Song of the Day

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October 19, 2023

Blakchyl: “Ja Morant” (ACL Fest Pop-Up)

By: Jack Anderson

If you were out at ACL Fest this past weekend you might’ve caught Confucius and Fresh from The Breaks at the Bonus Tracks Stage. What were the fellas up to other than getting their buzz on at Zilker? Interviewing a real sultry-voiced stunner, that’s what.

Austin hip-hop/R&B vocalist Blakchyl‘s been building a hell of a brand for herself in the local scene and beyond since her debut EP On Paper in 2019. Alternating between singing and rapping with a beautifully-blunted voice (somewhat reminiscent of fellow Austinite Megz Kelli’s), Blakchyl’s only gotten better on this side of the 2020s. On top of that, Blakchyl’s eagerness to work with others and ability to adapt her eloquent verbal style to complement said guests has made for some super fruitful collaborations, most notably her duo with Nez Tha Villain, G.E.N.I.U.S.’s, eponymous 2022 LP.

This year’s been a big one for Blakchyl, considering she’s already shared two standalone singles, the Call Me Sometimes EP, and, just at the top of October, her full-length Better Than I Imagined. And yeah, as alluded to before, Blackchyl also brought her A-Game to ACL last weekend, playing at the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage Saturday afternoon, sitting down with The Breaks‘ boys, and even squeezing in a pop-up performance of “Ja Morant” for our multi-media team. It’s pretty clear that Austin is Blackchyl’s court, so we’re hoping to see this poet of a point guard shoot for the MVP in the coming years.


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