You’ll hear from four Black musicians – Anastasia Hera, Cam the Tastemaker, Blakchyl, and Brannen Temple – about how they’ve navigated the Austin music scene, and what support they’d like to see.
Anastasia Hera
Anastasia Hera & The Heroes: “Like I Am”
Anyone who’s heard Anastasia Hera can tell that she’s a big proponent of Black activism, making her a prime candidate for the spotlight on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This native Austinitecemented her charismatic sense of verbal cadence early on by memorizing King’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech at a young age, andin 2015 Hera founded CAKE, a non-profit that empowers girls and women interested in musical performance.
Anastasia Hera & The Heroes shared two new singles as part ofAustin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program and their 2022 compilation ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person including a luminous piece of R&B-funk perfect forLove Austin Music Month,”Like I Am”.
Anastasia Hera: “Ceiling”
Regardless of which city you live in, the ubiquity of home studios and social media has made the R&B market incredibly competitive. But Austin native Anastasia Hera seems to thrive off of that energy, growing bonds in her local community while excelling at her half-rapped/half-sung style, and opening for the likes of Dead Prez, GZA and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan, Boosie, and Geto Boys’ Scarface. During the mononymous portion of her career, Anastasia dropped by Studio 1A to promote her women-empowering non-profit CAKE, right around the same time she released her remarkable 2016 album of the same name.
Since then, Hera’s brought even harder-hitting performances to the table, heard most recently in May on This Is Anastasia, and EP that showcases both ferocity, tenderness, and everything in between. Last weekend Anastasia Hera got a chance to celebrate that EP release (and her birthday) at Geraldine’s, and we have a feeling she’s on a fast track to become an international superstar, thanks to her charismatic confidence on tracks like “Ceiling”!