how celebrated she is in hip hop because she\u2019s sampled so heavily--it was really important for me to collaborate with folks that shared a special kinship with her.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>To have these people that share this love for Dorothy Ashby who don\u2019t know me agree to work with me on this, it was really an honor.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>That\u2019s why I appreciate it when there\u2019s like 2 measures of 1 chord; I like lean into it. Because you know, we can do the chromatics, but depending on how fast they are, you can hear the footwork. I call it the tap dancing with so many pedals.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>If you\u2019re a harpist or even just a harp listener, there is one area you don\u2019t wanna hear and that is the lower register with notes close together. ... And that is how I started Unrest. ... It\u2019s uncomfortable to play and it\u2019s uncomfortable to listen to and that was my intention.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t<div class=\"pullquotes-wrapper pullquote-slide item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>That was the one great thing about lockdown, being able to just play and really play and become more familiar with my instrument and to newer harps. When you\u2019re traveling around, you don\u2019t even get to break in your own instrument.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"attribution-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/BrandeeYoungerPullQuotes-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Brandee Younger\" class=\"attribution-headshot\" \/><h5 class=\"attribution-text\">Brandee Younger<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tjQuery(document).ready(function(){\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tjQuery(\".owl-carousel\").owlCarousel({\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\titems:1,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmargin:10,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tautoHeight:true\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/script>\n<p><iframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/playlist\/2GOY0yNoKPn2FptdqxEPR6?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brandee Younger has carved out a very unlikely music career for herself, a classically-trained harpist who went from making her jazz debut over a decade ago to being an in-demand leader and collaborator in a wide range of musical genres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":522,"featured_media":441994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,952],"tags":[45,474,136,1247,349,2775],"nmb_categories":[7,8,955],"how_to_category":[],"nmb_tags":[],"internal_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-441988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcasts-and-discussions","category-soundlives","tag-collaboration","tag-harp","tag-jazz","tag-mentors","tag-multi-genre","tag-poly-stylistic","nmb_categories-interviews","nmb_categories-podcasts-and-discussions","nmb_categories-soundlives"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Brandee Younger: A Hip-Hop Baby Transforms the Harp - New Music USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brandee Younger has carved out a very unlikely music career for herself, a classically-trained harpist who went from making her jazz debut over a decade ago to being an in-demand leader and collaborator in a wide range of musical genres.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/nmbx\/brandee-younger-a-hip-hop-baby-transforms-the-harp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brandee Younger: A Hip-Hop Baby Transforms the Harp - New Music USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brandee Younger has carved out a very unlikely music career for herself, a classically-trained harpist who went from making her jazz debut over a decade ago to being an in-demand leader and collaborator in a wide range of musical genres.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/nmbx\/brandee-younger-a-hip-hop-baby-transforms-the-harp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New Music USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewMusicUSA\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-01T16:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-08T21:22:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Gray-text-1024x576.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Frank J. 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