Earlier this year, burgeoning British pop star Rachel Chinouriri shared a heartfelt and heartwrenching post with her followers on X. She’d just opened for Sabrina Carpenter’s European tour, meeting new fans and commanding arenas as if she were the headline act. Still, the Brit award nominee was met with a rude awakening once she started to scroll through Tweets about her — namely a repost of a video of her dazzling a crowd in Paris. One of the comments (which she had to push the translate button to decipher) read: “I’m afraid she won’t be able to break through like Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell, because she’s Black … may God protect my girl.”

Chinouriri responded: “Feel pretty sad tbh but this just reminds me… you can open for the biggest popstar in the world and the internet will still remind you daily that simply being black will make it twice as hard to be a indie pop star,” she wrote. “I deserve to feel like I have a chance at a successful music career because I love storytelling and hope people like me because of my music and not just because of my race.” She added that there was a reason she’d been so vocal about the issues facing Black pop and indie artists during her career, noting: “I won’t let being a black woman stop me from trying and no matter how my career pans out, at least I know I tried my best.” She closed her statement, powerfully, sharing: “Lots of black girls aspiring to be in indie/pop music have this fear … I know it all too well … and I hope my fight to change this narrative behind the scenes and publicly contributes to inspire the future generations of young black girls to keep going and remember you are allowed to just be whoever you want to be and not what the world wants to shape you into.”

Last Summer, the platform had been a ray of hope for Chinouriri, after she reposted a now-deleted poster’s request to see more Black girls in the indie and pop space, and received thousands of interactions as burgeoning stars commented — confirming that despite the fact that those artists are plentiful, their representation in the genre was not. As pop moves back to the center — and stars like Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Sabrina and more dominate the charts and headline festival line-ups typically topped by rock and hip-hop acts, it’s time to make more space on the top for Black pop stars who despite having more barriers to entry are just as talented, chart-worthy, and motivated to break the norms as their white counterparts.
Below, check out just a few of the Black artists making pop and indie music, and proving to the world that they are allowed to be whoever they say (or sing) they are.

Floweroflove

A mix of melodic pop, sharp lyricism, and stage-worthy style — 20-year-old Londoner flowerovlove has been slowly making a name for herself — first by churning out viral TikTok hits like her bubbly track “breaking news.” She’s opened for the likes of Halsey, Olivia Rodrigo, and is set to play her first US festivals this year at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. Her witty writing and vulnerability are magnetizing to her fan base, with tracks like “I’ve seen ur ex” and her latest “new friends” blending the diary-esque title of indie songwriting with the type of one-liners we’re used to hearing on radio-friendly tracks. When she’s not busy churning out internet earworms, she’s modeling and working with formidable fashion houses like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, pushing her to a kind of “It Girl” status most pop girlies don’t achieve until they’ve dropped multiple No. 1 hits. With her global reach expanding, fans like SZA taking notice, and no plans of stopping anytime soon, it’s safe to say this is only the beginning for the star.

Alemeda

Alt-pop star Alemeda has just returned from tour with fellow Black pop icon Rachel Chinouriri, creating the world they want to see in real time across multiple stages in the US. On June 30, she dropped her visuals for “Chameleon,” which also features Chinouriri — the duo unleashing chaos at an ex’s house as the early 2000s esque pop-punk songs plays in the background, under Alemeda’s ethereal vocals. The TDE signed artist has had an epic year, and the hits keep coming with a promise to collab with fellow alternative artists from her label, plans to hit the road with Halsey later this month, and a spot on the 2025 Lollapalooza line-up. The Sudanese-Ethiopian singer first made waves in 2021 with her hit “Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows,” (which she did a UPROXX sessions performance for in 2022) and has continued to spark conversation following the release of her EP last year, FK IT. With angsty writing and a penchant for pop punk and soulful vocals, Alameda’s ability to merge genres will see her climbing the charts, line-ups, and to the top of larger and larger stages.

Rachel Chinouriri

Rachel Chinouriri may seem to be getting a lot of love in this piece, but it’s well deserved. Not only has the London-based alternative indie-pop artist spoken up for her Black pop counterparts, she’s done so by making one thing abundantly clear: love me for my music, not my skin color (or vice versa). The fact that she can back it up — with sold-out crowds on both sides of the Atlantic, a cover story for Cosmopolitan UK, cosigns for mega pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter and actress Florence Pugh alike, and (most importantly) a gorgeous, heart-open set of songs that sound gorgeous live. Last May, she released her debut album, What A Devastating Turn Of Events, which has been praised for being moving, soul-bearing, and impossible to forget. With her Y2K style, “It Girl” designation, and ability to hold her space in conversation and arena stages globally, we won’t be surprised if she soon becomes a household name.