Family is the centrepiece for our Black History Month celebration, and this week we honour chosen family—a concept that dates back to slaves having had to reimagine the entire concept of family after being separated from their relatives by their owners. That sort of trauma may be all but unheard of in 2021, but people of various communities—LGTBQ+, among others—continue to create unbreakable bonds outside of their immediate households in a similar mould. Los Angeles singer and producer Syd, especially, is no stranger to community-building. As a member of Odd Future, and then as both celebrated producer and frontwoman of The Internet, Syd is well familiar with the need to make family from friends. “So many people in our community I know have had to find their own families or may still be struggling to find families,” she told Ebro Darden during an episode of Apple Music’s The Message. “Whether it's because they weren't embraced by their own blood relatives or they maybe were born without knowing their blood relatives, whatever it may be. I'm grateful to have parents who did embrace me and did hold on to me and love me the way I needed to be loved. I wish it was that way for everyone.” Syd’s Black History Month playlist contains a host of names who could be considered musical kin to her (KAYTRANADA, Steve Lacy, Anderson .Paak, Durand Bernarr) and then the legendary Tracy Chapman, who probably also qualifies as at least an auntie or something. If you hear something you like, be sure to save it to your library.