The connection between music and spirituality gets frequent lip-service but it is a rare and special thing to find music that can function as a pathway towards the spirit. It is even rarer to have the privilege of recognizing a musician devoting themselves to music as a spiritual practice in real time. That’s been my experience with Dakim, the unassuming prodigal son of Detroit’s deep and fertile cultural legacy. A quiet warrior, Dakim’s art aims for the soul—he’s using the magic of sound to bring the discerning listener that much closer to the source. Dakim's regos_mined will be available digitally on Thurs., Oct. 10. This interview by sweeney kovar. ►

Earl Sweatshirt’s Some Rap Songs is a jarring and deeply personal album that reminds us he’s a writer with few peers. The experience is bewildering, vulnerable and wry in both form and function. With truncated phrasing that captures full ideas and non-sequiturs in equal measure amid bold production, Some Rap Songs demands the listener be fully present for the ride. ►

If you are an L.A.-area musician who would like to submit music of any genre for review, email a stream or download link to fortherecord@larecord.com. ANDERSON .PAAK Oxnard Aftermath/12 Tone I feel like I’m supposed to like Oxnard more than I actually do and I… ►

Patrisse Khan-Cullors knows that politics and culture are inextricably linked, that each has a unique function in the struggle towards the liberation of oppressed peoples. Through her lifelong work as an artist, activist and advocate—most visible for her foundational role in establishing the Black Lives Matter global network—Khan-Cullors has helped literally helped us see the humanity in ourselves. Black Lives Matter's five-year anniversary is Fri., July 13, and Patrisse Khan-Cullors' When They Call You A Terrorist is available from St. Martin's Press. This interview by sweeney kovar. ►

To be perfectly frank, I don’t know what box to put Sorry To Bother You in. I just know that the film, written and directed by Boots Riley of the Coup, is humane without being saccharine. It’s incisive without being preachy. It’s lighthearted without being shallow. It’s powerful without taking itself too seriously. I am not sure how to introduce Sorry To Bother You because it feels like something new. This interview by sweeney kovar. Sorry To Bother You begins limited release on Fri., July 6. ►