Black Music Month is an event that has taken place every year in June since 1979. The official name is African-American Music Appreciation Month but that's just too long. The Month aims to look objectively at the contributions that blacks have made to music over the centuries. Trust me, there's a lot of them.
I know people will be doing more posts than you ever wanted to hear in your life about how rap music is destroying the youth, how white people stole rock music, the good old days and everything else. I wanted to do something else that would set us apart from everyone else. So I sat down and stared at my calendar until I came up with a plan.
What I came up with was a list. These aren't the best albums in the world, not even the best from black artist. Probably not the best in their genres. However, the list has 30 albums spanning every genre of music, yes even country. The thing that unites each of these is that they display an aspect of the black community.
Long before Asian men were writing about how To Pimp A Butterfly was the most important album for black people, Chuck D was delivering what can only be described as sermons. Before Kanye West decided to reclaim the confederate flag Richie Havens was singing a celebratory goodbye to it while it fell.
Each day will feature a short review of the album for it's musical content. Then it'll feature and analysis of the spiritual context it has. By spiritual I don't mean religion but the spirit of the Black Community that it holds. You may not agree with everything I say about these albums, but I can only suggest that you listen to them as well and form your own opinion.
So please, join us in June for Black Music Month as we celebrate 30 albums and their tribute to being black in America. Every day at
June 1: Nas - Illmatic
June 2: Kanye West - The College Dropout
June 3: Nappy Roots - Chicken, Watermelon and Gritz
June 4: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
June 5: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah (4th World War)
June 6: Sly and The Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin On
June 7: Nina Simone - Black Gold
June 8: Watch The Throne
June 9: Living Colour - Time's Up
June 10: Nas - Street's Disciple
June 11: Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City
June 12: Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
June 13: Bob Marley - Exodus
June 14: Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
June 15: Willie D - I'm Goin Out Like A Soldier
June 16: Sam Cooke - Ain't That Good News
June 17: Body Count
June 18: Queen Latifah - All Hail The Queen
June 19: Bobby Womack and J.J. Johnson - Across 110th Street
June 20: Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star
June 21: Richie Havens - Live At The Cellar Door
June 22: Kanye West - Late Registration
June 23: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
June 24: Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
June 25: Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly
June 26: N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
June 27: Gil Scott Heron - Pieces of a Man
June 28: Childish Gambino - Camp
June 29: Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
June 30: Nas - Untitled
