Cadence and Mattie from NUNNABOVE sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about what it’s like to be in a band with your siblings as well as the rewarding experiences that have come with it, including meeting and opening up for Chaka Khan.


Cadence and Mattie from NUNNABOVE sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about what it’s like to be in a band with your siblings as well as the rewarding experiences that have come with it, including meeting and opening up for Chaka Khan.

The Message - NUNNABOVE

Cadence and Mattie Nun posing for a polaroid photo in the carbon sound studio

John Kueppers | MPR

Cadence, Sanni, and Mattie posing for a photo in the carbon sound studio

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO? | EP 4

NUNNABOVE- Red Noise (tribute to The Wiz)

Interview: NUNNABOVE

Truly Humble Under God is the DJ alias of Minneapolis-based producer and rapper Major Sosa. With a heavy emphasis on exploring regional styles like footwork, New Orleans bounce, and ghetto tech, T.H.U.G. weaves a thread through Black electronic music while adding a deep-fried, meme-pilled filter to it. Many of the tracks he played in are self-produced and unreleased. There’s nothing else that sounds like this mix. 

We chatted with Truly Humble Under God about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

Dance music always fascinated me, but it never was something where I was like, “I'm gonna do this.” A year ago I got the opportunity to start. It's been up ever since.

I like to think of it as a collage of what's around in the world that I see. It's a lot of dance, I'd say, like, a lot of movement.

Yeah. I started off in a group with my homies, Human Error. I started rapping on my own a little later after that, and then kept doing that. That's partially what got me into DJing, wanting to put the rap stuff into that context of a weird rave scene or something that.

Is there a common thread between DJing and producing for you?

For sure. Early on I tried to keep them separate, but I think they come together naturally… It's kind of cool to be able to incorporate what I make into what I DJ and shit like that.

I’ve been trying to play with a lot of originals. A big thing for me is egional sounds, so I've been working a lot with ghetto tech shit from Detroit and a lot footwork recently. But, yeah, a lot of  just cool shit to get vibing. I did some some weird other techno shit that I've made a while ago, but that's about it.

Stay tuned for new mixes on Carbon Sound every Wednesday. If you’re a DJ and want to be considered for the series, email a mix of yours to jgreen@mpr.org.

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

Jungle, Footwork, Techno, and just about everything else from a Minneapolis maverick.


T.H.U.G. (6/4/25)

Person with dreadlocks smiles in Polaroid photo

Ghetto Tech, Jungle, and Footwork mix from Truly Humble Under God | Carbon Sound

Truly Humble Under God (6/4/25)

Every 1st of the month, we’re creating a roundup of our favorite tracks, projects, and music videos that were released by Minnesota artists from that previous month. 

Keep our favorite tracks in one place with “Carbon Sound’s 1st of the Month” Spotify playlist. Expect an updated 1st of the Month Playlist on……every 1st of the Month.  Mark your calendars accordingly.

KayCyy, Brinx Parker - Falling On Purpose

LOKOMOTION (mr. fuego) - Fanaka Nation ft Trio Mio [official music video]

student 1 - safe/hiding (Official Music Video)

sahn - blonde and yuma (live for Carbon Sound)

Room3 Album Release Show - First & Second Set

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Author

John Kueppers

Natalia Toledo

Highlighting Carbon Sound’s Favorite Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of May, 2025.


Carbon Sound's Best Minnesota Music from May 2025 graphic

Concrete Rose

CADAVER

Falling On Purpose

Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month

Finesse

Hip-Pop II

Duality Of Life

FOMF - AkediaTheRapper

Moise - AURORA (Featuring Deva)

sahn - blonde (live for Carbon Sound)

sahn - yuma (live for Carbon Sound)

Room3 Album Release Show - First Set (4/27/25 at Dakota Jazz Club)

Room3 Album Release Show - Second Set (4/27/25 at Dakota Jazz Club)

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from May 2025

We're proud to have UNBOTHERED as our next resident DJ curator. 

Dedicated to celebrating life and music through dance, UNBOTHERED is the brainchild of Yasmeenah, a DJ and event organizer based in Minneapolis. Through careful curation, UNBOTHERED has celebrated the Black roots of electronic music. Living legends such as Kai Alcé, modern mainstays like Ash Lauryn and Akua, and rising stars, local and national, have had some of their first-ever appearances in Minneapolis thanks to UNBOTHERED bringing them to town for unforgettable events.

As a DJ herself, Yasmeenah is a fixture of the Minneapolis scene with a healthy list of superlatives. Her DJ in the Park series last summer brought warehouse ravers (and their dogs and kids) into the sunlight. She has played nationally on lineups legends like Marcellus Pittman and even opened for Fred again.. when he came to town last fall.

 to represent UNBOTHERED for this month’s edition of the residency. D. Untethered is a Minneapolis-based DJ who also runs The People’s Sound, a mobile sound system that is 

integral to Minneapolis’ May Day programming

We chatted with D. Untethered about their background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Listening to internet radio when I was a kid. At the age of 15 and 16, I felt like I was jacking into the mainframe, hearing all different kinds of music. When I got to college, I started following some DJs around that I had classes with called the the Crunchy Bunch. And then I met DJ Nola within a year and a half or so meeting them. I started following her around northern Minnesota, where I was going to school at. Before you know it, I just bought my own turntables and decided to do it.

You also run a sound system. How did that come about?

Following George Floyd being murdered in 2020, I, would walk over to the square to see what was going on. Some of those first protests were people trying to see what was going on and what to do. I noticed right away that there just wasn't really quality sound, there was a lot of folks walking around megaphones and d stuff like JBL speakers, but there wasn't any PAs projecting people's voices so everyone could hear them.

Within a week’s time, there were sound systems spontaneously just popping up. A DJ getting, a pop up tent, sound, and then feeding people oftentimes. I just thought that was really cool. The first time I ran into Yasmeenah was there on Juneteenth, and she was with the Black Visions Collective., I just got profoundly affected by that. It was a combination of seeing that, seeing myself, being able to do it, and then asking the community for help. So, I reached out to some promoters to see if I could borrow some sound, and I was able to get a small QSC sound system initially. Later I was able to do a fundraiser, raised about $7,000, and was able to buy the first real sound system. That was the start of 

You’re here today as a part of UNBOTHERED’S residency. What has been your favorite memory of working with them?

 was when it really all came together. Between Yasmeenah’s connections and relationships that she was able to kind of bring in such wonderful talent for that first event. I felt like that was the first time that we had this all-Black rave in Minneapolis. It was her vision to put that event together.

I feel like we both have a strong kind of connection with the Midwest when it comes to like underground music, and our collaboration comes out of a love for this music, and for the culture. We really want to take care of BIPOC folks in our scene that are oftentimes marginalized.

I put together a sunny house set. When I was putting this together, I was thinking about May Day and how I felt after. Trying to capture a vibe of being out in the sun with your friends.

UNBOTHERED invites frequent collaborator and scene stalwart D Untethered for a sunny house mix.


A sunny house set from a frequent UNBOTHERED collaborator.

UNBOTHERED Presents: D Untethered (5/28/25)

House mix from D. Untethered | Carbon Sound x UNBOTHERED

BYZARRA AKA DIE/ASPORA is a Minneapolis-based DJ and visual artist known for the innovative, boundary-pushing sets. Recently back from a debut set in New Orleans, BYZARRA has also been featured on 

 based in New York City and will be playing at 

We chatted with BYZARRA about their background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

Christian Ybarra. The two aliases I use are “BYZARRA” and “DIE/ASPORA.”

How do you delineate between the two aliases? 

When I think of DIE/ASPORA, I think more alt, heavier, grittier. It was the first alias I started using. I associate it with my more goth stuff or harder tech. When I think of BYZARRA, I think of very euphoric, 90s rave-influenced stuff. Kind of cerebral, I guess.

The fun thing about having more than one alias is there's a point where you can go into gray areas, like no man's land. I’ve been living in that groove as of recently, figuring out the middle ground is. But I would say probably it's a leaning more BYZARRA for this set.

I wasn't trying to DJ at first, believe it or not. It was just something that kind of fell in my lap. I started going out with a good friend of mine, Persephone, when she was hosting more events, and then she started DJing. The promoters wanted to get me on, too, and I was like, “okay, we'll see.” I wasn’t against it, but it was not something I was actively trying to do at the time.

Prior to getting into music, my  background was more in visual art.  That's what I went to school for. It's been a really wild journey, and I'm glad. I have no regrets as to how everything came about.

What have been some of the most gratifying moments for you as a DJ?

At this point with so many years into it, I feel like there's a level of trust that our local dance floors in the Twin Cities have with me. The party goers, the dancers, they know whatever I'm going to give them is going to be something they are not really expecting, but they're ready for the ride. I'm grateful for that, because that trust, a dancer's trust, you don't just get that right away.

I've been in a break-y bag. I played a show down in New Orleans for this underground queer, DIY space. I played a break-y, sassy set down there.What I'm going to be playing today is not necessarily aggressive, but maybe kind of diva-coded.

Everything but the kitchen sink from a Minneapolis innovator.


BYZARRA (5/21/25)

Person wearing bandana stares intently in Polaroid photo

Electro, Techno, and Breaks from BYZARRA | Carbon Sound

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11, 2022 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of May 19, 2025.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of May 19, 2025

Taoheed Bayo stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all of his creative endeavors: from events and short films to magazines and books.


The Message - Taoheed Bayo (Tbuzz)

Sanni Brown and Taoheed Bayo posing for a photo

The transcendental journey of an expansive man, celebrating Yoruba traditions through dance

Interview: Taoheed Bayo (Tbuzz)

Wrapping up Tim Wilson/Urban Lights’ residency on Carbon Sound is Big Reece, a DJ with decades of experience and deep roots in the Twin Cities. Tim Wilson is the owner and proprietor of Urban Lights, one of the few remaining Black-owned record stores in the US. 

Wilson has been a longtime pillar of hip-hop in Minneapolis through his work at the store, artist management, and hosting Faders Up - a weekly session for hip-hop DJs and turntablists.

Tim selected the four DJs that were featured in Urban Lights' residency. 

We chatted with Big Reece about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

I've gone through all the different phases of it. I would say the evolution has been more with the music. Going through all the different genres of music and the different eras of it. I’ve evolved by being able to transition between all the different genres, being around long enough to know how they intertwine.

Love for the music. I was just always a hobby. It took me a long time before I took it serious. I probably was late teens, early 20s, when I started to take it serious. But before that, it was just the love of the music, you know, just a strong love for it. And I knew I was never a rapper. I was never good at that.

How did you get involved with Tim and Urban Lights?

I was one of those guys coming in purchasing records, you know, with the record pool. That was way back in the ‘90s.

Today I'm going to do a little bit of what I would call my personal favorites, or the type of hip hop I like. A lot of what we call “boom-bap.” A lot of that combination of heavy drums, samples, and strong,  punchline-heavy bars.

New and old-school Hip-Hop from the Urban Lights Faders Up resident.


New and old-school Hip-Hop from the Faders Up resident.

Urban Lights Presents: Big Reece (5/14/25)

Hip-Hop Mix from Big Reece | Urban Lights x Carbon Sound

Minneapolis-born and New York City-based artist sahn stopped by our studio to perform two tracks from his latest project "20". 

Video – Ruben Schniederman, Alexander Simpson 

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more

The Minneapolis-born artist performed two tracks from his latest project “20”


sahn performs two tracks at Carbon Sound

Tekk Nikk is a St. Paul-based DJ, producer, and live act with deep roots in the Twin Cities scene. Today, she runs 

, an electronic record label whose Parallel Lounge series has featured local and Midwestern favorites like TML, Sard, and Mutual Identities. She also assists with 

, an open format music series featuring artists with ties to the Midwest underground. As a DJ herself, Tekk Nikk is known for her rare finds that feature intricate, psychedelic grooves.

We chatted with Tekk Nikk about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I started out doing live hardware and it takes a lot of time and effort to write a dance set with that. So, I wanted another way to to perform and to play to a dance floor.

Does using hardware and DJing tie into each other? Or are they completely separate?

They definitely tie into each other. I have used tricks from how I perform a live set to a DJ set and vice-versa.

I have helped run labels for the last eight years and I thought it was time to start my own.

How would you define the sound of the label?

It's pretty eclectic electronic and club music. It's ambient, it's techno, it's kind of any form of electronic music.

Textured and hypnotic dub techno from a St. Paul label owner.


Textured and hypnotic dub techno from a Minneapolis label owner.

Tekk Nikk (5/7/25)

Woman with glasses and baseball cap in Polaroid photo

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