Rising Black Women Singers You Shouldn’t Sleep On

The music world owes a lot to Black women. For years, the musical stylings of superstars like Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, and so many more have been the soundtracks to our lives, their powerful voices taking us through the highs and the lows. But before they became some of the most famous people on the planet, they were young hopefuls with a dream of sharing their gifts with the world. They were singing at barbershops, in church choirs, in talent competitions — everyone's gotta start from somewhere.

In an industry that is marked by both racism and sexism, Black women are often dealt a bad hand. The popular saying of "twice as hard for half as much" applies, as musical artists struggle to pave their own paths while maintaining agency over their own careers. Show business is never easy, but if you're a Black woman, making it is ten times as hard.

Today, a plethora of young Black women are paving their own paths towards superstardom. This new class of singers have the talent to change the face of music as we know it. That is, if we start giving them the attention that they deserve.

I'll start. Ahead, just some of the rising Black women in music that you need to stop sleeping on.