This weekend, BAMS Fest debuts its hottest lineup yet

Toki Wright remembers his first BAMS Fest. It was 2019, not long after he had moved to Boston for a job at Berklee College of Music. Previously, the Minnesota-born rapper had only been to Boston when he was on tour. His impression of the city was that “the spaces for Black and brown creatives and audiences [were] very limited,” he recalled.

BAMS Fest at Franklin Park changed his mind. “It was eye-opening to see this community that I hadn't seen when I was here on tour,” Wright said.

Now Wright is the community partnerships and programs manager for the festival. BAMS Fest – which stands for Boston Art & Music Soul Festival – was founded in 2018 with the express goal of creating a platform for Black and brown performers and a space for their audiences to gather. The festival’s creator, Catherine Morris, wanted to correct the inequity she observed in the city, where white cultural events like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade received far more attention and support than festivals centering, for instance, Caribbean or Puerto Rican culture.

Wright summed it up this way: “If you have 10,000 white people listening to loud amplified music, what are your preconceived notions about those people? And if it's 10,000 Black people with amplified music, what are your preconceived notions about those people?”

Despite a pandemic interruption, BAMS Fest has grown steadily, and this year it boasts its most impressive lineup yet, headlined by the critically-acclaimed R&B singer BJ the Chicago Kid and Roc Nation rapper Rapsody.

“This is definitely the biggest and most notable lineup that the festival has had thus far,” Wright said, noting that the marquee acts are a boon for the local artists performing alongside them.

Tickets are priced on a sliding scale with a pay-what-you-wish option. The festival features food trucks, a visual art exhibition, a kids’ stage, a “vendor village” of Black-owned businesses, and a dance tent. But the main event, as always, is the music.

Read on to learn more about our top picks for can’t-miss acts at BAMS Fest.

In many ways, Rapsody is a rapper’s rapper, the type with skills big enough to land the only guest rap appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” but remain largely unknown in the mainstream. The Grammy-nominated North Carolina native is touring her fourth album, “Please Don’t Cry.” It’s arguably her most searching and personal release yet, and features contributions from Erykah Badu and Lil Wayne, among others. Onstage, Rapsody exudes warmth – but don’t let that fool you. She’s a force not to be trifled with, nor a performer to miss.

Nay $peaks is one of Boston hip-hop’s rising stars. The Mattapan rapper earned critical acclaim for her soul-infused debut album, “Nayborhood Healer,” which she released at the tender age of 19. The album also helped her nab a Boston Music Award for Best New Artist. Recent singles see Nay $peaks stretching beyond the boom-bap haze of “Nayborhood Healer,” as poised and direct as ever.

Albino Mbie, a Mozambique-born singer and guitarist, fuses jazz with the sounds of his home country. Mbie got his start among the street musicians and local bands of Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, and eventually found his way to Berklee College of Music, where he dove deep into jazz. His sound today is an uplifting blend of exquisite musicianship and Afro-pop groove, performed with charming swagger and a smile.

Karim has yet to release a full-length album, but the Boston neo-soul singer is already generating buzz. He favors woozy synth sounds and dreamy melodies, which he delivers in a silky, elegiac croon. A playful sense of style and a barbed wit lend these gentle songs an edge. The opening chords to 2023’s “Garden” evoke the earnest melancholy of a classic R&B number. But the song takes a delightfully petty turn. “But I know/ You will reap exactly what you sow/ And those seeds will surely grow a beautiful garden,” Karim sings, scornful, yet sweet.

Singable melodies, slick production, danceable beats – it’s easy to guess why Bia Javier’s bilingual Latin pop is racking up streams. But more than that, the Boston singer possesses serious vocal chops. You need only hear the first bars of Javier’s cover of SZA’s “Good Days” to grasp the depths of her talent, and imagine future heights.