LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Femi Kuti speaks like one of his many saxophone solos -- hands aflutter, voice rising quickly before a steep fall and hitting disparate pitches.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The wail of electric guitars and drum beats will resonate through New Orleans' City Park on Friday as part of the VooDoo Experience, an alternative music festival which this year features Ozzy Osbourne, Muse, Weezer, Drake and Raphael Saddiq.

Playwright and actress Susan Banyas' critically-acclaimed stage show about how the Civil Rights Movement affected her hometown in Ohio, "The Hillsboro Story," continues this weekend at Artists' Repertory Theater. The show's music composer, David Ornette Cherry – son of jazz great Don Cherry — spoke with The Skanner News about the process of creating the soundtrack for the show and what it meant to him.

John Legend says people warned him that he was taking a risk to record with the hip hop band the Roots for his upcoming album, "Wake Up!"

Kanye West told an audience at a screening of his film, "Runaway," that he thought about killing himself, but now feels a responsibility to make a meaningful contribution to pop culture and art.

As part of the Oregon Historical Society's upcoming exhibit on African American murals, local artist Adriene Cruz will be giving a talk about her work at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Portland Community College Cascade Campus in Portland.

Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat, winner of the MacArthur 'genius grant' and author of "Breath, Eyes, Memory," and many other books, speaks on the immigrant life and its impact on writing Friday at Seattle Town Hall.

Here, the previously-very private Dr. Rice reflects about her life while talking about "Extraordinary, Ordinary People," her strikingly revealing memoir about her childhood.

Portland jazz man Reggie Houston will be holding a CD release show for "Homage 1" at 8 p.m. on Oct. 16 at Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Ave. The vocalist and saxophonist will be joined by pianist Janice Scroggins, drummer Reinhardt Melz, guitarist Peter Dammann, bassist Ben Jone, trombonist Stan Bock, vocalists LaRhonda Steele, Myrtle Brown and others.

Gospel legend Albertina Walker died Friday from respiratory complications. She was 81.