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Women are a formidable force. As exemplified in ways beyond measure, women have made indelible contributions to society, profoundly influencing every facet of modern life and encouraging action towards creating a more equitable world. In honor of Women’s History Month, SoundCloud celebrates women in music who break barriers, inspire others and leave a lasting impact in culture.
Celebrating Women in Music
Within our own ranks, diversity resource group Women@SC curated the WHM EmpowerHer playlist amplifying the work of dynamic women artists, from soulful ballads to experimental cuts. This multi-genre collection showcases the limitless creativity and sonic prowess of women, past and present, indicating there’s no shortage of talented DJs, producers and musicians to discover and support on SoundCloud. Standouts tracks include the sultry duet “worst behaviour” from R&B artists kwn and Kehlani, rapper Coi Leray’s saucy “Lick Back” and emerging singer Jacqie Rivera’s enduring “En Otra Vida.”
Of being featured as part of this Women’s History Month artist spotlight, Coi Leray says, “It actually feels dope because I love SoundCloud. We grew with SoundCloud. SoundCloud has so [many] different varieties of music.” Jacqie Rivera agrees, adding, “The fact that I am featured on this playlist makes me feel honored and proud; makes me happy that I didn’t give up on my dreams and my music career.”
A Night with Jaguar
In the UK, we hosted an exclusive dinner featuring SoundCloud School, an initiative focused on educating artists on how they can use SoundCloud to get heard, get fans and get paid. As part of the SoundCloud School programming, attendees received a guided tour of all of the features the platform offers, learning best practices on how to utilize SoundCloud tools and resources to advance their careers and help grow their audiences. For this iteration, we partnered with Jaguar, a leading DJ and radio host who is making her mark on the electronic music scene.
Prominently known as the presenter of BBC Introducing Dance on Radio 1, the prolific tastemaker is equally passionate about serving the community and lifting up others with her organization, The Jaguar Foundation, which focuses on making “electronic music a more equal place for the next generation of creatives and emerging artists.” The label and nightclub owner is also the creator of the podcast UTOPIA Talks, which is a vehicle for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and advocating for strengthening diversity within the dance music realm specifically. Throughout these different initiatives, Jaguar aims to further her mission to cultivate inclusivity, help others gain both representation and greater opportunities, and spark deeper conversations around what it’s like to navigate a career in the music industry today. In addition to hosting the Women’s History Month DJ dinner event, Jaguar also curated a SoundCloud playlist, spotlighting fellow UK-based DJs, producers and musicians like Heléna Star, Lu.Re, Annabel Stop It and others.
LISTEN TO JAGUAR’s WHM DJ DINNER PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD NOW
Give Her Her Flowers: Honoring Faith Evans
Shining a light on a beloved grammy award winning R&B legend, we are honoring Faith Evans at this year’s Give Her Her Flowers event and will be celebrating her 30+ year career at our LA office, hosted by our very own VP of Employee Experience & Women@SC Lead, Jasmine Edwards.
Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, Evans got her start in the industry as a background vocalist before becoming a solo artist. Her 1995 debut album, ‘Faith,’ spawned singles like the gold-certified “You Used to Love Me” and the platinum hit “Soon as I Get Home.” What followed were subsequent platinum-selling albums ‘Keep the Faith’ (1998) and ‘Faithfully’ (2001), as well as other projects that have cumulated in over 20 million total records sold. In addition to being a commercial success, Evans’ critical acclaim stretches into seven Grammy nominations and a 1998 Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy win for “I’ll Be Missing You.” She’s also an accomplished TV executive, entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author. Outside of music, she has also helped to provide children and their families with disabilities the highest level of resources through her non-profit organization, Ryder’s Room. As a mother of a child on the autism spectrum, she is using her platform to advocate and give back to those that may face the same challenges. Simply put, Evans is the epitome of how perseverance, putting in hard work and believing in yourself — and your talents — can lead to longevity and a legacy to be proud of.
Listen to the WHM EmpowerHer playlist here and celebrate the contributions of women in music all year long.