The New Rap Language: How Musicians Continue to Transform the Spoken Word

Groundbreaking musicians Audry Funk, Bartika Eam Rai, and Felukah sit down with renowned journalist Jessica Lipksy to discuss using their native and adopted languages to shape their unique styles, and how their artistry speaks to issues important to them.

The discussion will be followed by short performances from each artist demonstrating their special techniques.

This event is presented in partnership with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

To join in person | Please be sure to register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins.

For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. If you register for multiple tickets, please provide the name of each person who will be attending the event or arrive with your entire party present. Seats cannot be saved for late arrivals. Only registered patrons will be granted initial entry into the event space. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program for any seats that may become available prior to showtime.

If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

To join online | A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The New York Public Library’s World Literature & Arts Festival (April 14–30, 2025) brings together trailblazers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to celebrate storytelling and spotlight NYC’s vibrant communities. Join us for free events, programs, book recommendations, and resources for all ages.

Over the last 50 years, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater and visual arts. A multicultural and multi-arts institution, the Cafe gives voice to a diverse group of rising poets, actors, filmmakers and musicians. The Cafe champions the use of poetry, jazz, theater, hip-hop and spoken word as means of social empowerment for minority and underprivileged artists.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS 

Jessica Lipsky is an award-winning journalist and managing editor at the Recording Academy. When she's not collecting records to DJ, she writes about them for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, the Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, Wax Poetics and elsewhere. Her book, It Ain't Retro, a biography of Daptone Records and the revival soul scene, was largely researched and written at New York's library systems.

Known as Audry Funk, Audry Bustos Díaz is a singer - songwriter, MC, and activist born in Puebla, Mexico who is considered as one of the most important exponents of Hip-Hop in Spanish. Residing in the Bronx, New York, she has an international presence in the independent music industry for twenty years. During this time, her powerful message has reached different high-profile venues, while also giving talks about philosophy, feminism and migration at forums around the world. 

Bartika Eam Rai is a New York based singer-songwriter, celebrated for her poetry-like lyrics, haunting vocal and authenticity. Rai was born and raised in Kathmandu, but it was only after moving to the US that she decided to experiment her prose as music, in an attempt to express the displacement that consumed her, intensified by the tangible realization of leaving home. She recognizes her medium being intertwined with her longing for home and perennial identity crisis of existing as a Nepali in a non-Nepali world, which is why all her recorded music is intentionally created in Nepali, her mother-tongue. Her albums have received rave reviews and she has been the recipient of Nepal’s national music awards. Bartika is currently working on her first book, tiny excerpts of which, was written inside the New York Public Library!

Felukah is an Egyptian rapper, singer, poet and activist. Seamlessly blending her Arabic culture into Western sounds, Felukah is dubbed the ‘Arabfuturist songstress,’ or the artist paving the way for a ‘new wave of Arab women.’ Felukah’s music and revolutionary character has garnered the attention of thousands in the Middle East as well as the Western world, landing her opportunities with the FIFA World Cup, Harvard University, the Brooklyn Museum, Boiler Room TV, and more. Felukah’s new collaboration with Ash, “On My Mind” showcases her versatility as a pop artist, rapping and singing over a dance beat and staying true to her conscious lyrics about empowerment, life and romance. 

BOOKS AND MORE

If you have a NYPL library card, you can borrow books related this event with our e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices.

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person

• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Online

• Live captioning will be provided.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org.

CONNECT

For general questions, please email adultprogramming@nypl.org.

Please submit all press inquiries at least 48 hours before the event: email press@nypl.org.