After a series of solidarity marches in Japan that were connected to protests against racial discrimination and police violence in the U.S., Black Lives Matter Tokyo is continuing the conversation about race with its first-ever online music event: Harmonic Wavelength.
On Sept. 6, the livestream concert will feature performances from seven artists working across hip-hop, R&B and electronic music, and has a two-fold purpose of celebration and education.
“One of the goals is to amplify the voices of Black musicians in Japan, but it’s also to show that Black music has an influence in Japan,” says Jaylon Carter (whose stage name is Timid), one of the event’s organizers and performers. “There are a lot of influences in Japanese pop from American Black music, from the dances to the clothing to the musical arrangements. This event is to show that the Black American culture is not so far removed from Japanese society.