In case you didn’t know, this month is Black History Month. To celebrate, I wanted to draw on my love of music to showcase music from black artists. I have compiled a list of 4 artists whose music I love and highly recommend you listen to! Keep reading to find some new music to add to your playlist while also adding diversity to your music library and celebrating Black History Month!
- Ayoni
-
Ayoni is a Barbadian-born, LA-based musician with amazingly diverse vocal abilities: from soft, sweet high notes to powerful, soulful lows. Her 2019 debut album, Iridescent, features 8 heartfelt songs that mix R&B and indie pop perfectly, and they showcase her vocal and stylistic talents beautifully. “Malibu” begins with a striking 1-minute-long guitar solo, and “Santa Monica” is littered with dreamy lyrical and musical melodies. “September” takes us to a slightly more downtempo, emotional place, but does not lack in power. Overall, her voice soars in each and every track. Her latest single “The Patriots,” offers thought provoking commentary on political topics, while continuing her soft and dreamy musical style. Not to mention, her Spotify page is also home to an amazing cover of Drake and Rihanna’s “Too Good” that you have to check out!
- BEKA
-
I was introduced to BEKA through her feature on HONNE’s “Crying Over You,” and was immediately in love with her voice! Based in Nottingham, England, BEKA has toured the world as a backing vocalist and has only just begun her journey of releasing music as a solo artist. Her 2020 single “I’ll Be There” is both a strong, pop style musical piece and an emotionally personal lyrical letter. Her voice is beautiful and smooth; listening to it is not just easy but so enjoyable. She collaborates again with Honne on “More Than Friends,” which is like watching the moment in a movie when the pair of friends realize their platonic love is actually something more. Most recently, she joins another one of my favourite bands, joan, on a duet version of “brokenhearted.” I truly cannot wait to hear the next track she releases!
- Gallant
-
Gallant is a 29-year-old singer and songwriter from Maryland. His music reminds me of Usher and 90s R&B, especially his most recent release “Comeback.” While appearing on songs with artists like Noah Cyrus, Dua Lipa and SG Lewis, Gallant has a standout repertoire of his own since the release of his debut EP Zebra in 2014. With a range of musical styles filtering through his catalogue, from R&B jams and sultry ballads to alternatively edged interludes, there’s something for every taste. This variety shines on his 2019 album Sweet Insomnia. Standouts are hard to pick, but for me, they include “Sleep On It,” “Hurt,” and “Compromise” which features equally talented R&B songstress Sabrina Claudio. Once you start listening, you likely won’t want to stop!
- Sonder
-
A trio formed in 2016 by producers Atu and Dpat, with lead vocals by Baltimore-based singer Brent Faiyaz, Sonder has over 1 million monthly Spotify listeners, and their track “Too Fast,” has roughly 55 million streams. Adding an alternative, dreamy approach to R&B, their collection of 9 songs is enough to listen to for a lifetime. Faiyaz’ vocals are the main event and the musical elements suit it perfectly. “Care” is a haunting love song full of soft vocal and musical accents, while “One Night Only” offers a little more beat to bop to as you listen to the rhythmic lyrics, which, while you may not realize at first listen, seem to describe an affair and thus make such dancing questionable. The trio’s last release was in 2019, and while they have yet to release anything since, I really hope they do soon because their talents deserve to be heard!
While there are way more than four Black musicians to listen to, the artists listed above have really stood out to me lately, and I hope you consider adding them into your daily rotation. It is important to support and spread the word about black musicians, even when it’s not Black History Month, and I challenge you to make an effort to diversify your music library to include deserving musicians of all backgrounds! There is so much amazing music out there, and we cannot risk letting it pass us by.