Blak List Vol. 14: Blak pop tracks, Blak love and a new 3% collaboration!
Welcome back to Blak List, our first Blak List of the year actually. We missed last month for the usual reason that January seems to just be the busiest but we did have a great update to the Blak Loud playlist with a resistance songs theme playlist released just ahead of the 26th of Jan, we just didn’t manage to write the article…
As always Blak List is your monthly journey through the exciting world of Blak music and the Blak Loud playlist on Amazon Music.
Huge thanks to Amazon Music for their continued support of this curation by the Awesome Black team.
In this edition of both the Blak Loud playlist and the accompanying article we are all about love, with February having a Valentine’s day we thought why not lean into this theme and pull out some new and older Blak tracks that speak to both ours and your hearts. In the playlist we have a mix of different genres from singer/ songwriter outings by Dan Sultan through to pop tracks from Akala Newman and RnB/ hip hop vibes from artists like 2ktrilla or 3%.
This month we have 49 tracks for you centred around the theme of love. I wanted to create a bit of a journey through Blak music and pull out some older pieces alongside the new drops.
You would likely have seen our New Blak Music Friday series on our Instagram where we talk about what new tracks have come out each week. If not please jump on over there and check it out.
Before we dive in I want to talk about the new year and how at the top of each year Blak musicians put out a dirge of music. It’s the time of the year where I feel we get the most tracks released from mob. Whether it be resistance and call to action tracks ahead of Jan 26 or full albums of new work that they’ve been holding off on releasing. Whatever the reason it is a great time to hear new Blak music.
Ok, let’s jump in and talk about this month’s Blak Loud playlist with our first five tracks.
Akala Newman – Suffocate Me
I would describe Akala Newman as a dark-pop powerhouse and Suffocate Me exemplifies that. From the title you may not think Suffocate Me fits into the theme of love but let me tell you from where I’m sitting it definitely does. While it may not be my scene anymore (insert Travis dancing in a dark club in the early 2010s(I am 35 & ¾ now fam)) this is definitely a club track that I hope gets some spins late into the evening and into the early morning.
Akala Newman is our face out artist this month for Blak Loud.
Emily Wurramara – Magic Woman Dancing
A beautiful fresh outing from Wurramara, I would say this is her best work to date. I don’t need to say anymore. George Coles has done a full review of this track and the associated music video over here which you should read – full warning the review is a love letter to everything Emily Wurramara.
A powerful piece that I’m so glad could be in the playlist.
3% & Tia Gostelow – Sleezy Steezy Cool
“I don’t write love songs baby, these feelings drive me crazy” – Nooky 2024
Ummm 3% have followed up their debut single OUR PEOPLE with another banger, this time it is an upbeat party hip hop/ rap track with Tia Gostelow. This cements 3% as a big thing – if that even needed to be said. If you can get along to their live show because they are previewing tracks before they officially release them. Also check out the video clip for this to peep Nooky in full Keith Urban get up.
Can not wait for more 3%.
Loren Ryan feat. Nathan Lamont – My Favourite Summer
We head to a little country with Loren Ryan telling us a story all about her favourite summer and a love story alongside Nathan Lamont.
Great track. The chorus is pure country.
Jessica Mauboy – Yours Forever
Jess is back and we are once again blessed by what she has given us. Yours Forever is a short, instrumentally paired back piece that allows Jess’s powerful vocals to drive us through an amazing affirmation of her love.
The rest of the playlist is a full journey of great music featuring new tracks from Kobie Dee, Dobby, Ziggy Ramo, The Kid LAROI, Chill Cheney and so much more along. Please feel free to let us know your favourite track and what song you’ll be playing to your lover as you slip into the playlist on Amazon Music and immerse yourself in the rich and diverse sounds of Blak music.
We’re also going to be pulling in a couple of brand new drops as they come out. So make sure to keep the playlist in rotation to stay up to date with all the hottest new Blak music, curated by Awesome Black.
As always, we’re eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions, so feel free to drop us a line at music@awesomeblack.org. Thanks for joining us for Blak List Vol. 14, we’ll see you soon for another deep dive. Until then, stay lubly.
Listen to the full playlist here.
