African-American Music Appreciation Month -- formally known as Black Music Month -- is here! Some don’t know it, but June was officially declared “Black Music Month” by our 39th president, Jimmy Carter, back in 1979. This month is dedicated to encouraging people to pay homage to the musical contributions of African-Americans to culture and society internationally.
Black Music Month in June is more than just a great time to celebrate the achievements of Black musicians in this country. From the unbridled joy that Louis Armstrong expresses in his 1926 hit "Heebie Jeebies", to the state of grace that Aretha Franklin achieves on "Wholy Holy", to the stark reality and self-reflection of Kendrick Lamar's "LOYALTY.", Black Music has always been a reflection of what is reality at any point of American history.
Public Enemy's Chuck D called Hip-Hop "The Black CNN" - you could really say that about all of the music that comes from this nation's rich heritage of Gospel, Jazz, Folk, R&B, Soul as well as Hip-Hop. More than any other art form that comes from this soil, the overriding arc that unites all of Black Music is the need to reflect real life, and this music will keep on doing just that as elegantly as it has done from back before there were microphones able to record it.
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Enjoy this playlist courtesy of Deezer by Cricket.