Five on it: Celeste’s knockout ballad has us missing and reminiscing

It’s been a hard week. It’s impossible to reflect on it and not talk about George Floyd. After watching the video footage that led to his death I couldn’t stop crying. If I’m honest I don’t have the words to express how I’m truly feeling. Although it’s good to have video evidence of when atrocities such as this occur, the function of them on social media and the associated voyeurism of what is someone’s last moments needs to be addressed.

After a mass protest in Minneapolis, where the footage was taken, a violent clash with police occurred, which in turn led to a protest where buildings were damaged and looted. After that, similar clashes with police have cropped up in a number of parts of the US, including Colorado, Los Angeles and Arizona.

After waking up today and seeing Trump’s tweets branding the rioters opposing police brutality “thugs”, while white, armed Americans who shouted in the faces of police officers demanding lockdown to end were “very good people”, the task at hand couldn’t feel any more mammoth.

It feels difficult to know whether things will improve, or simply continue to get worse. We can only continue to be loud with our voices and unwavering with our stance.

As some of the artists’ this week reflect, black people continue to push forward in a world that is often against us. Here’s your five on it:

Celeste – ‘I Can See The Change’

Celeste’s vocals are haunting, heartbreaking and beautiful. ‘I Can See The Change’ is another example of her ability to make love songs so sentimental they’ll have you missing people you haven’t even met yet.

Pa Salieu – ‘Betty’

Coventry rapper Pa Saleiu is an exciting artist – he manages to create fresh UK rap that is distinctly unique because of West African undertones that celebrate his Gambian heritage. ‘Betty’ has a catchy singalong chorus that would’ve likely proven to be a favourite around the UK festival circuit this summer.

Remi Wolf – ‘Disco Man’

Always one to bring the party, Remi Wolf continues to supply with disco-pop grooves to have you dancing through the weekend.

Jordan Stephens – ‘Son Of A Gun’

Rizzle Kick’s Jordan Stephens’ ‘Son Of A Gun’ explores the difficulty single mums can face, the issues that sons can face due to absent fathers and whether this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for them in the future. Despite being simple and low-budget, the video is one of the most clever and creative to be filmed during lockdown.