20 significant moments in Black music history

At the first Grammy Awards in 1958, Ella Fitzgerald was nominated for two categories. Her album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook was nominated for Best Jazz Performance, Individual, and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook was nominated for Best Vocal Performance, Female. Not only did she become the first Black woman to win a Grammy, but she also became the first woman to win multiple Grammys. 

Back in the '80s when MTV started, their music programming consisted of 99% white artists. When Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was released, MTV wasn’t on board to air the video, and CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff threatened to pull his label’s artists videos from MTV’s rotation if “Billie Jean” wasn’t added. The network finally gave in and changed MTV’s music programming forever by including Black artists in the rotation. Without Michael Jackson, MTV probably wouldn’t have been as successful as it was.

It’s always mind-blowing to see how far hip-hop has come, especially for a genre that was once deemed a fad by many critics. On April 16, 2018, Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album DAMN. This made him the first rapper to win the prestigious award, and it was the first time a musical work outside of classical and jazz was recognized.

Beyoncé is the type of artist who continues to make space for other artists, while also giving fans teachable lessons. In 2018, she was the first Black woman to headline Coachella and she made sure to showcase Black culture throughout her performance such as adding elements of HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) and vocal snippets of Malcolm X and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Isaac Hayes accomplished two incredible feats at the 44th Academy Awards. His song “Theme from Shaft” made him the first Black artist to win for Best Original Song, which also made him the first Black winner in a non-acting category. 

Throughout Missy Elliott’s career, she’s written hit songs for a number of artists including Mariah Carey, Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Ariana Grande, and Mya just to name a few. In 2019, she became the first female MC to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the third rapper to be honored after Jermaine Dupri and Jay Z were recognized for their works in previous years.

Hard to believe that since the Grammy Awards inception, only 11 Black artists have won the most prestigious award of the night, Album of the Year. In 1974, Stevie Wonder became the first Black artist to win the category with his album Innervisions. This album included hit singles like “Higher Ground,” "Living for the City," and "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." Wonder also won the same Grammy Award category for his next two albums Fulfillingness' First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life.

Sometimes all it takes is one artist to open up doors for many others. Just over 25 years since she released her debut album, soulful singer Aretha Franklin was the first female artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Queen of Soul’s induction helped pave the way for other female artists to be recognized by the organization over the years. 

In 2005, Three 6 Mafia created the song “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” which was the theme song for the film Hustle & Flow. At the 78th Academy Awards the following year, they became the first hip-hop act to perform at the ceremony and the first hip-hop group to win for Best Original Song. 

Throughout Grammy Awards history, the ceremony has often been criticized for the recognition of musical works being created by Black artists. In 1999, Lauryn Hill became the first hip-hop artist to win Album of the Year for her solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The only other hip-hop album to win came in 2004 when Outkast took the trophy home for Speakerboxx/The Love Below. 

Hip-hop was born on August 11, 1973, thanks to a house party that DJ Kool Herc set the vibes to. Herc tried something different on a turntable, which is known as the breakbeat, and it allowed for b-boys and b-girls to dance longer, while he started rapping and MCing over the beat. 

In November 1992, the soundtrack for The Bodyguard was released. It was the first album to sell over one million copies in one week, making Whitney Houston the first person to accomplish this feat. The soundtrack featured several of Houston's hit songs like “I’m Every Woman,” “I Have Nothing,” and her cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” 

Nowadays, artists are constantly doing collaborations with fashion brands, but it wouldn’t be possible without Run-DMC. Their song “My Adidas” caught the attention of executives at the athletic apparel brand as fans at their concert would hold up their shoes. It wasn’t long after that Run-DMC signed a $1.6 million endorsement deal with Adidas, making the partnership a first of its kind with musicians and a major sports brand. 

In 1992, Da Brat signed with Jermaine Dupri’s record label So So Def. However, it was two years later that she released her debut album Funkdafied, which featured hit songs like the titular track and “Give It 2 You.” Less than six months after the album’s release, Brat sold one million copies, making her the first solo female rapper with a platinum album. 

When Childish Gambino released his 2018 track “This Is America,” he made sure the song addressed Black culture in America, such as the oppression and injustices that Black Americans continue to face. The following year, Gambino made history as the first hip-hop artist to win both Song and Record of the Year categories at the Grammy Awards.  

After several years of singing R&B, it was in 1969 when Linda Martell changed country music. Her first country single "Color Him Father" peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and her debut album "Color Me Country" was a top 40 hit on the Top Country Albums chart. In addition to her commercial success, she was the first Black female solo artist to play the Grand Ole Opry, breaking barriers for Black women in country music. 

Beyoncé has been in the music industry since 1998 when she came onto the scene as a member of Destiny’s Child. Although she was very successful during her girl group days, her career hit a completely new stratosphere when she went solo. She’s been nominated for plenty of Grammy Awards throughout her career, but in 2023, she broke the record for most Grammy wins by any artist in history. That year, her total number of Grammy wins was 32, which passed the previous record holder Sir Georg Solti. 

In the 1930s, jazz legend Nat King Cole formed a band alongside bassist Wesley Prince and guitarist Oscar Moore, they were known as the King Cole Trio. In 1944, they released their self-titled debut album and it topped the Billboard charts the following year. Cole made history as the first Black artist to have a number-one album on Billboard.  

According to Nielsen’s 2017 year-end report, hip-hop and R&B surpassed rock as the most consumed genre in the U.S. for the first time. Hip-hop and R&B saw an impressive 72% surge in on-demand streaming and eight out of the ten most-streamed artists came from the genre, which included heavy-hitters like Kendrick Lamar and Drake. 

According to WhoSampled, James Brown, also known as the Godfather of Soul, is the most sampled artist of all time. The list of artists that have sampled Brown is massive, it includes the likes of Dr. Dre, Public Enemy, Fat Joe, Tupac, Rick Ross, Beastie Boys, and more.