25 faces of the future

Rachel Chinouriri reflects on her struggle to overcome stereotypes and establish herself as a Black indie artist, as well as the heartbreak that informs her forthcoming debut album

- NICK REILLY

"I WANT TO have a legacy that is set in stone in the future, and I know what I want to represent," Rachel Chinouriri tells Rolling Stone UK over coffee in an east London café on an uncharacteristically balmy morning in early February. "What I want is to inspire the other 13-year-old Black girls who are confused about their identity but love rock music. I want them to be like, 'Oh God, it's possible. It actually exists. In 10 years' time, I'm hoping to look back knowing that my album has been really influential in helping move stepping stones for Black artists."

It's the bold manifesto of an artist who already knows what they want to be, and with extremely good reason. When Chinouriri was a teenager, the Londoner had two musical idols: VV Brown and Noisettes singer Shingai Shoniwa, both Black British women who were blazing their own trails within UK indie music.

But when Chinouriri set out on her own path, she was continuously mislabelled as an R&B and soul artist - even though a single listen of her breakout track 'So My Darling' is evidence that this couldn't be further from the truth.

"i've been doing music Properly since i was 18, so the fact i'm having my debut album all these years later is mad"

By 2022, Chinouriri had had enough. "My music is not R&B. My music is not soul. My music is not alternative R&B. My music is not neo-soul. My music is not jazz. Black artists doing indie is not confusing. You see my colour before you hear my music," she powerfully wrote on Instagram.

She adds to Rolling Stone UK, "I remember people putting Black squares on their Instagram when George Floyd's death happened, and they said they wanted to listen, so I thought, 'It's time for me to speak up about it.' Now, it's really worked out for me."