Skip to Content
Podcast

RacketCast, Ep. 5: Meet MN’s Best New Music Act

Papa Mbye talks with Keith and Jay about his genreless journey, collaborating and experimenting with scene old-heads, and whether Sting would enjoy his music.

Papa Mbye

|Provided

In this edition of RacketCast, get to know Racket’s first-ever Picked to Click winner: Papa Mbye!

A terrific new album, Parcelles 16, helped vault the Senegal-born, Minneapolis-based musician to the top of the poll, and deservedly so. The music he makes—drawing from rap, electronic music, and indie rock—would have been unthinkable when the original P2C launched in 1991, and he’s only getting started. But now, as a Picked to Click winner, 25-year-old Mbye is already an indelible part of Minnesota music history.

Speaking of that history, Keith and Jay begin the episode with a "Remember Some Guys?" speed round of past Picked to Click winners, spanning back to when the best-new-band poll first appeared in City Pages. And, at the very end of the pod, enjoy the Parcelles track "SENEGAMBIA." (Or just watch the music video below—you're the boss.)

Subscribe to RacketCast wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify, Apple Music, Pocket Casts, etc. Wanna advertise on RacketCast? Email us at advertise@racketmn.com. Special thanks to local band Van Stee for supplying our podcast music!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

BYO Food to the Twins: Target Field Concessions Workers Plan to Strike

Plus the Hortman assassinations one year later, hilarious U of M marketing leaks, and a 68-year-old woman survives a terrifying mud trap in today's Flyover new roundup.

This Year’s Most Exciting Pride Event Is a Shakespeare Production

The Modern Rep’s queer interpretation of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ has its finger on the pulse, and it’s pressing hard.

Freeloader Friday: 191 Free Things To Do This Weekend

World Cup watch parties! Vintage shopping! Cemetery yoga! Movies in parks!

June 12, 2026

Happy Disclosure Day to All Who Celebrate (and Other Movies Worth Seeing)

Pretty much all the movies you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

See all posts