Black Music History Month: 5 Musicians That Changed The Game

Now that it is Black Music History Month it is the perfect time to talk about musicians that changed the game. 

Music is a big part of history. Yet as big as our history is, the story is similar. Music tells the stories of struggles, difficulties, and hardships people have suffered throughout the years. 

You can read about that here. 

And while the music keeps being created and changed. Here are some artist that has not only told a story, be original and have changed the game.  

The Artists That Are A Part of Black Music History

  Micheal Jackson (1958-2009)

Micheal Jackson is a well-known American singer, songwriter, and dancer. With his popularity, he was dubbed the “King of Pop.” And because of this, it has become a global agreement that he is the greatest, significant cultural figure of the 20th century. With his history, he became the first African-American artist to be played on MTV. Growing as an artist during an era of blackface and racism in the mainstream, Micheal Jackson forced his way on the air breaking racial barriers and transforming music. You can read more about his legend here.

 Beyonce (1981- )

If you ever wondered why it is popular to release music on Fridays and why surprise LP is a thing? You can thank Beyonce. Beyonce is a well-known American singer and actress. In the 1990s she came to fame as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child. She then went solo creating a name for herself that is “Queen Bee”. On December 13 Beyonce dropped an album with no promotion, no teasers, snippets, and it still became one of the greatest albums of all time. Because of the day of release, many wondered if she would have “sales of the week” but as the Queen, she managed to snag financial success as well made surprise music a trend. You can get more details about that here.

Sylvia Robinson (1935-2011)

Sylvia Robinson is known as the godmother of hip-hop. Also known as “Little Sylvia,” she founded Sugar Hill Records and her success was historic. With her success, it inspired many futures independent artist to create their own labels. From Def Jam Records to Top Dawg, it inspired others to succeed on their own. You can read about that here.

Nicki Minaj (1982- )

It is hard to believe but before the interference, Nicki Minaj’s streaming did not count for the artist album sales. When she celebrated her one-year anniversary for The Pink Print. While sales were less than one million worldwide, within the streaming world she was creaking records. So she took this to court and now the industry expands they count for online and physical sales. This now allows independent, indie artists as well as the bigger artist. You can read more about this day here.

Uncle Luke (1960- )

Luke Skyywalker, is a legend among the hip-hop community. In 1989 2 Live Crew released the first “obscene” song which ended up being summoned to court. The group was told to not perform the song and music, which ended up in them being in lawsuits for protesting the control the public wanted to have on hip-hop. Because of this Uncle Luke took charge and protected various rights artists have and will have in the future. He established that forms of music, entertainment, parodies, etc…were protected under the Amendments. This allows the creativity and freedom of expression for all black musicians and artists. To read more in-depth about that read this here.

Black music is a huge part of American music. If you know the music you know black music. While this is a shortlist, this list is part of the influential artist that are part of black music history. From legends to those creating a legend, they are all part of the grand story of music.