Music is the most understood language in the world. Even when we can’t know every song’s lyrics, we come to love a good melody. As a Jamaican-American, I refuse to shy away from music from other places with unfamiliar sounds.
While there are such talented artists across the globe, there’s something about the women in music that come from all avenues of our beautiful, creative home that we call Earth.
Here are just a few female music artists that should be populating your playlist- if they’re not already there in the first place.
- PinkPantheress – United Kingdom
Now, you probably know this one. This private, but undisputedly authentic singer is located in England. PinkPantheress’s music has been dominating the TikTok scene, first making it big with her song, “Pain” in January 2021. PinkPantheress, a Gen Zer, began making music in her bedroom using GarageBand. Many of her songs use the sped-up/slowed and reverbed (a cherished listening style of many in our generation) samples of classics from the 20th century and early 2000s. Arguably, she made a huge contribution to the revitalization of “Y2K,” at least in the music scene. The majority of PinkPantheress’s lyrics deal with the common experiences of the youth, especially in the realm of love and heartbreak. Her lyrics are personal, without giving away too much information about who exactly she is talking about, and her soft vocals create an auditory diary that many can call relatable. From making music in her bedroom to dominating many young folk’s playlists, PinkPantheress has featured on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack and she has collaborated with artists such as Baby Keem, Ice Spice, beabadoobee, and GoldLink.
Here is my current fav listen from PinkPantheress:
Boy’s a liar – PinkPantheress
- Lexie Liu – China
Lexie Liu is one of the many hyper-creative music artists coming out of the East that are staking their claim in international music. One thing to know about Lexie is that you will never expect what kind of song you’ll hear when you press play. Lexie Liu, 24, was born and raised in China. She always was interested in music from a young age, first learning how to play piano at four years old. Liu is truly an international artist. She first made her claim to stardom when she was a contestant on a Korean talent TV show called K-Pop Star where her four-person group, Mazinga S, finished in fourth place. After the show, Liu enrolled at Fordham University in New York, but later dropped out to continue in music. In 2018, she starred on a Chinese talent TV show, The Rap of China. She again placed fourth, by herself this time, but not without being able to perform with a defining hit, Mulan. That got her the chance to sign with 88rising, a prominent American label known for binding the East and West in music. Liu communicates with so many with her ability to sing in Mandarin, English, Spanish, and more. Her style can be described in one word: cool. Her voice on every track is a key element to the trance-like music that she releases. A generationally specific genre is catching on these days, where Techno, Hyperpop, early 2000s RnB and Pop are mixed into a big pot of melodic goodness. Liu can definitely stake her claim in that.
Here’s my current “on-repeat” from Lexie Liu:
Fortuna – Lexie Liu
- YENDRY – Dominican Republic, Italy
YENDRY is a Latin RnB singer, born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Italy. She first made her break on the X Factor Italy and later was s igned to Sony Music Italy. However, the artist mainly sings in her mother tongue, Spanish, and stays true to Latin music. YENDRY is noticeably versatile in all avenues, from sound to fashion, and visuals. Having an internationally diverse background herself, YENDRY doesn’t shy away from collaborating with artists from over the globe including reggae icon, Damien Marley, and Congolese-Belgian singer, Lous and the Yakuza. YENDRY’s charisma has such pizazz that anyone can quickly become a fan just from personality alone. YENDRY’s smooth vocals and quick rap flow make her an entrancing artist to get into. If you want to “feel the rhythm”, you’ll definitely get to do that with YENDRY!
My fav song right now from YENDRY:
KI-KI – YENDRY
- Rina Sawayama – United Kingdom, Japan
This vocal powerhouse is dominating so many different sub-cultures- it’s insane. Sawayama, 32, was born in Niigata, Japan before moving to London, England at the age of five. Her musical origins began with her ability to connect with her peers through her love of Pop music, as she initially struggled to speak English in her primary months in London. At 16 years old, she was posting music covers on Myspace and joined a hip-hop group with the name, Lazy Lion. Rina has such an easygoing personality, but that doesn’t mean her music or style is simple. Just like many of the artists mentioned above, Rina’s discography is colorful with unique individual melodies. Pop is mainly Sawayama’s choice umbrella genre throughout each of her albums; however, she doesn’t shy away from pulling aspects of Country and even Heavy Metal into her songs. Sawayama identifies as both bisexual and pansexual and has always championed her music for the LGBT+ community. In her Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, she discussed her song, “Chosen Family”, as she has a song dedicated to her own chosen family.
“So many people around the world are not accepted by their parents, or their family for who they are. Maybe because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or anything else. And I just wanted to write a pure and honest love song to my friends, AKA my chosen family who has gone through those experiences. Chosen families are very important, it’s our safe space and it’s a very protective zone for us,” said Sawayama.
This song caught the attention of music icon and queer advocate, Elton John, who later joined Rina on another version of the song.
Here is my favorite song from Rina Sawayama:
Frankenstein – Rina Sawayama
- Koffee – Jamaica
Koffee is an uncontested representative of the new age of reggae. Koffee was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 2000. Her influence over the reggae genre has been short, but no doubt, impactful. In 2019, her EP Rapture earned the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Her win made her not just the only woman to win the award in the category, but also the youngest person to win the award. She was 19- absolutely iconic! Although Koffee is kind of reserved in her non-performing state, her passion for representing her Jamaican heritage is nothing she shies away from. As a child, Koffee grew up in the church, where she sang in the choir and taught herself the guitar at 12, however, she pays homage in almost every tune to the Rastafarian reggae artists that put Jamaica on the map. She even worked with a few absolute legends in the genre, including Buju Banton, and of course her mentors, Chronixx and Protoje. Koffee can tap into both traditional, old school reggae of our parents and grandparents, while simultaneously redefining the genre to fit into today’s vibes. This ability simply just makes her loved by all.
My choice tune atm from Koffee is:
The Harder They Fall – Koffee
- Ash-B – South Korea
When you’re trying to feel like that girl, you don’t even have to understand Korean to make the right choice and turn on some Ash-B. Through her music and music videos, Ash-B fully embraces what makes her sexy, going against a strong sense of conservatism in her home country, South Korea. She makes it clear every time, her music is purely for the girls and advocates for them to enter their successful, expensive and fun era. It’s clear that she’s gained influence from Black American female rappers, such as Nicki Minaj, that pushed the self-confident and sexually-liberated persona into their music, and she makes sure to reference them ever so often in her bars. Ash-B gained recognition when she competed in the Korean female rap competition, Unpretty Rapstar, and later its twin, male-dominated show, Show Me the Money, which Unpretty Rapstar was a spin-off for. Ash-B is pure confidence and is not afraid to get into your face rapping about how amazing she is. If you need that confidence boost, Ash-B is where it’s at!
My top tune from Ash-B is:
Girls Back Home – Ash-B
- Lana Lubany – Palestine, US
Not many can actually do complex vocal runs, but up-and-coming singer, Lana Lubany, does it with ease. Lubany grew up in Palestine and is currently based in the UK to study music at university. Lana’s music is enticing, utilizing the minor scale hymns that exist often in Arabic music. Lana displays attitude while she sings in both English and Arabic. While still a fairly small artist at the moment, like PinkPantheress’s start, Lubany is seeing traction a lot from TikTok. Her song “THE SNAKE”, which was her first song in both Arabic and English, was showcased when Lubany posted a video of her mother reacting to the song. The TikTok video reached 7.4 million views. Ever since, she’s posted videos with both of her parents reacting to her music, particularly excited when she began singing in Arabic. These TikToks have gained millions of views and likes. While there’s still so much to see and learn about Lana Lubany, chances are she will also see more and more love, because there’s no way anyone can resist that sultry and alluring music she releases.
My listen at the moment from Lana Lubany is:
THE SNAKE – Lana Lubany
Before finishing up, I would like to add some honorable mentions of international artists who I couldn’t get to, or who may be first-generation Americans, bringing the rhythms of their parent home to their music. Here are the artists, where they’re from, and my favorite listen from them at the moment:
- FLO (United Kingdom) – Not My Job (Live)
- ROSALÍA (Spain) – La Combi Versace ft. Tokischa
- Tokischa (Dominican Republic) – Linda ft. ROSALÍA
- BIBI (South Korea) – BIBI Vengeance
- Ice Spice (Nigeria and Dominican Republic, born in The Bronx, New York) – Princess Diana
- FKA twigs (United Kingdom and Jamaica) – papi bones ft. Shygirl
- Sampa the Great (Zambia) – Energy ft. Nadeem Din-Gabisi
- Shreea Kaul (India, based in Houston, Texas) – Gluttony
- Bree Runway (Ghana and United Kingdom) – THAT GIRL
- Nathy Peluso (Argentina) – Delito
- Audrey Nuna (South Korea, born in New Jersey) – baby blues remix ft. BEAM
- Little Simz (Nigeria and United Kingdom) – Introvert
- Sona Jobarteh (The Gambia) – Jarabi