The Pioneer of Rock & Roll
She said, “Oh, these kids and rock and roll. This is just sped up rhythm and blues. I’ve been doing it forever,”
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Hip Hop Goes to Court
Thanks to Uncle Luke and 2 Live Crew, hip hop has continued to flourish over 30 years after the trial.
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DDC Changes Hip Hop Forever
In 1999 Marlon Riggs held a screening for his film “Tongues United,” which deserves its own video. There Juba Kalamka, and Tim’m T. West met. They would later meet Phillip Atiba Goff on campus at Stanford University.
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The Godfather of House Music
Frankie Knuckles is one of the pioneers of house music, a unique sound developed in the gay nightclubs across Chicago
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How Leslie Riddle Changed Country
From 1945-1965 Riddle retired from music until singer and folklorist Mike Seeger tracked him down after hearing Maybelle Carter discuss what she learned from him.
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America Has a Problem: Kilo Ali
Even if you’ve never heard the name Kilo Ali before you’ve probably heard his song Cocaine sampled by Beyonce for “America Has a Problem.” Kilo was in a gang at one point, but he left and built a career for himself with music throughout Atlanta in the early 90s through what was a unique sound
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Charley Pride Sings The Hits
Charley Pride led a super interesting life. In 1952 he was a pitcher in the Negro American League. When he played for the Louisville Clippers they traded him and Jesse Mitchell to the Birmingham Black Barons for a bus. Yeah, a bus. On the side, he sang a little bit, and got paid to sing
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Mickey Gets Nominated
As a Black Man from the midwest, I love country music, it is what it is. Some people will tell you it isn’t Black music, and those people are wrong.
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Public Enemy vs Arizona
The journey to making Martin Luther King Jr Day a holiday was a long one that included legends like Coretta Scott King, politicians like Representative John Conyers, celebrities like Stevie Wonder, and strangely enough an impassioned speech by New Gingrich to his Republican colleagues.
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What is Black Music Month
In 1979 President Jimmy Carter declared June as Black Music Month. President Carter forgot to actually make it official despite holding celebrations each year after. I think Jimmy just liked Black music and wanted a reason to celebrate. For years journalist Dyana Williams lobbied for it to be officially recognized by the US Government, and
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