Seattle is Serving One Hell of a Cookout
In reality, every month in America is Black History Month. Somebody always been doin’ something, ok. And the history of Black musicians making waves in the PNW that lap up on creative shores all over the world is fundamental to Seattle’s reputation as a music town.
Quincy. Ernestine. Jimi. And the foundation for it all curated in The Black Musicians Union. In a town treaded with redlining and cultural ambiguity, Black artists are building up community brick by brick and reconnecting to the story of our streets almost lost in the din of commerce.
Today, Seattle’s legacy of producing tastemakers capable of making a national impact continues with homegrown talents stepping up to the plate with one-of-a-kind perspectives to entice, engage and inspire. Here are some of my favorite artists turning it out right now:
Jimmy James
Seattle famous Jimmy James is already world-renowned for his iconic guitar. He notably wails with Hendrix in his heart, keeps audiences guessing with a playbook of licks, and turns any stage into an emotional playground where the ancestors of soul seem to stand in the wings. Every project he touches turns to gold - whether DLo3, The True Loves, or his platinum level signature sound on H.E.R’s record.
Follow Jimmy James on Instagram.
Da Qween
All 2020 I watched every “Bad Bitch” compete for the lead. Until I heard Da Qween’s debut album Renaissance Bitch – then it was clear. Da Qween is THAT BITCH and YOU COULD NEVER. Their honest and present songwriting translates perfectly onstage with the effortless realness of an Issa Rae passion project. Mama’s a star. Period.
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SOL
SOL is the Duke of Seattle hip-hop: a skilled creator with a penchant for sticking up the little guy and feeding the team. Moreover, his music slaps and he’s one of the most dynamic and emotional MCs to come out of Seattle…dare I say ever. The release of his 10-year seminal album “Yours Truly” as a limited edition vinyl speaks to his ingenuity and the music still…dare I say…hits different.
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The Black Tones
You can’t have a Seattle cookout without Seattle sweethearts The Black Tones bringing the cornbread, chile. With the perfect combination of rock and roll iconography and Family Matters, these twins keep cranking out hits that make Winslows and Tanners alike bust out in song. If you’re into experiencing post-grunge Seattle, try this show – and witness that Seattle rock and roll is entering its “slay” day.
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Parisalexa
When I heard her debut EP Bloom I was fully inspired – this is what it sounds like to feel your own as a Black woman today. And when Flexa dropped we were like…DAMN. Go auf. Paris is a pop-star to a tee. Capturing audiences nationwide with her present, feminine, confidence that rolls off the record with a sense of companionship and allure that predicates itself in compelling visual content and exceptional writing. A Sound Off! Alum, Paris is a walking vision of when talent and passion pull the best from the culture.
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Black Ends
Fronted by the vocal hypnotist, Nicole Swims, Black Ends are the self-proclaimed baringers of Gunk-Pop: a genre giving you all the twisted angst of Nirvana and the addictive grit of Foo Fighters and the earworm anti-symmetry of The Pixies. Listening to the 2020 release Stay Evil keeps you young - the world they’ve built echoes like the plaster walls of a Euphoria set and the haunting lyrics from Swims’ mind rattle around in your head like a ping-pong ball. The live show goes auf like a circus. These folks get it.
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Campana
I’ve been rocking for Campana since Cosmos. The beats: fresh. The swag: correct. The lines: fire. Campana continues Seattle’s legacy of producing dope emcees with real thangs to say. Their critically acclaimed visual album MATTER OF TIME is a clear snapshot of the current cultural plight as Black folks grapple with their bodies being in the limelight and their leadership emerging generationally through the mire of societal racism. Plus it slaps. Campana rides that fine line of being one on and being the one - and the backbone of Hip-Hop ain’t slippin for nobodies mama.
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Afrocop
Some folks make jazz and some make noise. Afrocop builds worlds of retreat and nuisance I’ve never heard before. Noel Brass is the way and must be protected at all times. The careful and thoughtful storytelling behind their psychedelic sound is a film score for the tea-dipped tint of your melancholia. I’ve had the pleasure of catching moving performances in underground jazz havens and cataclysmic rippage on club stages throughout the city - and I always walk away with the same notion that art is a living substance. Afrocop is the perfect atrium.
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TezaTalks
The ever evolution of TezaTalks is raw, rich, and built on the bedrock of artistry. Always emotional, always seeking understanding, always present - this sista is a real one. A consummate collaborator (check out this bop with Larry Roze), Teza stays ready and in the studio - giving us hip-hop, electronica, and belted heartfelt vocals that place her unique sensibilities at the heart of what music is all about; changing the game. This sanger is never limited by expectation and her talent for building a brand that reflects a true diva on her grind is a beautiful expression of bossness.
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Guayaba/Ex-Florist
Now, this is an artist. Guayaba’s like next-level creative, yall. Their hauntingly beautiful release Fantasmagoria hollers “STAY READY”. They spit hellfire and all the while keep you guessing as the trance-like beats slug you along into the pit of their wild and wondrous world of darkness. If a monster was a bad bitch…yep that’s Guayaba. The tone so unique, the storytelling so disrespectfully strong, and the energy…a constant yearning for solitude. Watching them perform is like watching a tempest in a bottle. Genre-bending music, taste-making fashions that speak to their DIY sensibilities and Queen of the Underground swag: this spiked and sordid sacred creation takes the cake on keeping Seattle weird in the best way possible.
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Ayron Jones
Is there a songwriter out there rocking harder than Ayron? Don’t even check - the answer is hell no. That clear and inevitably grasping rasp; the filth on that guitar shred with the thickness of Kim Thayil and the tenderness of BeBe King; and the lyricsm that reconnected a new generation of Americana lovers with the heavy, rolling hills of soul vocal. Ayron beeeen out here killing it – national touring, sharing stages with titans of rock and roll, hitting number one on rock charts, and essentially taking the game by storm around the world over the past two years. His band The Way is filled with Seattle heavyweights like Bob Lovelace and he’s collaborated with countless local artists throughout the years. Through it all, Ayron is still a Seattle cat claimed by a songwriter central in every neighborhood in the city. Ayron has Seattle personified: dedication to the craft, relationships built on music, and the passion it takes to make the world hear our stories.
Follow Ayron Jones on Instagram.
