#Representation Series Pt.2
Representing, Recognizing, uplifting and celebrating! We’re doing a series of posts this season highlighting the future and honoring the past EDM icons… Let’s continue this with some Black artists y’all should check out and add to your EDM playlists!
Black Carl!
Black Carl! is an experimental dubstep DJ/producer from Alabama. His high-energy sets have been seen all across the US performing at some major music festivals. He’s collaborated with many artists including Of the Trees and is currently on tour with Subdocta as direct support! Black Carl’s sound is the perfect blend of soft and heavy. As he stated in an interview, “It stands for music that makes you feel something. Sometimes I tend to pour how I’m feeling into the song I’m making at the time. So, the end product comes out as something with a feel in it as well as something to jive to.”
Chee
CHEE is a bass DJ from South Africa currently based in LA. CHEE’s unique hybrid sound exploded internationally in 2016 with the release of his Shrodinger EP on Dutch label Underslung along with several self-releases. His sonic innovation quickly caught the attention of top electronic names, with tracks featured on Inspector Dubplate and worked with the artist Noisia. His experimental bass sounds were influenced by his surroundings. This very talented young artist continues to push the possibility of sounds! Make sure to catch Chee performing at Okeechobee as IT HZ with Jon Casey.
A Hundred Drums
A Hundred Drums is a multi-instrumental bass DJ/producer. Gabrielle Watson has been cultivating a sound that encapsulates experimental hip-hop, psychedelic bass, and indigenous hand drums. Her distinctive sounds are used for more than just entertainment. In early Summer 2021, A Hundred Drums released a politically potent EP on ZEDS DEAD’s Deadbeats label. Enough Is Enough outlines the struggles of being Black in America, set against the backdrop of police violence, systemic racism, and the protest movement. In an industry saturated with vapid party anthems, A Hundred Drums chose to use her platform to deliver substance alongside sound.
Honeyluv
HoneyLuv is an LA based House and Techno DJ/producer. She made her first debut while spinning Hip Hop and R&B music on Dash Radio as a Guest DJ for celebrity trainer Corey Calliet’s “Issa Lifestyle” radio show and playing for all the hottest urban parties in Los Angeles. She later on switched over to dance music, her first love. With only two years of DJing under her belt Honey Luv started to establish herself in the dance music world by playing online for notable festivals such as Desert Hearts and House Nation Music. She has played all over the US, whether it be nightclubs, hotels, or private events; it’s always an experience when Honey Luv is on the decks. She even started her own radio show powered by ill Donuts Radio called, “House of Honey.” She created this show to showcase the underground dance music culture and to shed light on the culture of where House music originated.
Nia Archives
Nia Archives is an English and Jamaican, DNB and Jungle DJ/producer/singer/songwriter. Nia has been developing into an artist who understands her music. Rooted in Caribbean sound system culture, she spent her teenage years writing music for fun. Making music with a sense of freedom, she released the Headz Gone West EP in 2021. Since then, Nia Archives has won several awards such as BBC Music’s Artist of the Year, DJ Mag’s Best Breakthrough DJ, and was nominated this year for Brit Awards Rising Star Award.
Saymyname
Dayvid Lundie Sherman, also known by Saymyname is a pioneer DJ/producer. His first major musical breakthrough was 2012’s trap-out remix of Showtek’s Hardstyle hit “F.T.S.” Saymyname credits this song as the spark that spawned the Hardtrap genre. This track was played on nearly every major festival stage around the globe multiple times. LA Weekly also recognized this title. The combination of Hardstyle and Trap has made dance music better than ever before. This Humboldt, California native started out with modest beginnings. Saymyname was born into a musical family and began DJing at the age of 12. Fun fact, Dayvid is an accomplished street artist and Graffiti artist also! In 2013, his hard work ethic and production skills earned him the Insomniac Discovery Project contest. He performed in front of thousands at EDC Las Vegas and was hailed as the best performance of the festival. Years later, Saymyname is a headliner on mainstages.
Channel Tres
Channel Tres is a Compton-based DJ, producer, musician, and artist whose unique style is making him one the most talked about talents in the scene. Channel Tres discovered music production and the art of it at nine years old when he found a CD called “The Love Below”. He knew that he wanted to be a part in the way music inspires people from that moment. His desire to learn more about music led him to Oklahoma University, where he studied composition, theory and music technology. He now creates music that is truly outside the box. His eponymous EP mixes disco with funk, house and electro, creating a vibrant feeling of excitement and an unexpected combination of genres and styles. A must listen to if you haven’t checked it out already!
Kaytranada
Grammy award winner Kaytranada is a DJ/Producer from Montreal, Quebec. Born as Louis Kevin Celestin in Haiti, he produced a series of digital EPs, albums, and remix compilations under a previous alias Kaytradamus. Since the early 2010’s, he’s been producing under the artist name Kaytranada. Kaytranada produces J-Dilla inspired hip hop beats to woozy house grooves. Kaytranada’s album, 99.9%, won him the 2016 Polaris Music Prize and Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year in 2017. He released a second album, Bubba, and won a second Juno Award and a Grammy Award. You may even remember him from his iconic Boiler Room set that’s a go to till this day!
Honey Dijon
Honey Dijon is a DJ/producer and fashion icon, her cross-genre sets have been heard all over the world. Born in Chicago, this American DJ produces sounds that are a creation of time. Chicago and New York helped her to develop her signature sound. Recently nominated for a grammy for contributions to Beyonce’s Renaissance. Honey Dijon has been a vocal advocate for trans rights and awareness, speaking from her experience as a black trans woman DJ in dance music. Make sure to listen to her latest release “Black Girl Magic”, an incredible house album offering up a beautiful expression of Black queer joy.
Make sure to listen to the curated playlist we made highlighting all of these incredible artists’ very best and latest songs! Click here to listen to our curated playlist
This is just the start of people we are recognizing. Stay tuned for another blog next week! If you want to learn more information about the artists we mentioned, visit the sites BDE used to gather this blog.
