Black is Beautiful

Well, it's a time of upheaval after all. Protests in the US and UK and elsewhere have had knock-on effects:

Country act Lady Antebellum have now shortened their name to Lady A because they've never thought the name had any problem before 

Rapper Wretch 32 saw his father tasered by police in an incident where his skin colour seemed to relate to the harshness of the reaction (i.e. an old white guy would not have been tasered).

Keisha Buchanan, of Sugababes, has spoken of how she was perceived negatively as being a bully in the girl-band, even though she wasn't.

Various awards and record companies are dropping the term "urban", which was used as short-hand for a black R&B sound. That's marketing for you.

Gucci Mane has slagged off Atlantic Records for what he called a "casual racist" attitude to his music.

...and I expect this will run and run... for a while at least...

A 12 year old has been signed by Warner Records after posting a song in the wake of recent events:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53102728

Keedron Bryant's song I Just Wanna Live, posted online one day after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is out on Friday.
Warner Records timed the release to coincide with Juneteenth, which marks the end of centuries of US slavery.

Money talks.

Beyonce has rapidly released a new song "Black Parade":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53119767

2008 UK X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has spoken about the racism she experienced when she was working on her first album, and being told she needed to make big changes:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53120390

Another country act changing their name are the Dixie Chicks, who will henceforth be known as the Chicks. Miles better 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53180585

misery guts wrote:
Country act Lady Antebellum have now shortened their name to Lady A because they've never thought the name had any problem before   

They also never seem to have checked if anyone was already called Lady A. In fact, there is... and now the band are sueing her for the rights to the name she's been using for decades   I hope the judge tells them where to go.

And in other news, KanYe West announced his plans to run for the Presidency of the USA in November.

misery guts wrote:
And in other news, KanYe West announced his plans to run for the Presidency of the USA in November.

He made further announcements this week, and also seems to be being written off as bipolar.

Meanwhile, back on the name-change front, DJ The Black Madonna has realised it might be appropriate to amend her name, and another DJ, Joey Negro, plans to revert to his "real" name instead.

After a quiet few weeks, David Byrne has had to apologise for a skit from the 1980s:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53997053

Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has apologised for a video in which he impersonates people of colour using black and brownface.

The promotional video for 1984's concert film Stop Making Sense, sees the star interviewing himself, while playing several different reporters.

After the clip resurfaced on social media, Byrne issued a statement expressing his regret and dismay.

"I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement," he wrote.

Oh well...

The Whole Truth
Also put together for World Mental Health Day or something, Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks presented a round table chat with Arlo Parks, Kojey Radical and Che Lingo. They discussed racism, and sang songs. I would be more taken if it were a regular format rather than a one-off.

Backlash against the term BAME:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54641786

Dolly Parton has nailed her colours to the BLM flag:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53783257

Meanwhile the UK charts have expanded to give Afrobeats their own rundown:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53487584

There's a few round-ups there that have needed adding a while...

Sing It Loud - Black and Proud
Maya Jama presented a decent little showcase, with Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Ashley Henry, Rueben James, Zara McFarlane and Poppy Ajudha all choosing a famous song to cover, finished off with Soweto Kinch also performing.

Champion One, Champion All! was the name of a major new exhibition last month which looked at Liverpool's varied black music heritage :

The exhibition is part of the On Record, Untold & Retold Black music festival and was created entirely under lockdown. All photographs were taken within a three week period and as a collective, are a unique snapshot of the city’s Black music scene today.

Champion One, Champion All!