A Music Guide for Mayo-Colored People Who Need to Diversify Their Playlists

If you think black musicians only make jazz, hip-hop, and rap, this essay is for you. Odi Welter, a self-described “mayo-colored person,” is tired of watching white listeners confine Black artists to three genres when BIPOC creators have shaped nearly every corner of music. Welter introduces thirteen BIPOC artists across a wide range of genres, each with specific song recommendations to get you started. The challenge is simple: find at least one song you like, or admit you’re not really trying.

As a mayo-colored person, I’ve noticed that a lot of other mayo-colored people tend to believe that all BIPOC musicians exist in three spheres of music: jazz, hip-hop, and rap. There is nothing inherently wrong with these genres or being an artist participating in them. It’s just that if you study the history of music for more than five minutes, especially the history of music in the United States, you will find that one of the groups, arguably the group, who has had the most impact on music as a whole is BIPOC. So to confine them to just three genres, no matter what those genres are, is a disservice to them, to their history, and to music as a whole.

This article is for white people and maybe some POC who aren’t Black, but it is definitely not geared for BIPOC. Of course you are welcome to read it if you’re interested in finding some BIPOC artists you might not have heard of, but I want to make it clear that I am well aware it would be very bold of me, someone so pale I glow in the dark, to try to direct Black people towards BIPOC artists or how to engage with music created by BIPOC. I’m just sick and tired of listening to people with a similar shade of skin tone to me, or really anyone, but for this particular topic unseasoned chicken folks are probably most at fault, making up ridiculous excuses for not diversifying the art they consume. So here’s a long list of BIPOC artists who create music within a multitude of genres. If you can’t find at least one song by one artist to bop your head or tap your foot to, I reserve the right to be disappointed in you and to think of you as a racist.

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Mon Rovia

Not only is Mon Rovia an incredibly talented musician who blends Afro-Appalachian folk and pop with heartfelt and impactful lyrics, he also is a powerful advocate for human rights. Using his experiences as a child soldier in Liberia and as an immigrant to the United States, he fills his music with the power of hope, freedom, and protest. Anyone who is looking for music to motivate them to keep fighting for what’s right, this is an artist for you. His most recent album, Bloodline, just released in January 2025, and I particularly love “Heavy Foot,” “Field Song,” and “Pray the Devil back to Hell,” which is in honor of the Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee. He’s been busy releasing a multitude of tracks since 2021, so he has a vast discography to explore.

Alemeda

If pop music is more your style, Alemeda has got you covered. Her music is fun, unapologetic, and perfect if you’ve just ended a situationship. I love singing along to “I already dug your grave,” “Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows,” and “Beat a B!tch Up.” You can definitely feel her pop-punk and High School Musical influences shine through her music, so if you’re connected to that era, I think it’s a safe bet she’ll be a good time for you.

Khatumu

If you like depressing music, you will like Khatumu. She’s got that soft, sad, indie vibe that feels like someone singing while sitting on a windowsill or on a broken step of a back porch or some boulder on a mountainside. The fact that she doesn’t use the cursive voice so often found within this subgenre of music should be enough of a reason to give her a listen. Her lyrics are raw, the melodies are always interesting, and she touches on both relatable and personal topics. She doesn’t have a lot of music out yet, but what’s been released shows a lot of promise. I particularly enjoy “pseudo doctors,” “god complex,” and “hunting days.”

Magnolia Park

Established in 2018, Magnolia Park is a five-piece pop-punk band that focuses on diversity and upsetting the stereotypes of the genre. The band itself is diverse, celebrating more than just the Black experience and truly showcasing what is often lacking in the mayo-mainstreamed pop-punk genre. Lead singer Joshua Roberts has an incredible voice that carries their messages of joy, anger, and both combined over their intricate instrumentals. They’re underdogs with a powerful bite, paving the way for more musicians like them to enter the scene without having to fight as hard. They just released a new album, NIGHTS AFTER VAMP, on March 13, 2026, and I particularly love their song “Misfits” featuring Taylor Acorn.

Joy Oladokun

As a queer person, I’m always on the lookout for queer artists, and as a child of the woods, I love a good folk singer, so a Black lesbian creating music in folk-pop with electronic undertones about empowerment, redemption, and protest is an artist I’m going to probably fall in love with. Joy Oladokun is an artist I fell in love with. She has a smooth, low voice that I appreciate singing along to as an alto and lyrics I’m jealous of as a poet. OBSERVATIONS FROM A CROWDED ROOM, her most recent album, is a wonderful listen as a complete work or individual songs. I’m personally a big fan of the song “sunday.”

Nova Twins

Nova Twins are a rock duo that screams female empowerment. These two women are so cool and together they make awesome music. Powerful bass and guitar with illustrious and rich vocals combined with impressive performances creates such an effect that it just sticks with you. They just released a new album Parasites and Butterflies, and I’ve been a fan of the songs “Athena” and “Cleopatra” for a while. They are definitely a band I want to see live before I die.

Myles Smith

While I am well aware that between costs and political challenges, the likelihood of me getting married anytime soon is low, I still have a future wedding playlist because I’m what you might call a bit of a dreamer. Optimistic pessimist or pessimistic optimist, if you will. And on this playlist there are several songs by Myles Smith because the man can write some good love songs. I will be the first to admit that my ancestors’ genetics are strong and my dancing abilities are pathetic, but his music makes me want to dance and not care at all how it looks. It just makes you feel good. I really like “Stargazing” and “Betting on Us,” and I’m sure you can guess which playlist they live on.

Cloudy June

I love a good queer artist poised to take down the patriarchy and fight for equality while looking and sounding good doing it, and that’s exactly who Cloudy June is. This pop icon isn’t afraid of controversial lyrics for the sake of honesty, and she holds them up with stunning vocals and fun instrumentals. She covers a range of emotions and topics from mental health to queer expression to femininity and beyond. Her album Crazy Woman came out in 2024, and it promises many future hits. I’m a fan of the songs “Pretty Pills for Broken Hearts,” “If Jesus Saw What We Did Last Night,” and “21st Century Princess.”

Jensen McRae

A sweet voice diving into deep, sometimes scary, topics using folk-pop and touching metaphors, Jensen McRae knows how to create beautiful music. Her work discusses the experiences of being a Black woman in America as well as many other important topics in a way that pierces right into the heart. With songs like “Wolves” and “White Boy,” she’s not afraid to hit it right where it hurts, rip out your soul and give it back to you. Even if you can’t relate to every single lyric, which you won’t be able to because that’s not the point of art, you can empathize and find meaning.

Nxdia

I desire more gender-fuckery music, and Nxdia delivers. Also, she sings in both English and Arabic, and she blends them together so well, probably because she speaks both. Coming from the American education system, which usually has pathetic language programs, all I remember from my two years of required high school Spanish is that one of my teachers left a clementine on top of her projector to rot, listening to anyone sing in another language or bilingually is always going to seem impressive to me. Her music is unique, it’s queer, it’s honest, and it feels like it’s alive. As a gender-fluid person, I particularly like “Boy Clothes” and “She Likes a Boy,” but I also enjoy “Feel Anything” and “decay.”

Iniko

Iniko is an artist that seems to have stepped out of a sci-fi or fantasy novel or world. If any of my screenplays see production and I’m allotted more power than most screenwriters, Iniko is one of the first artists I want contacted to be a part of the soundtrack. She is on so many of my inspiration playlists for projects, and I just can’t get enough of it. Her first album, The Awakening, feels like the beginning of a journey to watch and listen to. I especially can’t stop listening to “Icarus” and “God Body.”

Precious Pepala

The best word I can think of to describe Precious Pepala’s sound is aching. It echoes and fills but keeps you waiting for more. The common topic she covers with her music is femininity and all of its sides, both rough and smooth. She just released her newest EP Love Bombs on January 22, and I especially love her 2022 single “Looking for Trouble.”

Fusilier

I love finding strange music, and I say strange as a compliment. Strange as in I’m-not-sure-what-to-call-this-but-I-like-it, as in I-guess-we-call-this-alternative-too. What does alternative even mean anymore? Fusilier fits within this strangeness that I don’t have a better name for, this music that scratches an itch I didn’t know I had. You can sense different influences, and I’m sure you could pin them down into some lengthy description if you really wanted to, but I’m good without doing that. His music is interesting, cutting edge, and unafraid to be political. I really like “Capital in the 21st Century” and “…clingingtofutureglory.”

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This list could be a lot longer, both with other artists I listen to and with artists I haven’t had the pleasure of engaging with yet. I’m always on the hunt for new music as well as other forms of art and am happy to take suggestions. If you are really looking to engage with art outside of your personal sphere of experience, whether that is BIPOC or something else, I cannot express enough how important it is to listen to the people within those communities. Don’t speak over them, don’t start with a laundry list of questions, don’t engage with the idea that they owe you answers or anything else. Marginalized communities, or really anyone for that matter, do not owe you anything, and a question does not equal the right to an answer, no matter how polite you believe you are.

Take what is offered to you with respect and don’t demand more. I’m both giving you this advice as someone from marginalized communities and also as someone from a group of privilege. One thing anyone can do to make the world a kinder place is understand and acknowledge their privileges without erasing their personal struggles.

I’m also offering this list as someone who loves music and loves fitting things into categories and analysis and nerding out over things I love. These are all artists who, for one reason or another, have a special place in my heart, and I want to help make sure the art they create is shared. I’m going to advise you to go directly to BIPOC creators if you are looking for BIPOC content because the source is always the best place to go for information. I found most of these artists directly from their own pages or from other BIPOC creators, so I guess I’m like a secondary source. Primary sources are still the best.

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About the author:

Odi Welter (they/she/he) is a queer, neurodivergent author. When not writing, they are indulging in their borderline unhealthy obsessions with fairy tales, marine life, superheroes, and botany. Their creative work has been published in many journals and literary magazines. Find them on Instagram @o.d.i.welter.