After spending the weekend falling in love with Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack, it was more than a welcomed surprise to see Tiana Major9 and EARTHGANG, the artists behind the soundtrack's first single "Collide," take the stage during the 2019 Soul Train Awards for the first televised performance of the steamy single.
The trio brought the film's gritty ride-or-die theme to the stage against a backdrop of car rims adorned in colorful floral arrangements and the back view of a pickup truck as it rides down the open road. The live performance received an additional boost thanks to a spoken word opener by EARTHGANG's WowGr8 about what it means to be Black and to love that doesn't appear on the soundtrack version. Olu soon followed with his verse, his raspy vocals adding another layer to the song's sensuous tone. Decked out in an all-white pantsuit, Major9's voice was as angelic as she looked when it came time for her to deliver her part.
The on-stage chemistry between Olu and Major9 as their voices intertwined made this performance easily one of the night's highlights. It also served as these buzzed-about artists' formal introduction to a wider audience, no doubt ensuring that we'll be hearing more from these young artists in the near future.
