African-American Music Month

Black Music Month

On June 7, 1979 President Jimmy Carter, declared June as Black Music Month.  Black Music Month was conceived in 1978 by Kenny Gamble and broadcaster Ed Wright of the now obsolete Black Music Association.  The two petitioning President Carter to have greater recognition for black music in all genres.  Black Music or African-American Music consists of different genres such as Jazz, Blues, Hip-hop music, Rhythm and blues, Rock and Roll and Spiritual music.

Dyana Williams a music advocate, who founded the non-profit international Association of African-American Music Foundation, stated that Black Music does matter.  She stated the following “I’ve been on a mission to share with massive numbers of people the splendor of this amazing creative force we call black music. One day, I wrote President Bill Clinton asking him to host a Black Music Month event during June. The White House informed me that while President Carter had declared June Black Music Month, he did not sign a presidential proclamation. I was stunned at this revelation, but even more shocked when the White House suggested that I lobby Congress to get legislation recognizing June as Black Music Month.

Well, what did I know about lobbying? Not a thing. I initiated a massive letter-writing campaign, wrote an editorial in Billboard, put on my most comfortable shoes and visited senators and congress people on Capitol Hill for several years. Additionally, I used the IAAAM Foundation and my platforms on radio and in television to encourage support of this endeavor. It was Rep. Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia who became my primary champion in introducing the African American Music Bill to the House of Representatives. I contributed to the draft language, and ultimately we were victorious in securing the passage of House Resolution 509.”

On Jun 2009, Present Obama proclaimed and changed the name to reflect African-American Music Appreciation Month. “NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States do hereby proclaim June 2009 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate more activities and programs that raise awareness and foster appreciation of music which is composed, arranged, and performed by African Americans.”

The earliest recording of a black musical artist was in 1890 by George W. Johnson who became the first African American to record commercially. I grew up on the sounds of sounds of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Mahalia Jackson, Michael Jackson, Prince and many more.  African-American Music has been a part of my life and will continue to be a part of my life. 

In August 2011, the idea of 9 1 Deuce Entertainment was created and since then my passion for music has continued to grow.  9 1 Deuce Entertainment is an family oriented management and entertainment business focusing on Rhythm and Soul, Hip/hop, Rap and Urban genre of music. We are here to representing singers, songwriters, music producers and other types of performing arts.

The beauty of music is the creation of where it comes from, so be unique and different!

Sing, write, compose and produce from your heart!