black music month
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John Legend’s Bigger Love Wraps Black Joy, Nostaglia and More in a Pleasing Bow
John Legend’s latest musical offering Bigger Love couldn’t have come at a better time. The EGOT-winner’s 16-song album, which officially drops today, invokes the timelessness of his debut, 2004’s Get Lifted, with an updated flair fitting the vein of 2020’s versatile musical landscape. The 41-year-old says Bigger Love is a “celebration of love, joy, hope…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 19: Public Enemy, 'Fight The Power'
For a song that came out over 30 years ago, Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”—created for the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s 1989 classic film, Do The Right Thing—remains remarkably resonant even in 2020. We’re still at war with structural racism and all of the issues that existed at the time of the song’s creation are…
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The Root Jams Weekly (6/12/2020): 'A Roller Skating Jam Named Blackness'
Its Black Music Month, and summer is on the way. One of the funnest old school summer night activities was going to the skating rink. Roller rinks always had the best jams, so we’re putting together our list of Roller Skating Jams. Break out the skates! And don’t forget to bounce, rock then skate and…
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When Will There Be a LGBTQ Renaissance in Rap?
In the last few years, there have been progressive strides towards the visibility of female rap artists. In 2017, Cardi B became the first female rapper in nearly 20 years to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart (after Lauryn Hill). Since then, Lizzo, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion have also had No.…
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Viral Sensations Young T & Bugsey Don't Plan on Rushing Their Journey to the Top
If you’re a fan of trying to keep up with what’s hot on social media right now, odds are you know about TikTok. The video-creation app has been all the rage for the past few months, and during quarantine, dance and comedy videos have been keeping many people busy and entertained. One of the most…
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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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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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Social Studies: Redemption Songs
Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war. Until there no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation. Until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, me say war.…
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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…