A New Era For Black Women

Growing up, there wasn’t much representation of black women in a lot of spaces. Not in the shows I watched. Not in the books I read. This led to me feeling unseen in ways that I couldn’t comprehend as a child. But in music… in music they were present. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my mom and I singing at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs. Music was a staple in our household. My mother loves music and singing; it's the main thing that we have in common. I grew up listening to a lot of oldies, thanks to my mom. It’s still one of my favorite types of music to listen to. I have so many memories of my mom blasting tunes in the living room while she danced and twirled. I always enjoyed watching her because it was when she seemed the happiest. She would often pull me out of my seat to dance with her. Music by these women lifted our spirits like nothing else. We struggled a lot throughout my childhood because of how poor we were, but we always had our music and our voices. Nothing could take those things away from us. And hearing black women, just like my mother sing about their lives with such passion and love despite what they had been through was undoubtedly inspiring. It was then that I had my first glance at the magic that black women held within. I fell in love with music because of black women.

The list of what I grew up listening to the most is as follows: Monifah, Mariah Carey, Xscape, Erykah Badu, Denise Williams, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Brandy, Destiny’s Child, Ashant, Mary J. Blige, and Beyonce. These wonderfully talented and creative women absolutely paved the way for all of the newer black women artists in the music industry today. I hold all of this music close to my heart, always. It brings me so much joy that black women artists in music today can express themselves in ways that they previously were not able to. There is still a problem with black women not always taken seriously. There are still so many improvements that need to be made. With all the contributions that black women have made (not just in the music industry, of course) it is past time we get the respect we deserve.

Throughout my life music has been my anchor. It has helped me find myself during the darkest times. The times that I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. When I wasn’t black enough for the black kids, but I was too black for the white kids; I took refuge in the lyrics, beats, and melodies; I still do. They made me feel safe. They gave me a place to be myself. I know that music will continue to do this for me; and I feel eternally grateful that I can continuously discover new music made by beautiful black women.

Over the past few years, it seems that so many more black women artists have appeared in mainstream music. I feel so honored to exist in this time of music. Some of the talented and notable black female artists and songwriters I listen to are Doja Cat, Cardi B, Flo Milli, Megan Thee Stallion, Kiana Ledé, Ari Lennox, Willow Smith, Victoria Monét, Normani, Lizzo, Rico Nasty, SZA, H.E.R, Kehlani, Tierra Whack, Solange, Riley, Princess Nokia, Chole x Halle, Halsey, Syd, Ella Mai, Jazmine Sullivan, and Jhené Aiko. I know, this is a pretty long list but this is just the tip of the iceberg. This diverse listing of women means so much to me. They are all so different when it comes to their sounds; it is very refreshing. All of these women help to give black girls and women everywhere a space to come exactly as they are. Black girls and women for too long have been ridiculed for not fitting into the boxes that other people have created and planned to keep us in. We are often judged inside and outside of our communities for not being the stereotypes, others expect us to be. Sometimes alienated by our own families. I love all of the artists that I mentioned because they are all so authentically themselves. This representation is so necessary for black girls everywhere. We grow up being unappreciated, disrespected, not taken seriously, and conditioned to believe that there is something inherently wrong with us. So for us, being able to see these black women flourish in the way that they are is monumental. For example, Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat are so unapologetic when it comes to not only their music, but who they are as humans. They are incredibly talented rappers. They also often talk about what Anime they watch and like, which is something so many of us can relate to. I know of too many black women who had, and still have their blackness questioned constantly throughout their lives because they like things like Anime, show tunes, many genres of music, or just had/have a personality that people around them aren’t familiar with. Maybe even because they liked to draw or paint. Black women face judgment whether we fit someone’s preconceived ideals of us, or not.

All of this music is black women teaching other black women how to love and value themselves. How to not accept less than we deserve! Allowing us to feel fully seen, heard, and valued. Whether I’m listening to the soft tones of Solange and Willow or jumping around to Rico Nasty’s hard-hitting bops; there is a space for me and black women everywhere. These women give us the space to create communities and learn from each other. No one but us, knows exactly how it feels to be us.

This is for all black girls and women. Whether you are weird, loud, skinny, passionate, dorky, boujee, shy, theatrical, quiet, introverted, extroverted, chill, curvy, creative, or not. No matter what characteristics we have. We have always been and always will be valid.