Jean Grae, Invincible, and Tamar-Kali have been cutting their teeth as professional recording artists since the late 90s. They should be at the point in their careers where their fanbases start fading away, but somehow the opposite is true. The first two are hip-hop artists. The last, Tamar-Kali, is a rock vocalist. All three are women. Tokenization as female performers is something that all three fight against. However, their identities as fiercely independent women may be what keeps drawing fans in — and what has kept them from the mainstream for so long.

All three artists will be performing at a free concert at Carnegie Mellon University on March 5, as part of the Born In Flames Tour. The name of the tour speaks to the pressure these artists feel from a world that’s often at odds with their very existence — be it black, woman, queer, punk, etc.

This multi-genre tour will cross over into education and activism, as the participating artists will host a workshop at Carnegie Mellon. The workshop, directed toward students and community members, will take a critical look into the marginalized impact of women, women of color, and queer folk in the history of music – from both artistic and business perspectives.

The workshop is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., in the University Center Building, Connan Room.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for the concert, which will take place in the University Center Building, Rangos Ballroom.

RSVP and get more details on Facebook.

Born In Flames Tour at Carnegie Mellon is a production of The Arts Greenhouse at Carnegie Mellon. The Arts Greenhouse is a hip-hop education outreach program cultivating the artistic talents of Pittsburgh youth. More information is available at www.PghBeatmakers.org.

More information on the artists after the jump…

Do you like the Australian singer/songwriter, Paul Kelly? I mean how could you not? In Australia, he’s virtually a natural hero. In a career that spans more than 30 years, Kelly has released a steady stream of albums that showcase his emotionally vivid, musically expansive songwriting, while demonstrating his uncanny ability to distill a novel’s worth of narrative and character detail into a straightforward, effortlessly accessible melodic pop tune.

It is with great excitement that WRCT announces that Paul Kelly will be stopping by on “Viva le Mock”, tomorrow from 9pm-11pm, to hang out, play some songs, and chat with the with The Mockster. Be sure to call in with song request or with any questions you may have for this remarkable artist.

It has been a long time since I have been so excited about a new release the week that it is released. The norm for bands these days is to continue re-releasing their first album with a twist on their lyrics and the rhythm of each track. But fun. has clearly gone against the grain and decided to be ambitious with its second release, Some Nights (released Feb. 21 on Fueled by Ramen).

The first track, “Some Nights Intro,” does an unbelievable job setting the tone, building gradually with Freddie Mercury-style vocals. The song comes to a climactic ending with lead singer Nate Ruess confidently hitting notes that are no where near the register of most singers. This leads directly into what I presume will be the second single, “Some Nights.” An anthemic track layered with a plethora of vocal harmonies, “Some Nights” keeps the energy of the album at an incredible high.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtBMJfPRwGY

The lead single comes in the three spot (as on every other album that anyone’s ever made… ever) and features R&B singer Janelle Monae. Although the song has an undeniable hook, the cameo by Monae is very much unrecognizable and understated.  However, the chorus has been resonating over the airwaves for a couple of months now and there’s a reason for that.

Successful genre experimentation is one extremely unique quality of Some Nights. Stand out tracks include “Why Am I The One,” laced with clever lyricism and honesty that makes the listener believe the sincerity of Ruess’ heartbreak. It ends with a wonderful, fluttering string arrangement that gave me chills the first time I heard it. “All Alone” experiments with a hip-hop beat in the verses and “One Step” uses a big horn section to drive the song from start to end.

After several listens through Some Nights, I had difficulty picking out my favorite track because there were simply so many strong candidates. fun. has done something truly ambitious by experimenting with different genres and creating an album that is truly unique in an otherwise stale field of pop rock artists.