6 Black American Artists to Support during Bandcamp’s Juneteenth Fundraiser (and Every Day)
Bandcamp is donating 100% of their share of sales this Juneteenth to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Make the most of the fundraiser by purchasing music and merch from Black American indie artists.
Written by Afterglow Staffers
Photos courtesy of Catalina Xavlena, Simpson, and John Bergin/Blumoon
Online music marketplace Bandcamp has announced that for every purchase made this Juneteeth and every future Juneteeth, they will donate 100% of their share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to support the movement for racial justice. The sale will last from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday, June 19.
The Juneteenth fundraiser is not Bandcamp’s first fundraiser. In March, the online music platform launched its Bandcamp Friday revenue share days as a response to small artists facing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic, waiving its cut so 100% of profit went directly to artists. The company typically takes a 10% cut for physical merchandise sales and 15% for digital music, with the rest of the proceeds going to the artist after payment processing fees. The first three Bandcamp Fridays brought huge amounts of traffic to the site. According to Bandcamp, fans spent $4.3 million on March 20 and $7.1 million on May 1. It’s hopeful that their similar push around the Juneteenth fundraiser will have comparably successful results.
Additionally, Bandcamp CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond said the company will allocate $30,000 per year to “partner with organizations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of color.” Read Bandcamp’s full statement here.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day the last remaining enslaved Black Americans in the Confederacy were emancipated in Galveston, Texas following the end of the Civil War — despite the Emancipation Proclamation formally freeing all enslaved people two years prior. The holiday has yet to receive deserved national recognition but celebrations are held across the country that focus on African American arts, heritage, and liberation.
For Bandcamp’s Juneteenth fundraiser, we’re encouraging everyone to be intentional about every dollar spent by only purchasing music and merch from Black American artists. So, to help anyone with spare funds looking for new acts to support, Afterglow staffers compiled a list highlighting some of our favorite Black American artists on the platform — specifically, indie artists we feel haven’t gotten their mainstream due yet. The following six picks range across genres, from country to punk to rap, breaking barriers and pushing boundaries all along the way.
— Annie Lyons
Spellling
Photo courtesy of Catalina Xavlena
Oakland-based, experimental electronic pop artist Spellling crafts her own spin on witch pop. While her 2017 debut album Pantheon of Me offers haunting organs and loose, layered vocals, her 2019 EP Mazy Fly builds upon the elements of her previous project by increasing its playful synths and vocal modulation. On “Golden Numbers,” Spelling’s silky voice weaves into simple, melancholic guitar chords accompanied by reverberating clinks and clanks. Remaining rooted in her signature celestial spookiness, “Under the Sun” imagines an existence free from time and worry, backed by an infectiously dreamy synth-pop beat. It’s the soundtrack to your astral projection. With Spellling’s third album The Turning Wheel planned to be released this year, prepare yourself by listening to her discography. Chills are guaranteed. — Laiken Neumann
Recommended If You Like: FKA Twigs, Kate Bush, Kelsey Lu
Simpson
Photo courtesy of Simpson
“I’m a problem child / like Dennis the Menace / You want a witness? / I’ll hit you in public and phone your dentist,” Simpson raps with easy charisma on her infectious 2017 debut single “Switch Lanes.” The song’s simple lofi beat lets her lyrical prowess take center stage, with her joy radiating behind each tongue-in-cheek line. After first getting her start as a member of the now defunct Tumblr rap collective Barf Troop, Simpson’s solo work evades genre boundaries. There’s some hip hop, some guitar pop. But a strong sense of self ties it all together, even when she sings of uncertainty, like on “Big Mistake,” a perfect bite of ‘90s indie rock. On new single “Summer,” a sprightly guitar hook brightens the song’s melancholy as Simpson reflects on the push-pull tension between nostalgia and the need to move on: “We can stay up late and dance all night / I’m trying to forget about you.” One thing’s for sure though — you don’t want to forget Simpson. — Annie Lyons
Recommended If You Like: Clairo, Snail Mail, Ravyn Lenae
Evil
Photo courtesy of Evil
With songs full of starry-eyed yearning, singer-songwriter Evil plucks at banjo strings and heartstrings alike on their self-titled 2019 EP. Another former Barf Troop member, they began making country music in 2016, finding inspiration in their rural Appalachia home and childhood. There’s an otherworldly shimmer to Evil’s discography amidst the familiar elements of folk, classic country, and shoegaze. The wistful “Mice and Men” opens to the sound of a whirring film reel; standout track “Slow Dance” glitches to a staticky outro that’s all old record player charm as Evil’s vocals drift away to a whistled tune. Evil, who is non-binary and queer, belongs at the forefront of the recent wave of country artists reclaiming space in a genre that has long centered white and heteronormative narratives — “I know all the other boys are tough and smooth / But I just wanna slow dance with you,” they sing on “Slow Dance,” their voice a gentle caress. — Annie Lyons
Recommended If You Like: Orville Peck, Kacey Musgraves, Okay Kaya
Bonus: Former Barf Troop collaborators Evil and Simpson have recently linked back up for a new rap project titled Smoke King. The duo’s first single, “Paper Bag,” released May 13 and exudes effortless cool. Find it on Bandcamp here.
Content warning: This video portrays an abusive relationship and violence.
Blumoon
Photo courtesy of John Bergin and Blumoon
From San Marcos, Texas comes Kendra Sells, the founding member and main vocalist of neo-soul band Blumoon. In the group’s first release, Decisions, Decisions, Blumoon plants their seeds in a deeply emotional realm through their simple yet commanding music style. On highlight songs “Cope” and “Soul,” Sells’ powerful vocals are accompanied by warm keyboard notes and smooth guitar chords that sweep the audience during luxurious interludes. Blumoon showcases these trends at their best on Slow Burn, the group’s second album released last year that brings an R&B twist to a traditional soul mold. Sells details the transiency of adolescence and early relationships on “Just Begun (Hollywood)” and getting “caught up in the madness, caught up in the people, caught up in the sadness” on “Playing Pretend.” — Andrew Zhang
Recommended If You Like: Solange, Steve Lacy, Christelle Bofale
BLXPLTN
Photo courtesy of BLXPLTN
Austin electro-punk band BLXPLTN are here to remind you that punk rock is best served political. The electric and the analog combine as singer Taszlin Muerte rages against racism, gun violence, and everything else plaguing American society today. Their 2014 debut LP, Black Cop Down, is stuffed with fuzzy guitars and full-throated roars; 2016’s follow up, the incredibly titled New York Fascist Week, both maintains the squall and experiments in industrial beats, cool atmospherics, and sweeter melodies. “Train (Get Out)” is all fire, “Gun Range'' is eerie quiet, and “How Many Shots'' even comforts: dreamy synths shimmer as a muffled Muerte and previous singer Jonathan Horstmann assure you that you’re not alone. With each release, the band expands their sonic palette, but their vitriol toward injustice remains the same. As the world continues to devolve, the chorus of BLXPLTN’s infectious first single “Start Fires'' is more inviting than ever: “If you wanna burn it down with me, you just let me know.” — Carys Anderson
Recommended If You Like: Rage Against The Machine, TV On The Radio
Parisalexa
Photo courtesy of Parisalexa
On her debut album 2 Real, Seattle-based R&B singer-songwriter Parisalexa navigates almost every topic imaginable with the ease of a veteran performer. On the album’s standout single “Chocolate,” she pens an ode to her Blackness, singing “Pretty smile, brown skin, ass fat, waist thin / I’m confident, covered in chocolate.” (The video’s music video fittingly celebrates Black-owned businesses in Seattle.) The album makes a complete 180 in the track “2 Optimistic,” where Parisalexa wears her heart on her sleeve, lamenting her lack of success with relationships (“I been through the dirt / I been putting in work / Like day in, day out / Don’t get what I deserve”). 2 Real’s production is as varied as its lyrical content, featuring laid back acoustic drum beats on the sultry anthem “4 Playin’” and a brass choir on the body positivity anthem “Slimthick.” With just one official album under her belt, there’s no telling where Parisalexa is going next, but you’ll want to tag along for the ride. — Delaney Davis
Recommended If You Like: Yung Baby Tate, Jhené Aiko, Ari Lennox