Black Music Artists
This Canadian rapper and former Degrassi actor holds multiple Billboard records, including having the most songs to chart in the Top 10 for a solo artist.
Drake
These lyrics come from which hit song " I think I could undestand, How it feels to love a girl, I swear I'd be a better man."
If I were a Boy by Beyoncé
Founded in 1867 in Washington, D.C., this HBCU is known as “The Mecca,” and has produced influential alumni including Thurgood Marshall, Kamala Harris, and Chadwick Boseman.
Howard University
This 1993 film, directed by John Singleton, stars Janet Jackson as a poet navigating love and loss in South Central Los Angeles, alongside Tupac Shakur as a mail carrier.
Poetic Justice
Born in 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, this tennis superstar has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles—the most in the Open Era—and is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Signed as the first artist to Drake’s OVO Sound label, this Canadian singer-songwriter has penned hits for Rihanna, including “Work.”
Partynextdoor
These lyrics come from which hit song, " You said you loved me, no one above me, and I was all you had. And though my heart is beating for you I can't stop cryin."
Foolish by Ashanti
Established in 1881 and originally called the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, this Atlanta HBCU is the nation’s oldest college for Black women and consistently ranks as the top HBCU in the United States.
Spelman College
This 2010 romantic comedy stars Queen Latifah as a physical therapist who falls for a professional basketball player, played by Common, while helping him recover from a career-threatening injury.
Just Wright
In 1947, this athlete broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, later earning Rookie of the Year honors and becoming a symbol of the civil rights movement.
Jackie Robinson
Before becoming a chart-topping solo artist, this rapper was part of the Dungeon Family collective under the nickname “Meathead,” and his 2020 album became the first of his career to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with no features.
Future
City Girls by YNW Melly
Founded in 1891 in Greensboro, this HBCU is the largest historically Black university in the U.S. by enrollment and is known for its famous “Aggie” Marching Band and alumni like civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
North Carolina A&T (NCAT)
This 2017 horror-thriller, written and directed by Jordan Peele, follows a Black man who uncovers a terrifying secret while visiting his white girlfriend’s family estate.
Get Out
This American gymnast, born in 1997, is a multiple Olympic gold medalist known for her extraordinary difficulty and power, and has several skills named after her in international competition.
Simone Biles
Before going solo, this R&B artist was a member of the teen group N-Toon, formed by Klymaxx member Joyce Irby; years later, he would sample the same song as Tupac—“Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye—in his single “Lessons.”
Llyod
These song lyrics come from which hit song, "And you can't help who you love. And you find yourself giving it away. When you think you're in love."
Heaven Sent by Keyshia Cole
Founded in 1867 in Montgomery, this HBCU is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and has produced notable alumni including civil rights activist Rosa Parks and NFL coach Charles Coe.
Alabama State University
Released over the Juneteenth weekend, this 2022 film written by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins and directed by Tim Story follows a group of Black friends in a remote cabin who are forced to play a deadly board game that tests “Blackness.”
The Blackening
This NBA Hall of Famer, who played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers, famously scored 100 points in a single game in 1962—a record that still stands today.
Wilt Chamberlain
After rising to fame as the drummer-turned-lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, this artist became a solo icon with hits like “Turn Off the Lights,” earning a reputation for his “women only” concerts.
These song lyrics come from which hit song, "Im moving on and now im trying to make a change in my ways. Be the best that I can be to last me all of my days."
U Know What's Up by Donell Jones
Founded in 1866 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, this private liberal arts HBCU is the oldest historically Black college in the state and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Rust College
In this 2020 sequel, the Miami detectives Mike and Marcus confront Armando Armas, a vengeful cartel member seeking revenge for his father’s death, while navigating a new team of younger cops dubbed AMMO.
This American boxer, an Olympic gold medalist in 1976, became a five-division world champion known for his speed, charisma, and epic bouts against Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler.
Sugar Ray Leonard