Essential listening for Black History Month

Irrespective of period or genre, black musicians have continuously and consistently made waves in the music industry – redefining the musical hegemony, breaking barriers, and making history. Numerous dominant black artists have achieved well-deserved levels of success – such as SZA, Doja Cat, and Kendrick Lamar. This article, however, will introduce you to black artists, spanning across genres, that you may not have heard of before. 
 
Nova Twins – Supernova  
Debuting in 2015, with the single ‘Bassline Bitch’, Nova Twins are an English rock duo featuring vocalist/guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South. Love, of Nigerian descent, and South, of Jamaican descent, are a genre-defying duo – fusing grime and punk with killer bass lines and sonic mayhem. Previously, collaborating with Bring Me The Horizon in 2020 on track ‘1×1’, anyone who listens to BMTH or Linkin Park will undeniably enjoy their work and benefit from giving their album Supernova a listen. Supernova, being shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize, and leading to the duo being nominated for two BRIT Awards in 2023, is the duo’s strongest work. It further demonstrates the duo’s ability to blend a range of genres with punk, rock, pop, and rap influences to conjure tracks rich in moods, textures, and layers. The 11-track studio album effectively demonstrates the Nova Twins’ dimensional range. Notably, ‘Fire and Ice’ highlights the duality in their vocal techniques – with sections of singing, screaming and spoken word – while further demonstrating duality in sound with ranging intensities.  
  
Hemlocke Springs – ‘gimme all ur luv’  
Nigerian indie-pop artist Hemlocke Springs is an undeniably unique and refreshing music artist. She presents an incredibly distinctive sound with lo-fi, EDM, and K-pop influences – and yet creates punchy, playful 80s flavoured pop.  The track that sparked her career, ‘gimme all ur luv’, while no longer her most popular, is a good place to start when discovering Springs. The song, when first put on SoundCloud, was compared to the earlier works of Grimes, so if that sound appeals to you be sure to check it out. The single perfects the bedroom pop sound, which can be attributed to the special quality of Springs’ vocals. The ever-changing cadence of her voice highlights the unwavering vulnerability and expressive nature found within her work – a nature which cannot be replicated and thus must be appreciated.  
 
Dean Blunt – BLACK METAL  
A British singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and contemporary artist with a long history in the music industry. Dean Blunt has a broad discography as a soloist, a member of the avant-garde duo Hype Williams and hip-hop group Babyfather. In this sense, he is a master of genres, and in his direction of ‘art pop’ presents a sound reminiscent of an immersive art experience. His 5th album, BLACK METAL, is arguably his strongest work, featuring his most popular track ‘100’. The album includes elements of indie and folk-pop, alongside American, dub, ambient, grime, drone, and dancehall. The album is incredibly well thought out, with artistic intention within the track listing which encourages a truly immersive listening experience. The album, inspired by black artistic liberation towards something undefined, is split into two halves – centring around the 13-minute track ‘FOREVER’ – to appropriate ‘white’ images, achieved through sampling, in the first and exploring something new in the latter.  

FLO – ‘Check’  
Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer came together and debuted in 2022 as a British girl group under the name FLO. FLO’s style draws upon classic R&B and hip-hop from the early 2000s – with inspiration from artists Aaliyah and Ciara. The single ‘Check’ is a dreamy dance track featuring seductive vocals and a more pop-heavy sound with Miami Bass beat – this playful and simple track is smooth and engaging. It will feature on their album Access All Areas which will be released on November 15, alongside the track ‘Walk Like This’. FLO represents a new wave of black girl groups, following in the footsteps of iconic groups Mis-Teeq (best known for ‘Scandalous’), Cleopatra, as well as legends TLC and Destiny’s Child. 
 
Honourable Mentions :
Kaypaige: ‘Gibberish’ – an incredibly soft-sounding track with nonsensical lyrics. 
Dreamer Isioma: Sensitive – a strong hip-hop-based EP with hypnotic elements. 
DelaXOZ: ‘don’t do it’ – a track mixing spoken word poem and a chanting anthem. 
flowerovlove: ‘breaking news’ – an enchanting and addictive upbeat love song. 
Sampha & Little Simz: ‘Satellite Business 2.0’ – a demonstration of musical chemistry.