In honor of Women’s History Month, I present to you four female artists who, in my book, deserve to be amongst the greats.
Arlo Parks
Spotify must be so sick of me playing “Black Dog” by Arlo Parks over and over again — first thing when I wake up, when I walk in between classes and when I’m brushing my teeth at night. How could I not when the first lyric is something as beautiful as “I’d lick the grief right off your lips?”
Parks’s songs do not have lyrics, but poetry. Add in some indie/alternative beats in the background and, damn, there is a song I will incessantly play on repeat. There is something so vulnerable and real about her music, even the more upbeat songs. The song “Too Good” is one of Parks’s more high-energy tracks, yet has lyrics like “The air was fragrant and thick with our silence/I held my breath as something deep inside pinched.”
Raveena
When I listen to Raveena, I feel like I am traveling through outer space surrounded by pink and purple glitter. As an R&B and soul artist, Raveena transcends the genre with her celestial presence and soothing voice. When I am stressed, listening to Raveena provides an immediate sense of relief — especially the songs “Close 2 U” or “Bloom.”
I first discovered Raveena through the song “Headaches,” a total R&B slow jam that completely changed my music taste within the genre. I’d like to describe her music as “driving in the car alone late at night” kind of music, but of course, it works for any time of day.
Snoh Aalegra
In the same vein as Raveena, Snoh Aalegra is another female R&B artist who got me obsessed with the genre. One of my favorite songs in high school was the smooth ballad “Fool For You,” which I first came across in my Spotify Discover Weekly, and it’s still on the top of my playlists to this day. Aalegra has this timeless yet extremely exciting voice that makes even the slow songs move.
If you’re looking to get into Aalegra, I would watch her NPR Tiny Desk concert. She sings “Find Someone Like You,” a Whitney Houston-esque love song, with so much depth and realness and takes an entirely new take on the studio recording.
Olivia Dean
I’ve just gotten into Olivia Dean and have been loving every second of it. Her music is all at once soulful, deep and just fun to listen to. One of her most popular songs, “Dive,” is a true embodiment of what Dean has to offer with an upbeat neo-soul vibe, including her rich voice and lyrics like, “I’m a tidal wave of question marks/And you’re just surfing.”
I’ve recently been digging “I Could Be a Florist,” where Dean slows down and gives us this beautiful one minute and 21-second ballad about providing people with flowers when the words just don’t come easy. As she says, “That little somethin’ missin’, I’ll fix it, can’t miss it/I’m open every day.” Leave your playlists open every day for Dean.
