A History of Black People and Alternative Music

There would be no alternative music without Black artists. Journalist and feminist punk musician Stephanie Phillips reclaims the past and future of rock ’n’ roll for the Black artists who tore up and re-wrote its rules. In her book We Were Here, she repopulates music history with the extraordinary Black artists and influential figures who truly steered its course from the 1930s to the present day, including vital figures Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Betty Davis, Poly Styrene, Bad Brains and beyond. In her Ethical Matters talk, Stephanie explores why Black people have continued to be drawn to alternative music despite their ongoing ostracisation from it by the white mainstream industry, and looks to the future with the Gen Z Black musicians experimenting with the boundaries of what punk, metal, hardcore and indie can be. Stephanie Phillips is a London-based music journalist and musician who writes for the Independent, The Quietus, Vice, Bandcamp and The Wire. She started the Black feminist punk band Big Joanie and played backup for Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. She is also part of the collective behind Decolonise Fest, a festival celebrating punks of colour.