Known as the ""the father of modern gospel music," Andraé Crouch helped usher praise and worship to the mainstream.
From Frank Ocean, to Janelle Monáe, to those you might least expect.
Here's a look at eight pioneers of Black music firsts...
Since Hip-Hop’s inception, the genre has always blended with it’s older cousin R&B. Now more than ever the two forms of music has mixed so much that the Grammy’s have devoted a whole category, Rap/Sung Category, rapping, and singing. Artists such as Beyonce and Jay-Z to Mary J. Blige and Method Man have delivered some […]
Born Prince Roger’s Nelson but widely known as Prince, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince or Love Symbol #2; Prince was born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota and came from a lineage of musicians. Prince had a love of sports and music at a young age and wrote his first song called ‘Funk Machine’ at […]
June is Black Music Month, a celebration of African-American musicians, creators, innovators and influencers. For 2018, the Urban One family is highlighting 25 of the most influential musicians of all-time that have contributed to black spaces far and wide, ranging from inspirational, to hip-hop and R&B. Artist: The Notorious B.I.G. Genre: Hip-Hop Quick Highlights: Life […]
James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J stepped onto the music scene in the mid 80s with his hit single, “I Need A Beat,” this single and Def Jam put them both on the trajectory to stardom. The New York rapper over the course of his almost 3 decade career has proved that he’s a […]
Follow The Beat On Twitter: 50 Cent took the rap industry by storm with the release of his album Get Rich Or Die Tryin in 2003. Once his foot was in the door, he crushed the game in every way possible. He made millions from an investment with Vitamin Water, got into acting, launched G-Unit […]
From East Point, GA to world domination, rap duo Outkast changed the way we look at southern Hip Hop. André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton created Outkast as high school students in 1991. They released their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994. The single “Player’s Ball” reached number one on the Billboard. They then honed in on their sound to […]
Kendrick Lamar is arguably the most influential hip-hop artist of the past 10 years. He’s a throwback in the sense that he doesn’t utilize social media frequently, and the importance that he puts in to each project he releases. “I just come from that era,” Lamar says, citing landmark 1990s LPs like DMX’s “It’s Dark […]