Black Inspirations: Bartees Strange on Chad Clark

For the month of February, in celebration of Black History Month on XPN, we’re presenting a new series called Black Inspirations. We’ve asked contemporary Black artists to share some of their influences from the Black music vanguard. The series continues today with a testimonial from Bartees Strange.

Washington, D.C. has a rich musical history across a spectrum of genres, from punk rock to go-go. For his spotlight in our Black Inspirations series, XPN Artist To Watch Bartees Strange chose a fellow artist based in the District; Chad Clark, a versatile songwriter and producer whose career stretches back to the early 00s and his bands Smart Went Crazy and Beauty Pill.

“A Black artist who’s always been inspiring to me is Chad Clark. He’s a DC based musician, and local legend. I gravitated to Chad’s work because he reminded me of myself. I wanted to try everything when I got into making music. I loved pop, country, hardcore, hip hop and everything else I could find. I always thought it was fun finding ways to connect these little worlds to build new ones. I feel like nobody builds new things better than Chad. He seems to pull from so many influences and reinterpret them in a way that’s singular to him.”

Below, listen to Bartees Strange’s favorite Chad Clark songs, chosen for Black Inspirations on WXPN.