Black American Indie Artists To Buy From For Bandcamp’s Juneteenth Fundraiser
In honor of Bandcamp's second Juneteenth fundraiser, we've put together a short list of Black American artists to support today, and every day.
Written by Afterglow Staffers
Photos courtesy of Todd V. Wolfson/The Austin Chronicle, The Quietus, Nikki Austin-Garlington, and Neva Wireko (clockwise from upper right)
Today marks Bandcamp's second annual Juneteenth fundraiser. The online music marketplace launched the initiative last year in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Bandcamp will donate 100% of its share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time tonight.
Juneteenth memorializes June 19, 1865, when the last remaining Black American slaves in the Confederacy learned they were emancipated two years after the Emancipation Proclamation declared all enslaved people 'free.' The holiday did not receive national recognition until yesterday, when President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday. However, many across the country have been celebrating Juneteenth well before it was granted federal status.
For Bandcamp Friday and Bandcamp's Juneteenth fundraiser (and everyday!), we encourage everyone to spend with intent and support Black American artists by buying their music and merch. Afterglow staffers have curated a list of four Black American artists that deserve the spotlight. With sounds ranging from shoegaze and emo to R&B, this compilation showcases Black excellence beyond genre.
KeiyaA
Photo courtesy of KeiyaA/Bandcamp
KeiyaA’s experimental R&B emits like gaseous substance, its particles expanding to fill whatever container it's held in. But, the Chicago native defies containment at every step. She briefly studied jazz at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Columbia College, before dropping out due to the limiting framework of the program. The now Brooklyn-based artist’s debut album, Forever, Ya Girl, released last year, flows effortlessly, each track wading into the next. KeiyaA’s vocals glide across looming synths, bumped by subterranean beats. She simultaneously ruminates on grief and desire — mourning her losses while building anew. “Should I give up privacy so I can pay my rent? / Should I take a policy out on my tax-sponsored dissent? / Should I grow some more green before I take another hit? / ‘Cause I gets weary on the regular,” she voices above sonic whimsy on “I! Gits! Weary!” Meanwhile, “Nu World Burdens” evokes a dreamy manifestation: “I can't wait to be alone / To be one with my blackest fire / 'Cause we deserve to go home / And our souls will never be owned again.” In her Tiny Desk Concert, she cites works of Black women, namely Jane Cortez and Ntozake Shange, as essential influences, something clear in the poetic musings of her lyrics. In creating a realm compiled of her experiences as a Black woman, both joyous and devastating, KeiyaA crafts deep wells of sound, the kind you’ve sunk into before you know it. — Laiken Neumann
Recommended If You Like: Solange, Noname, Liv.e
The Veldt
Photo courtesy of David Williams
The Veldt’s Afrodisiac is an album that feels like remnants of a dream. The album’s first track, “Intro,” sets the mood of uncanny familiarity with the repetitive nature of the question and answer: “Do you love me? / Yes, I love you.” The question is asked over simple drum beats, psychedelic guitar sounds and feedback. The Veldt sets up this auditory experience as a slow introduction to the honeyed stylings of twins Danny and Daniel Chavez. The free vocals that cover warbling guitars in “Until You’re Forever” might make the album’s messages seem like white noise, but there’s a sharp focus: issues within the Black community. Songs like “Heather” stood out in the shoegaze scene; while other dream-pop bands relayed muddy abstractions, lead vocalist Danny made his messages of internalized hatred and identity assimilation clear and topical. “Hate doesn’t feel so bad / and I make it oh so right / Heather, I want to build my world around you / Because you’re oh so right,” he voiced. The upbeat “Wanna Be Where You Are” blasts you to a transcendental plane of listening. The song’s guitar sound is what one might expect from Cocteau Twins, but it becomes deliciously playful as Danny sings in a trance, “I wanna be where you are / I wanna be where you are.” The group inspired other Black musicians in the early '90s to embrace their creativity and break free from the oppressive mold that the music industry attempted to put them in. The soulful artistry of The Veldt was pure soulgaze, shoegaze, and every genre in between. — Micaela Galvez
Recommended If You Like: Echo and the Bunnymen, The Nightblooms, The Pixies
Proper.
Photo courtesy of Nikki Austin-Garlington
The spirit of bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Dashboard Confessional is alive and well in Proper., the Brooklyn-based band riding the wave of the ongoing emo resurrection. In 2017, the group debuted with The Suburbs Have Ruined My Life, a heavy examination of vocalist and guitarist Erik Garlington's experience of being queer and Black in rural America. Backed by melodic guitar riffs and heartfelt wails, The Suburbs introduces listeners to Proper.'s searing lyrics and fresh take on emo. "The American Way" is blunt and unflinching — like most Proper. Tracks — as Garlington decries the misogyny, racism, and homophobia that plague the country: "Because they said I could hear freedom ring / And I could be anything / But they forgot to say unless you’re a woman, Black, or gay / Because, hey hey, that’s the American way." In its explosive follow-up record, I Spent the Winter Writing Songs About Getting Better, Proper. branches out beyond the hallmarks of the genre, blending humor with traditionally dark confessionals and sprinkling numerous pop culture references into the mix. Songs like "Lime Green Jheri Curl" meld endearingly whiny vocals with clever rap verses, while "Fucking Disgusting" smoothly splices a brief ABBA cover between complex chord progressions. Proper.'s fearless attitude and fierce commitment to self-expression and authenticity set it apart from the rest. With Proper. and other bands pushing the envelope of emo and advocating for greater representation of Black artists in the alternative scene, the state of the genre looks very different than it did 20 years ago — and that's a good thing. — Kriss Conklin
Recommended If You Like: Taking Back Sunday, The Wonder Years, Phoebe Bridgers
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article listed the group A.R. Kane. However, the mention was removed as the band is not American.