The Jackets and the 'Nouveau Noir' collective, aka "the new black," sound more like two street gangs from the 70's who terrorized the city of the US in their heavy black leather biker jackets with their clique names decorating their backs. (Well, they may not sound exactly like a gang, but they are "cliqued tight".) They are not "banging," but these two groups are definitely making noise in the streets with their new brand of music, which can not be described or contained within one genre. They are the evolution of Marvin, D'Angelo, Eryka Badu, Andre 3000, Freddie Mercury, Prince, The Notorious B.I.G., Phil Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Bilal amongst count less others. They've taken the world of yesterday and merged it with the fast paced global music community of today. They all possess the power to make you move and feel. Their sound represents movement, rhythm and a perfect combination of inclusion of styles, vibes and sounds
We haven't been this excited about different cliques of artists since the Soulquarians who were a neo soul and alternative hip hop musical collective in the late 1990s to the early 2000s with members hauling from the streets of Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Richmond, Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and Oakland.
The Jackets Gang
The Jackets members come from Queens (Wynter Gordon & Ro James), Houston (Rocki Evans), Manhattan (Bridget Kelly & Olamide Faison) and Toronto (Leah Labelle).
"The Jackets are a crew of dope singers that move like rappers. Myself, Bridget Kelly, Leah Labelle, Olamide Faison, Luke James and Wynter Gordon make up The Jackets." – Ro James
The "New Black" (Nouveau Noir) Clique
The "New Black" clique is made up of new artists Miguel, Elle Varner, Luke James and Stacy Barthe. They hail from fast paced streets of L.A. (Elle Varner & Miguel), New Orleans (Luke James), and the one and only Brooklyn (Stacy Barthe).
"I created my own little corner in the world and that's just me. I can't even describe what it is; I'm totally me, from how I dress to what I'm saying in my music, that's just all what sets me apart." – Stacy Barthe
Despite the fact that groups are almost extinct. There is hope in the formation of these cliques that are forming from everyone. They have the style, attitude and music that you can actually FEEL. The only thing they need now are cool nicknames like Blade and Razor. (No, we can do better than that. lol)
We could go on and on about how these collectives have the ability to change the game, but we rather you just pay attention and listen to this gang and this clique. Check out 5 reasons why we like these crews.