In honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement, this Music Monday will pay homage to one of my favorite books about the black experience, Angie Thomas’ ‘The Hate U Give’ (2017).
image via goodreads
This playlist will hit you in the feels with some nostalgic songs from that time, some inspired by the movie’s soundtrack and some of my own personal favorites. This entire playlist is filled with Black musicians/artists for you guys to fall in love with and support. Plus, the songs have been curated to showcase the variety of genres these artists occupy and to try and capture the vibe of one of the best music eras (in my opinion).
It took me forever to pick songs to go on this playlist because I wanted to grab onto a style that was easy to listen to, chill, tear-jerking, and incredibly important. All of the songs I’ve lifted say something about black culture and their experience in it. Solange’s song ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ from her third studio album A Seat at the Table, represents what hair means to Black women and men and how it should be treated with respect instead of being seen as a trend for white people and non-black people.
image via Genius
‘This Is America’ (Childish Gambino), ‘BagBak'(Vince Staples) and literally the entirety of Kendrick Lamar’s album To Pimp A Butterfly speaks on police brutality, institutional racism and Black impoverishment.
image via Befunky Collage
On the other side of the spectrum we have hopeful songs like ‘The Kids Are Alright’ ( Chloe x Halle), ‘Colors’ (St. Beauty), ‘Just Keep Goin’ (Tobi Lou), and ‘We Won’t Move’ (Arlissa) uplift us and inspires us to fight for equality in anyway we can; that all of us, Black people and our allies can stand together against oppression.
image via Befunky Collage
For all my black brother and sisters, I know you are tired and drained and dealing with an incredible amount of emotions that you might not know what to do with. You are allowed a breather, a break from social media, and a serious de-stressing. This playlist will be here when you get back!