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On this week’s The Cultural Frontline we explore the power of music and how artists have been using it to highlight issues including politics and the #MeToo movement.

Prakash Neupane is a Nepali rapper and writer who mixes hip hop and R&B with social and political messages. His songs address the issues facing Nepal and his thoughts on the political situation in the country and its complex recent history. Prakash talks to Tina Daheley about why he feels rap is a good way of getting his message across and his role in a flourishing new wave of the Nepali hip hop scene.

The Australian actor Cate Blanchett has just won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of a fictitious classical music conductor and composer in Todd Field’s new film Tár. It follows the downfall of Lydia Tár who is at the pinnacle of her career when she is accused of bullying and sexual misconduct towards her fellow musicians. Cate speaks to reporter Anna Bailey about why she wanted to take on this role and shares her response to the criticisms the film has faced. They are also joined by the creative force behind Tár’s score, the award-winning Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. Hildur discusses her own experiences of being a woman creating music.

Plus Syrian clarinettist and composer, Kinan Azmeh. He’s recently performed his own works with the London Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their A place to call home series, which explores issues of displacement and exile. Kinan speaks to The Cultural Frontline’s Andrea Kidd about how his works, including his Clarinet Concerto, have been influenced by the Syrian civil war and the importance of home.

(Photo: Cate Blanchett in Tár. Credit: Universal)