Music
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Fed Up but Hopeful: Streams of Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' and Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' Skyrocket Amid Protests
It appears the people of the United States have chosen Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” as their protest songs of choice. According to Forbes, Gambino’s song, which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2018, jumped from No. 97 to No. 2 on the U.S. Spotify chart this week, amassing…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 3: The Whispers, 'Keep On Lovin' Me'
This video perfectly reflects black cool…and I love it. It is hands down one of the best videos of Black Men Walking of all time. There’s even the rogue brotha in the back who clearly didn’t get the memo about wearing neutral colors and since he didn’t get that memo, he didn’t get the memo…
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Black Music Month: LaFace Records Gave Us More Than Music, They Gave Us a Standard of Excellence to Aspire to
In January, some of the biggest stars in music descended upon the Atlanta History Center to pay homage to the 30-year legacy of LaFace Records and its co-founders, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Antonio “L.A.” Reid. This black-tie affair, dubbed YouTube Music’s 2020 Leaders & Legends Ball, featured familiar names such as The-Dream, Ludacris, Dallas Austin…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 2: Janet Jackson, 'Rhythm Nation'
When I think of iconic music videos, several come to mind. Janet Jackson is responsible for several of them. While this series will probably get real loose with the definition of “iconic,” there is no need to qualify it with the video for the title track from Janet’s 1989 game-changing album, Rhythm Nation, officially titled…
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Music Labels and Industry Giants to Participate in Blackout Tuesday to Stand in Solidarity With Black Community
Music industry giants such as Warner Music, Sony, and Interscope Records, as well as artists and celebrities within the space, are joining together in solidarity with the black community in response to the death of George Floyd last week. “Blackout Tuesday” will take place on June 2 and throughout social media, many companies, record label…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Flying Lotus, 'Never Catch Me'
It’s June 2020, and while I imagine this year looks nothing like anybody assumed it might—and as time keeps on slippin’ into the future—I hope that we somehow come out better on the other side of it than we started. That’s a very, very reserved optimism, by the way. Be that as it may, June…
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Replay, Revisit, Reject: This Was a Rough Weekend, but Did New Music Help?
We get it: With everything going on in the world, it can be difficult to carve out time to discover new music. Industry-pushed tunes that you may not even bang with like that could also get in the way of you finding something that tingles your consumer taste buds. While new tunes are usually released…
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Exclusive: iHeartMedia to Celebrate Black Music Month With Robust Content Featuring H.E.R., Questlove and More
Black Music Month is on the horizon and iHeartMedia has quite the celebration planned, as expected. iHeart provided The Root with exclusive deets: iHeartMedia today announced that it will celebrate Black Music Month with exclusive audio vignettes from some of today’s top Urban artists. The celebration will honor the incredible achievements of Black musicians and…
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The Root Jams Weekly (5/29/2020): 'Protest Music'
This week, month, and year have been exhausting for Black America. There’s always a battle raging somewhere against power structures that prey and pray for our downfall. Gathered here are a collection of staff-curated songs that embody the spirit of protest. #RIPGeorgeFloyd “Protest Music” (5/29/2020) Playlist Tonja Stidhum Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” The Beatles “Come…
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Put Her Name in Ice: Beyoncé Is Only the 2nd Artist to Score #1 on Billboard in 4 Distinct Decades
In “Savage Remix,” Bey did say her “whole team [will] eat”—and she didn’t lie! Not only did Meg secure her first-ever #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, but Beyoncé has reached a historic milestone of her own. According to Billboard, Bey is only the second artist to appear in the top spot on the…