Multimodal models are critical for music understanding tasks, as they capture the complex interplay between audio and lyrics. However, as these models become more prevalent, the need for explainability grows-understanding how these systems make decisions is vital for ensuring fairness, reducing bias, and fostering trust. In this paper, we introduce MusicLIME, a model-agnostic feature importance explanation method designed for multimodal music models. Unlike traditional unimodal methods, which analyze each modality separately without considering the interaction between them, often leading to incomplete or misleading explanations, MusicLIME reveals how audio and lyrical features interact and contribute to predictions, providing a holistic view of the model's decision-making. Additionally, we enhance local explanations by aggregating them into global explanations, giving users a broader perspective of model behavior. Through this work, we contribute to improving the interpretability of multimodal music models, empowering users to make informed choices, and fostering more equitable, fair, and transparent music understanding systems.

We present a system for real-time lyrical improvisation between a human and a robot in the style of hip hop. Our system takes vocal input from a human rapper, analyzes the semantic meaning, and generates a response that is rapped back by a robot over a musical groove. Previous work with real-time interactive music systems has largely focused on instrumental output, and vocal interactions with robots have been explored, but not in a musical context. Our generative system includes custom methods for censorship, voice, rhythm, rhyming and a novel deep learning pipeline based on phoneme embeddings. The rap performances are accompanied by synchronized robotic gestures and mouth movements. Key technical challenges that were overcome in the system are developing rhymes, performing with low-latency and dataset censorship. We evaluated several aspects of the system through a survey of videos and sample text output. Analysis of comments showed that the overall perception of the system was positive. The model trained on our hip hop dataset was rated significantly higher than our metal dataset in coherence, rhyme quality, and enjoyment. Participants preferred outputs generated by a given input phrase over outputs generated from unknown keywords, indicating that the system successfully relates its output to its input.

Introducing one of the most advanced music AI engines ever created. CREATE BEATS Every MixPack features 4 tracks, 12 loops, and 100 combinations. ADD VIDEOS Shoot live or add clips from your library. The KR38R camera lets you combine up to 3 clips - perfect for rappers to multi-track vocals or dancers to shoot routines from multiple angles. COMING 2020 Coming soon to the KR38R app are features and functionality guaranteed to change the game, including: AI-powered tools for producers, video and audio filters, audio-reactive video fx, and more.

Hip Hop's intersection with the digital video content realm is about to become even more expansive via a hot, new addition in the form of a notable who actually comes originally from the audio side of the culture. Che Pope, Chief Operating Officer at Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music record label and highly-respected music producer and composer is now adding digital narrative series development and production to his impressive list of achievements. Recent reports noted that Pope signed a multi-project content partnership with All Def Digital, a multi-platform media company owned by hip-hop industry impresario Russell Simmons'. Yet not many in the tech space understand the true reach of Pope's influence and his potential to completely disrupt the digital content game from a highly creative vantage point. In a departure from the staid hoodie, craft beer drinking image that Silicon Valley pushes as part of the standard, this story is about a player whose image and route is quite different though just as valid, and probably more relevant to the majority of Millennial digital content consumers today. You see, much of that 80 million demographic are hip hop culture fans, and to get onto their radar is a financially staggering opportunity.

Hip Hop's intersection with the digital video content realm is about to become even more expansive via a hot, new addition in the form of a notable who actually comes originally from the audio side of the culture. Che Pope, Chief Operating Officer at Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music record label and highly-respected music producer and composer is now adding digital narrative series development and production to his impressive list of achievements. Recent reports noted that Pope signed a multi-project content partnership with All Def Digital, a multi-platform media company owned by hip-hop industry impresario Russell Simmons'. Yet not many in the tech space understand the true reach of Pope's influence and his potential to completely disrupt the digital content game from a highly creative vantage point. In a departure from the staid hoodie, craft beer drinking image that Silicon Valley pushes as part of the standard, this story is about a player whose image and route is quite different though just as valid, and probably more relevant to the majority of Millennial digital content consumers today. You see, much of that 80 million demographic are hip hop culture fans, and to get onto their radar is a financially staggering opportunity.

In terms of popularity, nerdcore occupies a space somewhere between underground hip hop and the end of the universe, according to rapper and educator Mega Ran. Nerdcore is a brand of hip hop characterized by a focus on geeky things, which means its subject matter is as vast and varied as Tolkien's Encircling Sea. It's niche but limitless; visible but not known. It's big enough to support the musical careers of artists like MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Beefy and MC Chris, yet it's small enough that even the most fervent Star Wars fan may have never heard of it. Even in an age where geek chic is hot and "nerd" is no longer a vicious insult, nerdcore remains underground -- but its influence on popular culture is showing.