My Spotify “Release Radar” or “Discover Weekly” seems to be dominated by men. I listen to my personalized playlists every week in hopes of finding a new song or artist to listen to, only to be bombarded by white-indie-male EPs. Thus, I have gone out of my way to find some new female-identifying artists to listen to. Here’s five of my favorites:
Anna Akana
Anna Akana is an Asian-American comedian known for her Youtube channel with over 2.6 million subscribers and has started a career in acting and filmmaking, working for companies like Disney Channel. As an Asian-American, she also discusses topics like “yellow fever” in her viral video “Why Guys Like Asian Girls.” Starting in 2019, Akana began releasing music with her debut single “Intervention.” Her music focuses on depression, toxic relationships, alcoholism, and other topics. Her debut album “Casualty” follows challenges in Akana’s life, such as her sister’s suicide and coming out as bisexual. The reason why I think she is a powerful artist is because she discusses often stigmatized topics and encourages others to speak out about these topics as well.
Sammy Rae & The Friends
Looking for music to put some umph in your step? Sammy Rae & The Friends should be your go-to artist. The nine-piece, Brooklyn-based band led by Samanatha Bowers exudes a jazz and rock infused pop sound that makes you want to get up and dance. Their music is especially powerful because of the issues they advocate for within their songs and shows. The song “Denim Jacket” focuses on self-confidence, while “The Box” surrounds the effects of perpetuated gender roles in society. At their concerts, Sammy Rae promotes acceptance, highlighting POC voices as well as advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. Sammy repeats the phrase “I wanna be friends with ya” at her concerts, urging the audience to welcome others with open arms and without judgement. Sammy Rae & The Friends is your artist when you’re looking for a bit of self-love.
Hollie Col
Hollie Col is an Australian, openly-gay female artist that has been on the rise in low-fi, bedroom pop genre. Her music video for the song “Let Yourself Down” surrounds a girl in an unhappy relationship with a man admitting to herself that she’s in love with one of her female-identifying friends. In the end, they get together, sharing a kiss. The Youtube video now has over 4.0 million views and shy of two thousand comments. Other songs like “Unholy” and “She Knows” also surround Col’s sexuality and her journey as an openly-gay female.
Bibi Bourelly
Black singer songwriter Bibi Bourelly is best known for writing songs for artists like Rihanna, Usher, Camilla Cabello, among many others, but her own music combines rock, R&B, and pop starting with her debut singles “Riot” and “Ego.” Notably, her song “White House” speaks out against President Trump’s policies concerning climate change and goes to bring awareness to the effects of climate change in people’s daily lives.
Mitski
A somewhat basic choice, but Mitski is a Japanese-American singer songwriter breaking out in the indie rock genre with over 1.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Mitski in her most popular song “Nobody” touches on the idea of female body standards and worthiness. She said in an interview with Genius, “That was literal, like I have gained weight and I’ve lost weight and I’ve been big and I’ve been small… I’ve done everything I could to my body and still nobody wants me.” She also has been featured on the compilation album “Our First 100 Days” which aimed to raise funds for causes that were threatened under President Trump’s policies. She was also featured on another compilation album titled “7-Inches For Planned Parenthood” in which the proceeds from the sale of the box set will go towards Planned Parenthood in response to lawmakers trying to shut down the organization.
It’s Women’s History Month, and I hope that these women go down in history. Music is an art that connects so many people, and these artists help to promote issues people care about. Happy listening!