Soak up hip-hop history in Brooklyn and more things to do around NYC in the coming week

Seven Picks a Week is our guide to what’s worth catching in arts, culture and activities during the week ahead, with contributions from reporters throughout the WNYC/Gothamist newsroom and colleagues from WQXR and “All of It.”

Take a late-night crash course in hip-hop philosophy

Seems like no matter where you turn, some cultural intuition is taking the time to honor some aspect of hip-hop as we approach the 50th anniversary of the musical genre and the culture around it this August. On Saturday night, the Brooklyn Public Library will examine the music’s roots with “Night in the Library: The Philosophy of Hip-Hop.” You can expect to learn about the sounds, fashion and foundations of hip-hop with keynote addresses, debates and activities. Some of the big names expected to participate are Bronx-born hip-hop legend KRS-One (famously familiar with philosophy), Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody, radio personality Angie Martinez and fashion icon Dapper Dan. The event starts at 7 p.m. and runs through 2 a.m.; for more information, visit here.

— Precious Fondren

Encounter an all-day free musical event spanning the entire city

You pretty much won’t be able to cross a street, visit a park or walk your dogs without encountering a musical performance on Wednesday when Make Music New York resonates throughout the city’s urban canyons and open spaces. It’s a movable feast, for sure, but some highlights you can opt to target include “Pueblo Harlem,” featuring the award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, from noon to 8 p.m. on Johnny Hartman Plaza in Hamilton Heights, and Medeski Martin & Wood drummer Billy Martin’s participatory project “Stridulations,” on Little Island at 5 p.m. Times and locations vary; check out the latest details here.

— Steve Smith

Head to the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island

This year’s event will feature live music, dancing, floats, antique cars and thousands of people dressed as sparkly sea creatures. The parade steps off on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Surf Avenue and West 21st Street, and lasts for about three hours. For the best viewing, arrive around 9 a.m. and snag a spot on Surf Avenue – but be warned that crowds could be as thick as those in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, according to parade organizers. Need more info? We’ve got a guide for that.

— Kerry Shaw

Learn how the humble cassette tape changed the world

First things first: If you’ve yet to hear the “Mixtape” series of long-form narratives produced by our colleagues at Radiolab in 2021, I genuinely envy the discovery and elation that awaits you in those five illuminating, surprising episodes. Get that taken care of promptly, and then come join senior producer Simon Adler – along with author Tara Isabella Burton and composer Alexander Overington – in a live event at The Greene Space, the intimate performance and conversation venue New York Public Radio operates in Lower Manhattan. “Mixtapes to the Moon: How the Cassette Changed the World” is happening on Thursday at 7 p.m., and you can buy tickets here.

— Steve Smith

Watch a cult-classic concept album set in New York City come to life

Calling Canadian quintet The Musical Box a Genesis tribute act is about the same as calling the New York Philharmonic a Beethoven cover band: not inaccurate, but barely scratching the surface. Founder Sébastien Lamothe, singer Denis Gagné and their mates approach their chosen canon with forensic fealty, using period instruments and costuming, while also serving notice that the young Genesis was a punchy band — practically The Mars Volta of their day. The present tour marks the end of an era: the group is playing Peter Gabriel’s enigmatic Genesis swan song, the 1974 concept album “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” from start to finish for the very last time, complete with the actual slide projections Genesis used almost 50 years ago. Uncanny. The Musical Box plays Palladium Times Square on Friday and Saturday nights; you can find details here.

— Steve Smith

Hear a Shakespearean season finale at Carnegie Hall

In the final performance of Carnegie Hall’s 2022-23 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and his MET Orchestra bring a program of Shakespeare-inspired treasures: a new piece from one of my favorite young composers, Matthew Aucoin, plus the ever-popular Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein, a fantasia on “Romeo and Juliet” by Tchaikovsky and the final act of Verdi and Boito’s “Otello,” with the spectacular tenor Russell Johnson and soprano Angel Blue. It’s happening on Thursday night at 8 p.m., you can order tickets here, and if you want to prepare for “Otello” through a enlightened lens, check out an episode of WQXR’s podcast “Every Voice with Terrance McKnight,” here.

— Ed Yim, WQXR

Bisa Butler is a New Jersey artist who makes life-sized quilts inspired by portraits of Black figures, including those taken by her favorite photographers such as Gordon Parks and Jamel Shabazz. Her new solo exhibition. “The World Is Yours”, inspired by the lyrics of Nas, combines textiles, paint, Nigerian hand-dyed batiks and African wax-resist cotton. Butler joined us in the studio this week to discuss her process and the show, which is on view at Jeffery Deitch through June 30.

— Alison Stewart and Luke Green, “All of It”