From musicians to writers to designers, here are five black creatives to start supporting this Black History Month.
Kyle Denis of Black Boy Bulletin (Entertainment Blogger)
One of stan Twitter’s best exports, Kyle Denis and his blog Black Boy Bulletin have become a leading voice in pop writing and a road map for how young professionals can succeed. Only a college student at present, Denis launched Black Boy Bulletin only four years ago and has now writen for Billboard magazine and accumulated a social media following of over 19,000. Readers can support Kyle and his work by following him on social media or bookmarking BlackBoyBulletin.com.
Milik Kashad of Black Music Archive (YouTuber)
Chances are if you’re a reader of the site, you’ve read a vocal profile or two. If you like what you’ve read, then you should turn your attention to multidisciplinary artist Milik Kashad, a content creator democratizing vocal pedagogy resources for his audience. With so many resources on the topic focusing on European Bel Canto standards, it’s absolutely critical to consider black aesthetics and teaching as well, which is often unacknowledged or outright dismissed by intellectuals. Viewers can support the channel by subscribing on YouTube.
Dua Saleh (Musician, Poet, and Actor)
Minneapolis-based Sudanese-American Dua Saleh may be better known as Cal from Nextflix’s hit series Sex Education, but that’s destined to be a mere footnote on their resumé. With over 10 million Spotify streams to date, the rising star is making waves with their borderless and genre-defying blend of Art Pop and Alternative R&B. On the current single “fav flav” with Duckwrth, the duo pan their electrified vocals from side to side over a mesmerizing woodwind instrumental. Fans can follow Saleh on Spotify and social media and purchase merch to support.
Maxime Manga (Artist)
Cameroon-based artist Maxime Manga is pushing the boundaries of both Afrofuturism and Pop Art with his scintillating digital works. Synthesizing experiences from pop culture and life in Africa, his definitive style of portrait with its bright bursts of color and unconventional shapes has amassed a following of 40,000 and counting on Instagram. Fans can view his Rarible site, and follow him on Instagram to support.
Nate & Chriselle Dwarika of Black Mixture (YouTubers)
For those wanting to master video editing and production, look no further than Nate and Chriselle Dwarika’s YouTube channel, Black Mixture. The wicked talented duo focuses mostly on tutorials for Adobe After Effects and the 3D rendering program Blender in addition to featuring their own professional portfolio. Interested parties can PayPal the duo directly, or become a patron to their Patreon page for less than $5 a month.
We’d like to wish all of our readers a Happy Black History Month, and remind everyone that Black Lives Matter. Readers can donate to the movement and support black artists by clicking here.
