This week, we wanted to bring attention to Black musicians that are leading the way and creating incredible songs which should be celebrated for innovating multiple genres!
Solange – Don’t Touch My Hair ft. Sampha
Having your hair touched is a microaggression which many black people face regularly, and is rooted in the same ideology that treats black as ‘other’. It is an attack often launched subconsciously which alienates and also devalues black space. Solange’s ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ offers an explicit rejection of this behaviour, as a simple establishment of boundaries, and as a powerful pledge of personal identity.
Kendrick Lamar – HUMBLE
One of the most talked about rappers on the planet, HUMBLE is one of the artists most talked about tracks. While discussing the inspiration behind the track, Lamar said: “[Producer] Mike Will sent the beat over. All I could think of was [Marley Marl’s] ‘The Symphony’ and the earliest moments of hip-hop, where it’s complex simplicity, but it’s also somebody making moves. That beat feels like my generation, right now. The first thing that came to my head was, ‘Be humble'”.
Stormzy – Vossi Bop
Stormzy is the youngest artists to ever headline the iconic Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival, and listening to this track you can see why! Vossi Bop is dedicated to a viral dance craze which originated on Twitter also called the “Vossi Bop”. Stormzy is also currently working with Penguin books, curating a series called ‘Merky Books’ which will form a home for a new generation of voices. The imprint launched with Stormzy’s first book, Rise Up, in autumn 2018, followed by Taking Up Space: The Black Girl’s Manifesto for Change by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi in summer 2019.
Normani – Motivation
An homage to turn-of-the-millennium dance clips by the likes of Destiny’s Child, J. Lo, Ciara, and Britney Spears, in Motivation we see Normani powering through this choreography with finesse, pulling off intricate hip-hop moves with ease. Co-written by Ariana Grande, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Normani, both song and video tip to the early 00’s when R&B and pop first became indistinguishable from one another!
Childish Gambino – This Is America
The four-minute, single-take music video for this iconic track is laden with metaphors about race and gun violence in America. In the video, Gambino creates a provocative image as he guns down a choir and dances while violence breaks out all around him as he highlights the violent contradictions that come with being black in America,
