Three memorable ways the COVID pandemic shaped Black music – five years on

Five years ago, at the start of 2020, I was looking forward to the publication of my book, Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City and eagerly anticipating a long-awaited holiday to Jamaica.

But by February, as reports of a virus called COVID-19 began to mount up, the holiday was cancelled. At that stage, like many of us, I had read reports of this virus from China that was spreading through the rest of the world – but I did not fully take in what the impact of this would be. I watched news stories of Italians singing on balconies and carried on with my daily routine.

And then in March 2020, lockdown. Time changed shape as we searched for ways to fill our days without the usual markers of work, family and leisure. Allowed outside for a mere one hour per day, for many of us, Black musical forms offered a way to pass the time. In a period of social isolation, it also connected us with each other.

We shared our lives online in different time zones, experiencing an inter-generational, planetary enjoyment of musical forms and formats. Geographical and sonic borders became blurred, porous and fuzzy. Of the many sonic moments during early pandemic time (March 2020-December 2021), three stand out for me.

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1. The #DontRushChallenge

In April 2020, the #DontRushChallenge was started by a group of Black girls who were in lockdown at Hull University.

Featuring a soundtrack by Nottingham-based rap duo Young T & Bugsey (Ra’chard Tucker and Doyin Julius), it became a viral sensation on TikTok. Over the course of two to three weeks tens of thousands of videos were made and shared on social media.

The #DontRushChallenge involved people transforming themselves from casual clothes into a more glamorous outfit for a night out – a night out that was never going to happen.

From NHS doctors to, Turkish cabin crew, to the US military the #DontRushChallenge provided a source of lightheartedness and joy.

2. Verzuz

As a counter to the lack of live music events, veteran US music producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland launched the Verzuz “battle sessions”. Two comparable music artists from Black music traditions (mainly hip hop and RnB) played songs from their music catalogue in an alternating fashion.

Each contest was live streamed on different platforms, including Instagram, Apple TV and Triller. As the audience we watched, commented and then offered our opinion on who had won the “battle”. Participants included Erykah Badu, Brandy, Patti LaBelle, Ludacris, Nelly and Gucci Mane.

In May 2020 Jamaican reggae artists Beenie Man and Bounty Killer presented a dancehall clash version. I tuned in along with half a million fans from around the world. I was in online company with musicians, footballers and actors.

In a socially distanced performance, without a live audience and through different time zones, we shared 90 minutes of community, as we moved through various musical genres (reggae, dancehall, soul, RnB and EDM) finishing up with many of their classic hits.

3. Lovers rock on the Southbank

When restrictions eased in May 2021, we were allowed back outside in groups again but music venues were not fully open. So in July 2021, I was excited to attend a free lovers rock concert on the Southbank in London.

Dennis Bovell dee-jayed, while Carroll Thomson, Janet Kay and Victor Romero Evans sang lovers rock classics. It was a strange experience with no singing in the audience, no dancing and having to remain seated and order drinks from your table. The “live” experience had changed dramatically, as events had to be booked in advance, spontaneity a thing of the past.

In July 2022, I was finally able to travel to Jamaica. In the years that had elapsed since my previous visit, there had been many changes, including the rising popularity of afrobeats. I stepped into a new sonic landscape with Pheelz (Finesse) and the Jamaican version of the track from dancehall artist Ding Dong.

By sharing music online and in a socially distanced landscape, it was possible to reconnect with people outside of our immediate setting.

Although fire emojis in the comments are not an adequate replacement for a live musical experience, in uncertain, unprecedented pandemic time, “musicking” became more important than ever. The term, coined by musicologist Christopher Small, covers the acts of playing, listening, singing and dancing to music. I have extended it to include the online challenges that provided a connection to our social lives.

My eclectic selection of sonic events, discussed in more detail in my latest book, Like Lockdown Never Happened: Music and Culture during Covid, is a gesture towards how we used contemporary Black musical expression to break COVID’s pervasive muffling of everyday life.