Seattle based duo Black Stax have never followed the script. Instead, they write new ones layered with soul, protest, vulnerability, and pride. As they prepare to drop their transcendent new single, “Blood on Ya Hands,” on July 29, the genre-bending team of Felicia V Loud and Jace ECAj invites listeners into a sonic rebellion that spans Seattle to Kenya, pain to purpose, past to possibility.
This is a song filled with pain, joy, truth, soul and hip-hop,” the group shared in a statement. “Hard-hitting with no apologies just a purpose. We stand with The People.”
Black Stax are not just artists; they’re community storytellers, cultural archivists, and unapologetic voices of resistance. Their sound is not made for algorithms or clickbait. It’s designed for depth layered listening, ancestral memory, and communal vibration.
A Legacy Carried in Layers
Formed in Seattle’s historically Black Central District, Black Stax pays homage to their namesake a nod to the legendary Stax Records and its legacy of revolutionary Black music. But they don’t imitate; they reinterpret. Their philosophy of “stacking” reflects a creative process that fuses soul, jazz, gospel, blues, spoken word, and hip-hop into what they proudly call Hip Hop Soul.
In a musical landscape dominated by fast trends and viral moments, Black Stax prioritizes intentionality. Their debut album Talking Buildings (2010) introduced this ethos, centering urban narratives, personal testimonies, and Black resilience. Their follow-up singles I Love My Life, Spell on You, and Live at The Triple Door expanded that vision
We’re not just creating music for entertainment,” says Jace. “We’re creating memory, context, and accountability.”
The idea of “stacking” isn’t just about sonics it’s about stacking values, perspectives, generations. They build on the blues of Bessie Smith, the jazz of Coltrane, the soul of Donny Hathaway, and the poetry of Langston Hughesall repackaged for 21st-century consciousness.
Voices of a Movement
Felicia V Loud isn’t just a singer she’s a vessel. Her voice can soar like Nina Simone, tremble like Lauryn Hill, and settle with the earthiness of Erykah Badu. But her power lies in intention. Whether she’s singing in a club, on a protest stage, or inside a high school gym, she delivers with conviction.
Beyond music, Felicia is an acclaimed actress and educator. Her portrayal of Billie Holiday in theater productions was hailed as transformative, blending deep emotional intelligence with historical nuance. That same rawness and presence she brings to the mic, where every lyric lands like a sermon.
Jace ECAj, pronounced “Jace,” brings the verbal artillery. He’s a founding member of Seattle’s underground legends Silent Lambs Project, and his roots in the Pacific Northwest hip-hop scene run deep. A poet, educator, and activist, Jace uses rhyme as a tool for reflection and revolution.
Hip-hop was always the CNN of the streets,” he says. “But what we do is more like the Black Library. We archive what they don’t want recorded.”
Together, they make music that doesn’t compromise. It’s protest art but also meditation, education, and healing.
Blood That Speaks
“Blood on Ya Hands” isn’t just a track it’s testimony. From its opening bars, the production signals urgency: raw drums, melancholy keys, and bursts of jazz horn that feel like warning sirens. Felicia’s vocals hover between mourning and marching, while Jace’s lyrics slice through systemic injustice with precision.
Shot across Seattle and Kenya, the accompanying video draws parallels between police violence in the U.S. and state-sanctioned violence abroad. Children play near murals of George Floyd. Kenyan elders tell stories of colonial resistance. The message: Black lives are devalued globally but Black joy, resistance, and creativity persist everywhere.
It’s a cry and a call,” says Felicia. “We are the children of resistance. This track reflects that lineage.”
More than just political, the track is personal. Both members lost loved ones to violence and health inequities. Blood on Ya Hands becomes a eulogy for the forgotten and a war cry for the living.
Beyond the Booth: Community Is the Cornerstone
Black Stax’s power extends far beyond the stage. With support from Artist Trust’s GAP 2019 grant, the duo has hosted workshops, school visits, and cultural salons throughout Washington State, blending performance with pedagogy.
Their initiatives like Stacks & Stories, The Listening Lounge, and Youth Speaks Uncut are designed to amplify marginalized voices and foster intergenerational dialogue. In these spaces, young people learn to sample jazz records, write protest verses, and research Black history all in one afternoon.
Music is a classroom,” says Jace. “Our job is to make sure no student leaves without homework.”
They’re frequent collaborators with local arts organizations like Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, Northwest African American Museum, and The Residency. Whether it’s curating open mics, staging theatrical readings, or hosting film screenings, Black Stax sees art as a civic duty.
Local Roots, Global Pulse
While deeply rooted in Seattle’s artistic soil, Black Stax continues to expand their global reach. Earlier singles like Spell on You earned international acclaim, even charting on African national video platforms.
Their collaborations now span Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and France. They’ve worked with Kenyan cinematographers, French and Ghanaian producers, and Afro Diasporic poets. Their recent video shoot in Kenya was a hands on collaboration with local youth, community activists, and film crews.
They were invited to present at the International Hip Hop Conference in Johannesburg, and performed virtually for AFROPUNK Joburg during the pandemic. Their fusion of spoken word and soul found resonance among global Black audiences who saw their own truths reflected in the sound.
Africa isn’t just our past it’s our present and future,” says Jace. “We’re not connecting back. We’re continuing.”
What Comes Next?
The release of “Blood on Ya Hands” signals a new chapter. Felicia and Jace are currently working on a full length album with producers from France, Kenya, and the U.S.
They’ve also launched an element called Black Kandy a dynamic space where they break bread with artists, influencers, elders, and youth from the regions they visit. It’s not a podcast, but a community rooted exchange of culture, wisdom, and art.
We’re just getting started,” says Felicia. “There are more stories to tell and more bridges to build.”
A Soundtrack for the Now
In a world saturated with distractions, Black Stax creates the kind of music that demands your full attention. “Blood on Ya Hands” is more than a release it’s a ritual, a remembering, and a reminder.
They don’t just sing about liberation. They live it, teach it, and pass it forward. Every show is a seminar. Every song is a chapter. Every fan becomes a co-conspirator.
Their music doesn’t fit neatly into playlists. It disrupts them. And that’s the point.
This isn’t just hip-hop,” says Jace. “This is ancestral. This is necessary.”
Final Words
Black Stax exists in the tradition of Curtis Mayfield, The Last Poets, The Fugees, and The Roots, but also in the living rhythm of community gardens, protest marches, school hallways, and ancestral altars. Their mission isn’t fame it’s frequency.
As “Blood on Ya Hands” prepares to hit streaming platforms, it offers more than a listening experience. It’s a call to slow down, listen closely, and remember what music was always meant to do: tell the truth, stir the soul, and shift the world.
Black Stax’s “Blood on Ya Hands” releases worldwide on July 29.
Follow Black Stax:
Instagram: Instagram
Bandcamp: blackstax2.bandcamp.com
Website: blackstaxmusic.com
