Singe Arlo Parks. Image: Aldara Zarraoa/ Getty Images.
Black artists are always refining and reimagining the musical landscape across all genres. Whether created by our community or not, Black musicians also find ways to make the sonic listening experience more beautiful and expressive than how they found it.
These young Black artists are on the rise and through their example, music is changing for the better and becoming increasingly more expansive as a multitudinous art form.
Check them out and give them a listen.
Arlo Parks
Based in the UK, Arlo Parks has been inspired by jazz since childhood. The 22-year-old merges her skills as a poet into the soulful music she creates. Her debut album Super Sad Generation was released in 2019 and sparked an exciting trajectory for Parks in the music scene.
Jean Dawson
Jean Dawson utilizes a great deal of his lived experiences within the music he creates. Growing up between Mexico and California, he developed a love of music through the culture of both of his parents. As he couldn’t afford to buy own instruments, he frequently traveled to a Guitar Center in his neighborhood, where he learned to play piano.
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This trio centers a sense of inventiveness and creativity at the core of their sound. Jadagrace Michiko Gordy-Nash, Coy Stewart, and Tyrel J. Williams—also known as Jadagrace, SWIM, and TJOnline—chose to create a method of self-expression after bonding over their challenges as child stars in the entertainment industry. It then manifested into a fire assortment of original songs.
Flyana Boss
What’s better than one rapper? Two of them with the flyest bars! Representing Detroit and Dallas respectively, these two homies have been making waves on social media for their innovative music videos and wordplay. As confident Black women building a solid following, they are bound to take over the rap game real soon.
Q.
The son of reggae producer Steven “Lenky” Marsden, Q. continues in his father’s footsteps while also diving head-first into the realm of soul and R&B. His music is reminiscent of artists before his time, while falling perfectly in line with the resurgence of soulful music.