Written by: Caroline Bugg
This past Saturday, America celebrated Juneteenth - a federal holiday that acknowledges and commemorates the emancipation of the slaves in the United States. It’s a day to recognize our harsh history and how difficult the emancipation process was while also celebrating freedom and African-American culture. Our country still has work to do on the journey to equality, so here at With the Band, we want to lift up the voices of Black artists in order to show our support for the holiday and continue our work supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
The first artist we want to recognize is H.E.R., the Grammy award-winning R&B artist! Back in March, H.E.R. won the Grammy for Song of the Year for her song “I Can’t Breathe.” This song was a direct response to the unrest surrounding police brutality toward Black Americans. “I Can’t Breathe” was released last summer on Juneteenth in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement. This year, almost exactly a year later on June 18th, H.E.R. released her new album, Back of My Mind! This album features artists like Ty Dolla $ign, Cordae, Lil Baby, and more. The first single from the album, “We Made It,” depicts a confident, successful young H.E.R. happy with how far she’s come. We are definitely here for the success she’s been having and are loving #BOMM! ⚡️
Next, we want to feature Khalid! This 23-year-old artist blew up in the music industry a few years ago with the release of his song “Location” and has been on the charts ever since! Working with artists such as Billie Eilish, J Balvin, Marshmello, and more, he’s truly spreading his wings across multiple genres and musical styles. Last Thursday, Khalid released a new song, “Working,” in collaboration with Tate McRae! This upbeat, happy-go-lucky song is a great summer jam! He also collabed with WATTS earlier this year on the song “Feels.” This is definitely one of our favorite songs of his this year, as it perfectly explains the feeling of not wanting to fight your feelings anymore. We can’t wait to see where the rest of this year takes Khalid and his fresh and chill vibes! 💙
One artist we always love to feature is Megan Thee Stallion! Megan has been having an insanely busy few years, and it’s definitely paying off! Between releasing her album Suga, collaborating with several artists, winning multiple Grammys, and announcing the return of her alter-ego Tina Snow, we are looking forward to any and all new music she releases! Her most recent single, “Thot S***,” is upbeat, fun, and makes us want to go out and have a good time feeling confident in our own bodies! Speaking of feeling confident in our own bodies, Megan also just dropped a swimwear line with Fashion Nova! Between music, fashion, and working toward getting her college degree, we are so proud of Megan and are excited to follow her journey. 🎉
One last artist we want to celebrate in honor of Juneteenth is Giveon! After being featured on Drake’s single, “Chicago Freestyle” in 2020, Giveon quickly rose to prominence. Since then, he’s had several songs receive rave reviews and millions of streams! Giveon was featured on Justin Bieber’s hit song, “Peaches,” and his songs “Heartbreak Anniversary” and “Like I Want You” have each received over 100 million streams on Spotify! All we can say is WOW! Most recently, Giveon released his album, When It’s All Said And Done… Take Time, back in March! This album is a combination of two EP’s, bringing his most recent music together into one joint project. Giveon’s career might just be starting off, but this definitely isn’t amateur work. 💜
Which of these artists are you looking forward to checking out? We always love getting a chance to highlight our favorite artists and celebrate culture and creativity. Be sure to continue supporting Black artists and learning more about Juneteenth and the Black Lives Matter movement. 👏
Read more about African-American artists who changed music forever here.
Read more about the history and importance of Juneteenth here.
Learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement here.
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