Black Music Month PlaylistLike this list

20 items

• To Pimp a Butterfly

  Lamar, Kendrick, 1987-

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  This is a brainy, chaotic masterpiece; poetry set to music.

• Walk Through Fire

  Yola, 1984-

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  Star guitarist's 2019 debut album. The album's title references both a fire which damaged Yola's home and an abusive relationship from which she escaped.

• Dutty Classics Collection

  Paul, Sean

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  The best-selling Jamaican rapper compiles his greatest hits, all 18 of them!

• Whack World

  Whack, Tierra

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  Tierra Helena Whack is an American rapper and singer. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager, but later on reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut mixtape, Whack World, was released in May 2018 and received widespread critical…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Saga Continues

  Wu-Tang Clan (Musical group)

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  The first project by the Clan in almost four years, The Saga Continues is a love child between RZA and Mathematics. Their recent production collaborations inspired the recruitment of the entire Clan once more for a new album.

• What's Going on Live

  Gaye, Marvin,

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  Live album recorded in 1972, released posthumously in 2019 by Motown.

• Muse

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  Classical music’s star duo have performed together all over the world; this album is a presentation of a program of Barber & Rachmaninov including each composer’s Cello Sonata and a selection of songs transcribed for cello.

• Mavis Staples

  Staples, Mavis

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  Debut solo studio, released in 1969. by American rhythm and blues and gospel singer Mavis Staples. It was released on June 16, 1969, by Volt Records, featuring "Son of a Preacher Man" and a "House Is Not a Home."

• The Complete Birth of the Cool

  Davis, Miles,

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  Chronicles the brief yet monumental importance of the Miles Davis, presenting together all the music created by this collective — the 12 sides they recorded in 1949/‘50, as well as the ensemble’s only extant live recordings, recorded at the Royal…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• God Bless the Child

  Best of Billie Holiday

  Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959

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  Fourteen of Billie Holiday's best songs, from "Autumn in New York" to "Strange Fruit."

• Catch a Fire

  Marley, Bob

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  Fifth studio album; included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

• Cheers to the Fall

  Day, Andra,

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  Debut studio album; features the anthem "Rise Up." Yes, we will!

• Feeling Good

  the Very Best of Nina Simone

  Simone, Nina, 1933-2003

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  The songstress who defied classification with a deep and soulful voice that added meaning and message to any song.

• Fulfillingness' First Finale

  Wonder, Stevie, 1950-

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  Released in 1974; fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "classic period."

• A Brand New Me

  Franklin, Aretha

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  Compilation album; features archival vocal performances that Franklin accompanied by new orchestral arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and newly recorded backing vocals.

• Sign O' the Times

  Prince 1958-2016

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  Ninth Prince studio album; first released in 1987, considered one his best albums.

• Baduizm

  Badu, Erykah, 1971- ..

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  Erykah Badu’s 1997 debut, an existential anchor of the neo-soul movement; this album received a 9.5 (out of 10) from Pitchfork! Wow!

• Black Radio 2 (deluxe)

  Robert Glasper Experiment (Musical group)

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  Robert Glasper Experiment’s “Black Radio 2” continues to reinvigorate the status quo of both mainstream urban and jazz radio scene through artful experimentation.

• Nasty Gal

  Davis, Betty, 1944-2022

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  This fierce funk-rock diva taught Jimi Hendrix how to dress, started her erstwhile husband Miles on the path to fusion, and recorded three fiery, outrageous albums that stomp hard and tell it like it is. Her hard-driving, genre-bending sound was a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Emily's D+evolution

  Spalding, Esperanza, 1984-

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  Brilliant bassist changing the landscape of contemporary jazz.