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Indio, California — The desert was alive with more than just lights and lasers this weekend.
Coachella 2025 delivered its annual spectacle of sound, but it was the performances by Black artists that offered the festival’s most unforgettable, culturally resonant moments.
Megan Thee Stallion took center stage Saturday night, delivering a performance equal parts bombastic and emotional. Her set featured surprise appearances by Queen Latifah, Ciara, and Victoria Monét. The three joined Megan for a triumphant, all-women anthem run that concluded with Latifah’s 1993 classic “U.N.I.T.Y.” A microphone cut during Megan’s “Mamushi” track sparked online chatter, but she pushed through without missing a beat—cementing her reputation as both a showstopper and a professional.
“Technical difficulties won’t stop the Hot Girl Coach,” Megan later posted on X. And they didn’t.
For Ghanaian-American artist Amaarae, Coachella was a milestone. The sultry-voiced singer became the first Ghanaian to perform a solo set at the festival, bringing Afrofuturist flair and experimental pop to the Gobi Stage. With a setlist that included unreleased tracks and songs by fellow Ghanaian artists, she used the moment to spotlight African music on her own terms. Her message was clear: this is African artistry—global, genre-defying, and unapologetically bold.
Elsewhere on the lineup, African talent made itself known: Tyla, fresh off her Grammy win, brought amapiano rhythms to a packed Mojave Tent; Rema delivered a high-octane set that bridged Afrobeats with rap; and Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 lit up the afternoon with a blast of Afrobeat fire, connecting generations through groove and protest.
GloRilla also made a strong showing, riding the momentum of her debut album Glorious and her North American tour of the same name. Her gritty delivery and Memphis-bred confidence won over both fans and critics, offering a sound that felt raw and fully formed.
If Coachella once earned a reputation for leaning too hard into electronic sameness and indie nostalgia, 2025 shows the tide may be turning. The lineup’s inclusion of Black artists across genres—hip-hop, R&B, Afropop, alternative, and more—signaled a shift in who gets center stage, and why it matters.
These performances weren’t just about visibility—they were about presence, voice, and lineage. In a space long dominated by aesthetic, spectacle, and trend, Black artists this year brought substance. They didn’t just play the stage. They made it matter.