L.A. or Bust 003

Hey homies,

Welcome back to the 3rd edition of L.A. or Bust in which I will be continuing to introduce y’all to Black artists based in LA. 

We are experiencing a crucial time in one of the biggest civil rights movements in history. As a movement driven largely by social media, it seems that non-Black BLM allies/advocates are feeling fatigue from addressing the oppression that Black folks face everyday and challenging the status quo. We must maintain momentum and prevent our feeds from “going back to normal” because this movement goes beyond being a trend. There is no singular defined goal that we can reach that will completely eliminate racism. The fight for systemic changes is a long one—one that we may not even see the end of in our lifetime, just as Black activists have been fighting for centuries.

Utilizing our energy to mobilize, self-educate, protest, donate, etc. is effective. However, ingraining small acts of activism into our daily lives will instill permanent, productive practices and habits. I’d like to focus on media consumption, an intimately personal activity, as a means to do such a thing. My goal has always been to make you all more conscious music listeners and involved participants of the local scene. Diversify your music intake. Ask yourself how many Black artists you can name. How about female Black artists? Queer and trans Black Artists? Keep a finger on the pulse of contemporary BIPOC music and voices. Actively search for and listen to sounds that you lack representation of in your current music taste. 

Keep in mind though, that this should not be an act of performative diversity. Because diversity and inclusion are not enough on their own. As I mentioned in the previous blog post, the L.A. creative scene is guilty of gatekeeping BIPOC creators. Together, we must work beyond allyship. Identifying ourselves “allies” is not the end goal. Anti-racism is a daily ongoing practice for Black liberation. Use this playlist and do your own work to immerse yourself in Black art. We must redistribute power, resources, and access to Black artists. It’s not enough to just give them a seat at the table. They should be at the head of the table. Black artists have immense influence that has long been underappreciated. Non-Black people must do the work of loudly acknowledging, appreciating, and respecting the labor that Black people put into their artistic expression. 

A lot of this week’s featured artists are also very new discoveries for me too. I dug around social media and asked friends for recommendations. Yet again, I’d love to shout out Black artists from USC who not only make infectious music, but are also speaking up and organizing in the USC community: Kabwasa, Kyle Lux, Amir Kelly. I also discovered a couple of the artists for this playlist from the participating Black artists of Do Over Fest, a free online gallery/festival showcasing works from BIPOC trans/GNC artists surrounding the theme of queerness and childhood. This exciting endeavor is organized by Flynn Namala and funded in part by West Hollywood Trans Art Grant. Be sure to check out various disciplines of art displayed virtually on August 1st-8th at dooverfest.com. On the site, you can also see links to donate to the artists.

As always, I encourage you, the wonderfully kind readers, to use your disposable income to monetarily support the artists that are highlighted in these playlists. Whatever your capacity, there are numerous ways to show support to musicians, particularly BIPOC artists who are the most in need of your love. Stream, buy, donate, share! The next Bandcamp Friday is July 3rd which means on that day from midnight to midnight PDT, Bandcamp is waiving their revenue share, i.e. the artists you support make more money on all physical and digital sales. If you need more ideas of Black artists, producers, and labels on Bandcamp to purchase from, visit this handy crowd-sourced list of Black artists on Bandcamp which is not just limited to L.A.

Last but not least, if you or someone you know is a Black musician based in LA and would like to be featured in future L.A. or Bust playlists, please don’t hesitate to reach out to TRASH MAG and/or me.

Happy listening,

Nat

(@natatatatlee)

Follow TRASH MAG on Spotify and listen here! 

See below for tracklist and playlist.