In 2009, President Obama declared June "African-American Music Appreciation Month." The tribute started as "Black Music Month" in the 1970s. While the name has changed, it continues to be a time to celebrate the ways black artists have shaped music. These artists include three people who have recently died; Prince, Billy Paul and Phife Dawg. They each left a dynamic legacy in different genres.
Host Frank Stasio talks with pop culture experts Natalie Bullock Brown, professor of film and broadcast media at St. Augustine's University, and Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African & African American studies at Duke University, about the political implications behind "African-American Music Appreciation Month," and they remember "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali.
Check out some of the music featured in this program:
Billy Paul, "Me and Mrs. Jones"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWOTdt9Bovk
Billy Paul, "Am I Black Enough For You?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX6k5tRzDuU
Prince, "When Will We B Paid"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCfqrY-p2RE
Prince, "Baltimore"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cieZB0Ab7xk
A Tribe Called Quest, "Oh My God"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIah18jcJko