black music month
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Exclusive: TV One Celebrates Black Music Month and the Sound of D.C. With Go-Go Documentary, The Beat Don't Stop
The sounds of Go-go hit the nation on another level when we all heard those conga drums in the background of “Da Butt” by E.U. (Experience Unlimited) as part of Spike Lee’s School Daze soundtrack. However, I didn’t truly get the purity of Washington, D.C.-native pride until I accumulated a few friends from there, went…
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![Let’s Stay (In) Together’: The Apollo Theater and DJ D-Nice Will Kick Off Black Music Month With Livestream Dedications [Corrected]](https://www.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/hxukgc00dd1h04h3je2c-300x169.jpg)
Let’s Stay (In) Together’: The Apollo Theater and DJ D-Nice Will Kick Off Black Music Month With Livestream Dedications [Corrected]
June is nearing and that means it’s time to celebrate yet another Black Music Month. We may be stuck inside, but Da Rona won’t stop no show! As part of a month-long celebration called Apollo Sound, the Apollo Theater presents “Let’s Stay (In) Together: A Benefit to Support the Apollo Theater,” with guest artists performing…
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The Homecoming Playlist: Turn-Up at the Tailgate
A few months after the summer cookouts are over and right before hibernation mode kicks in, there’s one last annual turn-up that’s a staple of black culture. It’s that time of the year known as homecoming season—an important time, filled with step shows, galas, panel discussions and more. But the most anticipated and highly attended…
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The Auntie Playlist: Girl, That's My Jam!
It’s a known fact that if there’s a party and music is playing, there will be a few aunties in the room doing the two-step, which can range from funky, freestyle Mary J. Blige to subtle, yet sassy Anita Baker. You may even hear an auntie say “Ohhhhh, this my jam” as she proceeds to…
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What Is the Best and Blackest Movie Soundtrack?
It’s African American Music Appreciation Month (lovingly known as Black Music Month) and what better way to celebrate than to honor just how much music affects another celebrated medium? That’s right, we’re talking film. While Bill Cosby and O.J. Simpson were attempting to make this the most bizarre week in celebrity social media history, Jamie…
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The Glow Up Playlist: The Soundtrack to Finding Your Inner and Outer Beauty
Many say that Gucci Mane has had the best glow up over the past couple of years and some would argue that the win for best glow up belongs to Cardi B—both of which are valid. However, the glow up is more than just getting your body together or cashing big checks; the glow up…
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The Cookout Playlist: Music Is the Most Important Part of the Celebration (Fight Me)
When it heats up outside and the sun shines on you, making that melanin glow even more, you know it’s officially that time—cookout season. To celebrate Black Music Month, on every Friday of this month, I will be curating a playlist centered around a particular theme from black culture. The first theme: the cookout. Black…
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'Life Is a Carnival': The World According to Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo is an African icon. A musical masterclass. A woman of the world. She speaks and sings in five languages—no, six, if you count her recent foray into the native Spanish of the late Celia Cruz for her 17th album, released in April and simply titled Celia. Kidjo’s Wikipedia page alone is a dizzying…
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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, ‘They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)’
June is Black Music Month and we here at VSB have decided to celebrate with aplomb and splendor. Just like we did back in February with our 28 Days of Literary Blackness series, we also love music and relish in the opportunity to celebrate that love as frequently as possible. Sometimes you just have to…
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Go for the Glow: Alicia Keys Covers Essence's June Issue—and More Famous Faces Get Some Shine!
June is Black Music Month, so it’s fitting that 15-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys is covering Essence’s June issue (with Lizzo starring on the digital version)—though it’s actually themed “The Escape Issue.” In keeping with the theme, Keys, who has famously already broken free of entertainment industry expectations by taking a cleaner approach to beauty,…