Black music to raise awarenessLike this list

10 items

• I Am > I Was

  21 Savage, 1992-

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  Savage gets emotionally open and talks about his own bloody past in matter-of-fact ways at times in this album. He lays out an origin story in two lines: “My brother lost his life, and it turned me to a beast / My brother got life, and it turned me…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• 2014 Forest Hills Drive

  Cole, J. (Jermaine), 1985-

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  2014 Forest Hills Drive begins with a question: “Do you wanna be happy?” Then, a follow-up: “Do you wanna be free?” These inquiries recur without answer, with mounting emotion.

• Black America Again

  Common (Musician),

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  With his eleventh studio album Black America Again, Common joins the vast collection of powerful black voices rising in protest for black lives, capturing the nuanced, emotional state of black America. But while the Chicago-bred…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Black Messiah

  D'Angelo, 1974-2025,

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  "It’s an album that explores liberation and protest, and that, I think, is its power," DeRay McKesson, a Ferguson activist.

• Damn.

  Lamar, Kendrick, 1987-

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  The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music to rapper Kendrick Lamar for his 2017 album, DAMN. "A virtuosic song collection," the Pulitzer board writes of DAMN., "unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• To Pimp a Butterfly

  Lamar, Kendrick, 1987-

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  Thousands chanted the chorus of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” at the Million Man March Gathering in 2015.

• This Land

  Clark, Gary, Jr., 1984-

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  A brutally honest account of growing up Black in the American South and his experience of living in today’s America.

• The Allegory

  Royce da 5'9" (Musician),

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  Royce da 5'9" not only highlights the gross racism faced by the African-American community but is also a defiant celebration of Black talent succeeding massively in spite of the horrendous obstacles their country has imposed on them.

• A Seat at the Table

  Solange, 1986-

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  Solange explores what it means to be black in America today. The songs in this album celebrate black culture, confront prejudice, and explore the trauma of witnessing black people killed.

• Lemonade

  Beyoncé, 1981-

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  The album is about the experience of black women, “the most disrespected person in America”, to quote Beyoncé quoting Malcolm X. The title is drawn from Jay Z’s grandmother, who is shown in the film at her 90th birthday party: “I was given lemons…Read moreRead more of this annotation