"It's the music I've always listened to ... Now I'm the ‘first African-American country singer.′ That's about the only thing ...

Francesca Royster remembers waking up the morning after the Super Bowl to numerous excited text messages from friends: Beyoncé had just dropped two new country-tinged singles, and her album ...

Black artists have long been a part of the country music industry, lending some of their cultural influences to arguably one of the most American of music genres. However, they have often faded ...

F or much of my life, country music felt like a locked door — a mysterious place that invited no one who looked like me. It ...

Combining the heritage of African culture and the experiences encountered while in bondage, early African American ... forms of music in America. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers was the ...

Her defiant embrace of country music has served to illuminate its diverse roots, educate skeptics, and revitalize interest in the genre — especially as a space where Black artists can (and do ...

Black American music is music of the spirit, a profound diversity of lessons to be enjoyed. Never duplicated but often imitated, its drumbeats are heartbeats of the inner person that ignites ...