The Black Girls Rock! awards aired Tuesday 5th April on BET, with some performances that absolutely brought the house down and some fab Blues Girls were front and centre making this happen. Black Girls Rock! launched 10 years ago to boost the confidence of young black girls by recognising the achievements of black female role models and challenging traditional media portrayals of black women. R&B / Soul music came through and provided some rockin’ entertainment all night long and we’ve done a special round-up of those performances for you.
Jazmine Sullivan reminds us that her talent is a ‘Masterpiece’
One our absolute favs opened the show with ‘Masterpiece’ off her 2015 critically-acclaimed album ‘Reality Show’. The album, as well as this performance, is a masterpiece of brilliant artistry. We’re always blown away by how effortless, but powerful her performances are.
Mood: New School Got Soul Too
The past week has really brought home the re-emergence of Soul music that we keep going on about. Soul never went away, but the millenial generation appeared to have fallen out of love with it. It seemed to be perceived of as being out of touch with the ‘modern’ sound.
But the tide seems to be turning in Soul music’s favour, as a new school of young, boundary-pushing singers has reminded us of Soul’s timelessness and knack for assimilating the different sounds and influences of whatever day. Singers like Jhene Aiko, Adrian Daniel, FKA Twigs, Sza and Kelela flex the genre’s changeability and multiplicity. From Jhene Aiko’s increasingly mainstream profile, to Kelela being featured on Beyonce’s ‘Hot Sauce’ Tidal playlist, not to mention Adele breaking all kinds of records with a surprise comeback, signs are that Soul is making its way back to prominence on the music scene.
Ultimately, Soul music is about raw expression, the quality that really connects music to its audience. This past week, releases from Gallant, Kendra Foster and the mainstream coverage that they, as well as others in this new generation of avant-gardes have received is a reminder that Soul still connects in a unique way.
You may not know many of the names of the artists on this week’s playlist, but the signs are that they will be making big moves soon. But really, that’s besides the point. They make great music and are all worth a good listen.
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