FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: To the BRIT Awards: Incredible U.K. R&B Talent

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Jaz Karis/PHOTO CREDIT: narcography 

 

To the BRIT Awards: Incredible U.K. R&B Talent

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FOR the wrong reasons…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Shaé Universe

this year’s BRIT Awards have been making conversation. I am going to publish a feature tomorrow that highlights gender inequality that pervades and rages through every sinew of the music industry. More specifically, after the BRITs deemed there were no women worthy of making the Best Artist category this year (all five shortlisted were men!), I ask whether this is plain sexism or whether the labels are to blame for this incredible and insulting oversight. Of course, there is sexism at heart, but I think that there is a systemic reluctance to change. An inability to market female artists adequately. This is resulting in year-in-year-out omissions across award ceremonies and festivals. Not only did the BRITs drop the ball massively when it came to gender equality and fair representation. They also confusingly combined Pop and R&B into a single category. Pop alone is strong enough that it needs to stand alone! Even if it had only five names shortlisted, you’d be overlooking so many great artists. It suggests that R&B is an afterthought that can be tact on to another genre. Because of that, unsurprisingly, the BRITs forgot to do one really important thing in regards that category: they didn’t actually nominate any R&B artists. Of the five names that appear in that category - Cat Burns, Charli XCX,  Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, and Sam Smith – I guess Cat Burns has R&B elements in her work. The other four names are most assuredly Pop acts! It is a middle finger to R&B and the amazing British artists in it!

Because of that, I wanted to react to a lot of anger and dismay that has bubbled on Twitter the last couple of day. I have been especially been moved by the tweets of Jaz Karis and Kara Marni. Two incredible British R&B artists, they have been overlooked! From mainstream artists like RAYE and Jorja Smith to incredible rising artists like Karis and Marni, there was ample choice and variation to choose from. We are glad that, in  terms of gender, the Pop/R&B category is favouring women. It is no good having a category including R&B when you are not featuring R&B artists! I wanted to redress that by featuring some incredible British R&B artists. They have all either released material in 2022 or 2021. I think they would all be eligible for inclusion alongside the great Sam Smith and Charli XCX. I feel that there are so many incredible British R&B artists that are not being heard or have an award ceremony that recognises their contributions to music. It is a crying shame! These are incredible artists releasing music in possibly the greatest music genre of them all. Such phenomenal talent needs to be represented, and not squashed alongside Pop and then ignored. Apologises if I have missed any notable British R&B artists. Also if I have classed an artist as ‘R&B’ and they see themselves as Pop or genre-fluid. I am going by my judgement, other music websites and, in a lot of  cases, Spotify playlists! In any case, I think these artists below prove that British R&B is in rude health and deserves some proper respect. Let’s hope that the BRIT Awards rectifies its errors this year and, in 2024, gives the glorious R&B genre…

A fair shout!

Sam Liddicott