Black Artists On Bandcamp You Should Support Tomorrow
Intro:
Bandcamp is a music platform for musicians of all kinds to share/sell their work. With the most recent racial injustices happening in America, they’ve announced a Juneteenth Fundraiser where all the company’s cut from music sale profits on June 19th (Tomorrow) will directly go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The significance of this date, for those that aren’t aware, is that it’s a holiday for celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
This is an opportunity to simultaneously support talented black musicians and the NAACP’s efforts towards fighting racially systematic injustices. I’m not native to the music platform, but here are some dope artists I found during my research.
Here we have a talented rapper from St. Louis. KONG was the first artist I found out of the group I picked for this list. His pair of most recent releases, Ozone/Kick, were great to me off first listen. The first song has a traditional chill-sample hip-hop beat where dude is launching nice rhyme schemes. The other is an stripped-back ethereal track where KONG displays a softer and lighter singing vocal tone, along with interesting percussion elements. I’d recommend if you like a versatile artist that can make both great rap & R&B.
Price (If You Choose To Buy): Name Your Own Price | This means you can purchase the project for whatever amount you choose to support with.
Gio’s music is probably not for the casual music fan/listener. He’s a rapper/producer from Jackson, Mississippi. I discovered him from his 2019 project Octopi_. The very first observation I made was how experimental and weird his style is. The beats are all glitchy, unpredictable, abrassive, etc. Throughout the beautiful madness of the various production styles, Gio crafts dope flows & has plenty of versalitiy. If I could compare his style to anyone’s I’ve heard, I’d say you’d enjoy his work especially if you’re a JPEGMAFIA or Injury Reserve fan. He’s 100% his own unique artist with a good sound.
Price (If You Choose To Buy): $8
This spot is actually the only Producer/Beat Maker on this list. Illa is a California native that’s a large number of lofi beats. I found and listened to his album Nimbus. I believe all the beats on here contained samples, if so they were chopped pretty clean and nicely. Many anime fans will instantly recognize the Dragon Ball Z references in the title/cover art. The entire instrumental album is actually a tribute to the iconic and impactful anime series. This is made even more obvious by the song titles, and the audio clips from the anime serving as skits in-between songs. Somehow, every single one compliments the previous and follow lofi beats very well.
Price (If You Choose To Buy): $2
Last, we have the London rapper Kay Young. She is an incredibly talented rapper/singer, who shows off both of these skills on her latest project: Actually. Her beats are dreamy, smooth and groovy, with elements of jazz and lofi hip-hop (Mick Jenkins or Kendrick [TPAB era] would sound great as features on any of these). All of the beats are high quality and everything sounds very professionally mixed. The bass-lines on tracks 2 and 6 are addicting. Kay’s rapping is very relaxing and calm. Her singing to me was even more impressive; with a style that’ll give any first timer a beautiful listening experience.
Price (If You Choose To Buy): £6 = ($7.45)
Overall:
We hope you love and purchase the projects from these artists I found for Bandcamp’s Juneteenth Fundraiser. All the money goes back to these talented black musicians and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund if you purchase these records tomorrow. I tried finding a variety in types of artists, so there’d be more options for you guys. It’s important to stay positive and support each other in the times we live in. Thank you all for reading and enjoy the list of new music above.
