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Black Kids are an American indie rock and synth-pop band formed in 2006 in Jacksonville, Florida. The band was formed by Reginald "Reggie" Youngblood (lead vocals, guitar), Ali Youngblood (keyboards, backing vocals), Dawn Watley (keyboards, backing vocals), Owen Holmes (bass guitar), and Kevin Snow (drums).
They first gained international attention with their 2007 EP Wizard of Ahhhs, followed by their debut studio album Partie Traumatic (2008), which reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and included the hit single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You". After a hiatus, they returned in 2017 with their second album Rookie and have remained intermittently active since.
In 2007, Black Kids recorded eight songs with producer Jesse Mangum at The Glow Studios in Jacksonville. Four of these were uploaded as free downloads on MySpace as the Wizard of Ahhhs EP in August (all eight tracks were later released as the Extended Ahhhhhhhs 12” LP in 2022).
The band’s breakthrough came after a performance at the Athens PopFest in August 2007, which attracted attention from NME, The Guardian, Vice, and The Village Voice. In the wake of the national attention, Wizard of Ahhhs earned widespread critical acclaim, including a "Best New Music" distinction from Pitchfork, which gave it a score of 8.4/10.
Black Kids’ rise was emblematic of the late-2000s blog era, when online buzz could propel new artists to international attention almost overnight. They quickly signed with Quest Management, which also represented Björk and Arcade Fire. In October 2007, the band performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, earning further exposure in The New York Times and USA Today. They then embarked on a brief London tour in December 2007. Rolling Stone named them one of ten "Artists to Watch" for 2008, and they were also included in the BBC's Sound of 2008 poll.
Following the enthusiastic reception of Wizard of Ahhhs, anticipation for Black Kids’ debut studio album was high. When Partie Traumatic was released, however, reviews were more mixed, and several outlets that had initially praised the band offered more restrained assessments. Notably, Pitchfork, which had awarded the EP a “Best New Music” distinction, gave the album a score of 3.3 out of 10, accompanying the rating with an image of two sad dogs and the word “sorry.” The abrupt shift in critical sentiment led many observers to cite Black Kids as an example of the volatility of blog-era hype and the challenges faced by artists propelled to early fame through online buzz.
Nevertheless, the album also received many positive reviews from outlets such as Rolling Stone and The Guardian, and ultimately was included on several year-end best-of lists (e.g. NME, Spin, The Observer, and the New York Post).
The band toured the United Kingdom in early 2008, including the Vice Magazine Live Tour with Friendly Fires and Ipso Facto, a Sons and Daughters tour, and a Kate Nash tour. In the spring, they toured the United States as an opening act for Cut Copy.
Black Kids made several television appearances during this period, including Later... with Jools Holland on April 1, 2008, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on June 1, Late Show with David Letterman on July 24, 2008, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 5, 2008, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 17, 2008, and Last Call with Carson Daly on May 7, 2009.
In the spring and summer of 2008, Black Kids played the festival circuit in the U.S. and the UK, including Coachella in April, Radio 1's Big Weekend in May, Glastonbury in June, and T in the Park and Camp Bestival in July. In August they appeared at Lollapalooza. The band then headlined an international tour in the U.S. and Europe from June to November, followed by Japan in December.
In 2009, they performed at the Big Day Out festivals in New Zealand and Australia, and toured with Kaiser Chiefs in the U.K. and Mates of State in the U.S.
Their music appeared in several pop culture moments: "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" featured in films such as Role Models (2008), American Teen (2008), Jennifer's Body (2009), and the trailer for Fame (2009). It was also used in the TV shows Gossip Girl, 90210, iCarly, and 2 Broke Girls. A remix version of the song by The Twelves was used in FIFA 09 and was the basis for the cast performance of the song in an episode of Glee in May 2011.
Black Kids appeared in an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba in March 2010, performing "We Love Clowns" as the Dance Kids.
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