Young Black pop-punk fans are making the genre more diverse and welcoming on TikTok. We told you how the emo revival on TikTok is back and more diverse than ever, and Black teen artists in particular are helping make the genre more accepting. In the past, Black pop-punk artists who found past success, like Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy, struggled “with finding acceptance within the community itself.” And as part of the revival on the app, Gen Z is making sure to prioritize voices of colors with hashtags like #BlackAlt, #Altpoc, and #Blackgoth—all of which have millions of views. The current bands being celebrated include Meet Me at the Altar, Pinkshift, Action/Adventure, and Nightlife, in an effort to “to reverse the gatekeeping and elitism that sidelined marginalized pop-punk artists in the first place.” Willow Smith, whose Lately I Feel Everything album came out this summer, has already generated a lot of “exciting buzz” in the genre and on the platform. (Slate, NYTimes)
