Black History Month Playlists

We've been celebrating Black History Month throughout October and asked our students to help by compiling a series of playlists. 

Check out some ace selections below covering everything from hip hop and grime to avant garde, experimental and much more besides...

Trudi Veremu | Outside the Box 

When compiling this playlist, I was thinking of artists who work outside of the box in different ways. So some could be considered avant garde, radical, unorthodox or experimental in their sound, style or just in terms of how their music works against the cultural backdrop of their time. 

If you search for avant garde Black artists online, you’ll get musicians like John Coltrane, George Clinton and Miles Davies - all brilliant players but in fact Black artists have been groundbreaking since the dawn of time."

For example, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, he had a huge influence over Mozart and is now starting to get the recognition he deserves. 

My favourites in this include Sun Ra and Neneh Cherry, the latter was a real inspiration to me. 

I hope there’s something on this playlist for you to and celebrates these Black artists as innovators and radicals in an industry which often marginalises us. 

Sully Gravity | Queer Voices 

My selection is a celebration of Black queer voices, everyone from Kaytranada to Arlo Parks via RuPaul and Azealia Banks. 

I’ve chosen these artists because it’s a constant indication of who are you are - I’m Black, queer and I’m here - this is their statement and it paves the way for so many people. Black History Month is the perfect moment to recognise their amazing work. 

Lina Simons | Top Contemporary MCs 

For me, Black History Month is very important as it's a chance to celebrate the value Black people bring to the world. I also think the month is for all the minorities who face discrimination.

My main focus was on Black female rappers because this game is harder for us - we need all the support we can get although there’s also a bit of Drake in there too. I hope you like it…