Australia and New Zealand Honour Black Music

This year, in honour of Black Music Month, we’re exploring the undeniable impact of Black music and musicians around the world. Featuring music from First Nations Australian and Māori artists as well as Black artists with roots abroad who call Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand home, this playlist highlights the singers, songwriters, rappers and producers who bring their own cultures, histories and even languages to the front of their local music scenes, sharing their stories and lives through song—much like their ancestors. Just as Black music from around the world has influenced First Nations artists, waves of immigration have also made these countries home for many Black artists. These include game-changers like Zimbabwean Australian Tkay Maidza, who, at age 17, launched her ever-flourishing, ever-changing career making music that brings together elements of dance, pop, hip-hop and R&B, and Onefour, a group of Mount Druitt-based Pacific Islanders (whose families immigrated from Samoa) who share difficult stories of marginalised communities and high incarceration rates over sounds heavily influenced by Black music from the UK. Dive into our Black Music Month playlist, and if you hear something you like, save it to your library.