The month of June commemorates Black Music Month, also known as African American Music Appreciation Month, an entire month dedicated to the achievements of Black musicians and artists to the music industry as a whole. This month, African American musical influences on a range of music genres are at the forefront — and that includes K-pop.
Yes, numerous Black musicians have contributed to the writing and production of some of the most popular K-pop hits, but they usually go unnoticed or undervalued for their efforts. In honor of Black Music Month, I’ve produced a list of Black artists working in the K-pop industry who you should keep an eye on, as well as the fan-favorite songs they worked on.
Rodnae “Chikk” Bell
Rodnae Bell, professionally known as Chikk, is an American singer-songwriter who has previously collaborated on songs with superstars such as Iggy Azalea, Jordin Sparks, and Jennifer Hudson in her first year of songwriting. Her publisher then asked her if she wanted to continue her work in South Korea, and in 2013, she traveled there and began writing songs for some of the most successful K-pop singers at the time, and she still does so today. Bell participated in the making of several songs by performers signed to SM Entertainment, one of South Korea’s largest entertainment companies. She has contributed to the writing of EXO’s “Overdose” and “Monster,” Girls’ Generation’s “Mr.Mr.,” Red Velvet’s “Red Dress,” and, more recently, NCT 127’s “Kick it.”
Teddy Riley
If you’re a lover of ’90s R&B, Teddy Riley’s name might seem familiar. Riley was once in his own boy group, Guy, in the late 1980s and was a founding member of the vocal group Blackstreet after Guy’s disbandment. Riley is widely regarded as an originator and pioneer of the late 1980s’ and early 1990s’ new jack swing genre. Riley collaborated with some of the most prominent Western performers, including Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, and SWV, according to Blackstreet’s Spotify profile.
Riley visited South Korea in 2009 and contributed to the globalization of the new jack swing genre by creating songs for groups such as EXO (“What is Love”), Girls’ Generation (“The Boys”), SHINee (“Beautiful”), and f(x) (“All Night”).
Adrian McKinnon
Adrian McKinnon is a singer, songwriter, and producer who made his K-pop debut in 2014 with the song “December, 2014 (The Winter’s Tale)” by boy band EXO. According to his Genius profile, he has continued to offer a hand in writing for some of K-pop’s top performers, including SuperM (“Jopping”), f(x) (“4 walls”), ASTRO (“Crazy Sexy Cool”), Monsta X (“Magnetic”), and NCT 127 (“Superhuman”). Billboard magazine placed his song “Obsession” by EXO as the greatest K-pop song of 2019.
In addition, McKinnon has appeared in interviews with the YouTube channel ReacttotheK, which features students and graduates from the Easton School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he discusses his contributions as well as the creative process behind some of the K-pop songs on which he was credited.
Tayla Parx
Tayla Parx is a well-known songwriter who is credited with co-writing three Billboard Hot 100 hit singles: “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande, and “High Hopes” by Panic! at the Disco. She continues to write for some of the biggest stars, not only in the Western music industry, but also in K-pop. She has contributed songs for GOT the Beat (“Step Back”), TWICE (“Wallflower”), Red Velvet (“Dumb, Dumb”), and even helped create the Steve Aoki Remix version of BTS’s song “Mic Drop” in 2017.
Bianca “Blush” Atterberry
Bianca Atterberry, also known as Blush, is a producer and songwriter who has written songs for Demi Lovato, Mary J. Blige, and Meghan Trainor. She has also written for K-pop musicians such as NCT 127 (“Love Song”), EXO (“Bad Dream”), Blackpink (“Hard to Love”), and Taeyeon (“Purpose”). Atterberry has acknowledged the difficulties of being Black in the profession, as well as the prejudice that comes with it, and stated in an interview with Envi that “I am a Black woman first. I think K-pop disregards how much they are taken and influenced from Black culture.”