In celebration of Black Music Month, Apple Music invites listeners to travel through genre, time, and place as we celebrate Black artists and their foundational contributions to modern pop music.
This week, Apple Music’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B Ebro Darden hosted a special presentation highlighting the genesis of popular music and the artists who are keeping us connected to those roots today. ‘At Home With Apple Music: A Black Music Month Celebration’ welcomes the genre-bending musicians Brittany Howard, Gary Clark Jr. and H.E.R. for wide-ranging discussions with Darden about the legacy of Black creators in blues, soul, rock & roll and how that music exists and gains new power in moments like the one we’re presently in. The conversation is kicked off by Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.
The legendary Snoop Dogg, aka DJ Snoopadelic, also joined Darden on Apple Music to talk about his new mix for Apple Music: ‘A Black Music Story’. The mix includes everything from Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” to Queen Latifah and Monie Love’s “Ladies First.” Snoop tells Apple Music: “I wanted to find a way to connect the dots by telling the story through the music that was already produced, and try to make it make sense for the times we’re in now. So I put together a list of significance that speaks to black people, black power, enlightenment, suffering, struggle, and hope”
On Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio, Brittany Packnett Cunningham hosted a special edition of me & dad radio. The show takes listeners from Paris to Pittsburgh with a story and a soundtrack about Black Lives and for those marching in protest on Juneteenth and beyond. The show features special guests like Jesse Williams, Amber Riley, Patrisse Cullors, Chikesia Clemons, Nala Simone Toussaint, Rev. Dr. Neichelle Guidry, Aurielle Marie and more.
And to commemorate Juneteenth, Apple Music launched FREEDOM, a playlist tied to the celebration marking the effective end of slavery in the United States. The FREEDOM playlist is a reflection of this energy, a collection of songs from a disparate group of artists chronicling the moment. From voices better known for setting off the party (T-Pain, DaBaby, Trey Songz) to those we’ve come to count on in addressing the issues of the day (Ru The Jewels, Meek Mill, T.I.), the Freedom playlist finds our faves united under a singular, unavoidable, and extremely necessary declaration: Black Lives Matter.
Additionally throughout the month, top tier Apple Music playlists New Music Daily, Today’s Hits, Rap Life, ALT CTRL, danceXL, A-List Pop, ¡Dale Play!, R&B Now and Today’s Country will spotlight covers featuring Black artists across the platform.
Check out Apple Music’s Black Music Month content HERE
