The tiny Gulf country of Qatar is home to a film festival, a philharmonic orchestra, a modern art museum — and soon, a New York-style jazz club.

The Jamaica-born, Mount Vernon, New York-raised rapper Heavy D died Tuesday after collapsing outside his house in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 44 years old. Watch some videos to remember him by here.

The legendary funk keyboardist performs Tuesday night at the Apollo as part of a tribute to the Godfather of Funk. If you can't make it to the show, download "He-Then Holiday" by Worrell's funk-rock fusion group SociaLybrium here.

From Tuesday through Sunday, more than 1,350 bands, DJs and comedians will perform at the annual CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival. Check out WNYC's trippy color-coded map to see our CMJ picks — from En Vogue to Mike Birbiglia to Dum Dum Girls — for each night of the festival.

After seeing a documentary about the band Dead Can Dance, in which the band said it was able to bring its musical instruments back to life again, Daniel Blue started to call his motorcycle a pony.

Tori Amos is a pop icon but her new recording travels back thousands of years to tell the story of a man who controls tidal waves and a woman who once controlled fire, but has abandoned her power. Check out our video of Amos performing "Nautical Twilight" live on Soundcheck.

The first ever exhibition of Bob Dylan’s paintings in New York City is under scrutiny over the source materials behind the paintings included in the show.

On Friday, jazz singer songwriter Jon Hendricks turns 90 years old. WNYC says "Happy Birthday" to the Poet Laureate of Jazz with the following videos and slideshow that show Hendricks onstage performing vocalese and doing some seriously impressive scatting.

The Vancouver indie band Destroyer is known for writing inscrutable lyrics. But when the group released its music video for "Savage Night at the Opera," it was surprising how few noted where the inspiration for the video came from.

East Coast residents are battening down the hatches to prepare for Hurricane Irene. Here are some songs to pass the time if the rain doesn't wash you (and your laptop) away this weekend.

Next month, Cyndi Lauper's 1986 hit "True Colors" takes on new meaning when the True Colors Residence for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) youth opens in Harlem on September 1. The shelter will be the first permanent housing facility in New York for homeless L.G.B.T. youth.

The legendary Motown songwriter Nick Ashford, who wrote "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "I'm Every Woman" and "Solid" with his wife Valerie Simpson, died on Monday after a battle with throat cancer, according to his publicist. He was 70 years old. Watch classic Ashford & Simpson videos here.

A Sony disc warehouse near Enfield, North London was set on fire before midnight on Monday. The warehouse manages the distribution in the U.K. and Ireland of packaged Sony media on Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs.

On Wednesday night, Central Park Summerstage presents a free concert of old school Latin boogaloo music with local heroes Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan. For Bataan, who is now 69 years old, the Central Park gig will be a kind of homecoming.

Aretha Franklin, fresh off of her Brooklyn debut this past week, will headline Rangel's 81st birthday fundraising gala at the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday.

On Thursday night, Aretha Franklin will perform at Coney Island for free as part of Marty Markowitz's Seaside Summer Concert Series.

Justin Timberlake took a break from promoting his new movie "Friends With Benefits" to perform 'History of Rap, Part 2' with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday. Check out the videos for Part 1 and 2 here.

With echos of watering holes, fishing holes and summer, "Polliwog" has a roots-y and rustic feeling. Watch James Farm play the song in WNYC's Soundcheck studios here.

Jeffrey Atkins, better-known as the 35-year-old rapper Ja Rule, was sentenced to 28 months in prison on Monday after admitting to not filing tax returns for five years. The Saddle River, New Jersey native was also ordered to pay over $1.1 million in unpaid taxes on record royalties and live performances.

The band Wild Beasts sings about sex. But how is that news? Tom Fleming says it is because the group is focusing on the loss and vulnerability of male sex. Watch a video of Wild Beasts playing "Loop The Loop" in WNYC's Soundcheck studios.