February is Black History Month. The theme this year for Black History Month is African Americans and the Arts. This explores visual performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, and culinary arts. This month we are focusing on music, and how people changed the music industry.
Rihanna is one of the black music artists that changed history. Her music has a huge impact on culture, politics, and music. Rihanna was born on February 20, 1988. Her music influenced lots of people around the world, and has received many awards including her rise to national hero, and her inspiring legacy in her home town. Rihanna runs a foundation called The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF). She started this foundation in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. This foundation invests in climate justice initiatives in the Caribbean and United States and helps communities prepare for and withstand natural disasters. If you click on this foundation you can read about “Shifting how the world responds to inequity and injustice.” The Clara Lionel Foundation raised over $80 billion. Rihanna donated $15 billion to mental-health services as well as $2.1 million each to aid victims of demestic violence in Los Angeles, she donated this money during the pandemic to help all the hospitals.
Another black music artist that changed history is Beyonce. Beyonce’s music achieved fame in the late 1990’s as the lead singer of the R&B group “Destiny’s Child” and than launched a successful solo career. She won a recond setting of 32 Grammy awards. Beyonce was age 9 when she started a singing/rapping goup called Destiny’s Child. In 1992 the group lost in the Star Seach talent show. Three years later it was dropped from a recoding contract before their album had been released. Their follow-up album “The Writing’s on the Wall” won two Grammy awards. The group parted ways to pursue other dreams. Beyonce took her music to make her first solo album called Dangerously in Love. In 2005 she won 5 Grammy awards. Beyonce changed the music industry because several people criticized her, and didn’t believe she would become a good singer. But she brought appreciation of black culure into her music and didn’t care what anybody thought of her.
Aretha Franklin is another black music artist that changed the music industry. At age 12 she became a mother of a son named Clarence, and two years later she had another son named Edward. At age 18 she went to New York where she signed with Columbia Records. In 1987 she was the first female artist to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2008 she won her 18th Grammy Award which made her one of the most honored artists in the Grammy History. She then recorded an album called “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You.)” This album than became a Top 10 hit, her first song. This song reached number 1 on both the R and B and pop charts. This song also got Franklin to win her first two Grammy Awards. Lastly she provided money to the civil rights group to help them out. Aretha Franklin changed the music industry because the words in her music made people think about their decisions.
