Kali Uchis has accused Sleep Token of “gimmicks” and using “blackface” in their chart placement row.
The British metal band recently released their fourth studio album ‘Even In Arcadia’, which saw them topple the charts of multiple countries – including both the US and UK.
Whilst NME gave the band a five-star rating, it appears they’ve also gained some detractors, too. Alt-R&B singer Kali Uchis released her own album ‘Sincerely‘ on the same day as Sleep Token’s – but she seemed to be disgruntled at coming in second to the band on the charts.
In a now-deleted post, the singer posted a heart over frontman Vessel’s face to show her ranking on the Billboard 100 Top artists. She went on to screenshot a Billboard article reporting her album debuting at Number Two. Uchis praised her fanbase – known as “kuchis” – writing, “Kuchis did that, no payola/big commercial single/features/gimmicks required”.
She also responded to a TikTok comment calling her “petty” for censoring Sleep Token’s face. Uchis claimed that she “didn’t feel comfortable posting a photo of someone in black face,” adding: “It really wasn’t deeper than that, doll”.
Upon a commenter asking why she hadn’t covered Morgan Wallen‘s face, who was previously videoed using racial slurs, she responded: “I actually know nothing about either person I just saw a photo that made me uncomfortable and covered it.”
In now deleted posts, Kali Uchis accused the metal band, Sleep Token, of using payola and doing blackface.
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When Sleep Token dropped ‘Even In Arcadia’, NME hailed the record, writing: “‘Even In Arcadia’ shatters any pressure of expectation into oblivion, building on the bravery of its predecessor, sonically, while its lyrics reveal the most exposed version of Vessel we’ve seen yet. From Eden to Arcadia – and beyond – let the worship continue.”
Meanwhile, we also praised Uchis’ record in a four-star review. “‘Sincerely,’ sometimes meanders – six woozy minutes of ‘Lose My Cool’ is too much – but more often, it matches the dreamy intimacy of Uchis’ stunning 2020 smash ‘Telepatía’,” it read. “Here, her music shimmers with confidence even when her lyrics hint at deep-rooted insecurities. The world is a particularly brutal place right now, but this album supplies a timely but timeless-sounding balm.”
Sleep Token soon are due to headline Download Festival alongside Green Day and KoRn – check out the full set times for the Donington Park festival here. They have not publicly responded to Uchis’ comments at time of writing.
