People, Locations, Episodes

Yitz Jordan, Hip-Hop Artist born

*Yitz Jordan was born on this date in 1978. He is a Gay, Black, Jewish hip-hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic and is better known by his stage name Y-Love. Jordan, an only child, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, to a Christian Ethiopian father and a Puerto Rican mother. He occasionally […]

Aaliyah, Vocalist, and Actress born

Aaliyah was born on this date in 1979. She was an African American singer and actress.

She was born Aaliyah Haughton in Brooklyn. She moved to Detroit when she was a young girl. Aaliyah began performing at a young age, and by the time she was eleven, she was singing on stage in Las Vegas for a five-night stand with Gladys Knight’s troupe. In 1994, she recorded her debut album “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number” at age fourteen. It went platinum and spawned a pair of gold singles: “Back & Forth” and “At Your Best (You Are Love).”

Alicia Keys, Musician, Lyricist, and Singer born

*Alicia Keys was born on January 25, 1980. She is a Jamaican American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actress, music video director, philanthropist, and author.

Craig David, British Singer born

*Craig David was born on this date in 1981.  He is a Black Jewish British singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and record producer. Craig Ashley David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant, and George David, a carpenter, grew up in the Holyrood estate. David’s father is Grenadian, and David’s mother […]

Beyoncé Knowles, Singer, and Lyricist born

*Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter Knowles was born on this date in 1981. She is a Black singer, songwriter, and Fashion Design businesswoman. Beyonce Giselle Knowles is from Houston, Texas, the daughter of Celestine “Tina” Knowles (née Beyonce), a hairdresser and salon owner, and Mathew Knowles, a Xerox sales manager. Beyoncé’s name is a tribute to her mother’s […]

Nicki Minaj, Singer, and Entertainer born

*Nicki Minaj was born on this date in 1982. She is an Afro Caribbean rapper, singer-songwriter, and actress. Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty was born in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and raised in Queens, New York City; she gained public recognition after releasing the mixtapes Playtime Is Over (2007), Sucka Free (2008), and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009). […]

Donald Glover, Actor, and Director born

*Donald Glover was born on this date in 1983.  He is a Black actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, musician, and DJ. He performs music under the stage name Childish Gambino and as a DJ named mcDJ. Donald McKinley Glover Jr. was born at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly Smith, is a retired daycare provider, […]

The Gospel at Colonus Premiers

*On this date in 1983, the Gospel at Colonus premiered.  This production is an African American musical version of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus.   It premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival in December 1983. The following year it received a production at the Arena Stage in Washington DC, running from November 23, 1984 […]

Prince Performs at Gallaudet University

*On this date in 1984, Prince gave one of his more unique concerts.   At the height of his notoriety, Prince stopped by to play a free concert for 1,900 students at Gallaudet University, the world-renowned school for the deaf, and 600 special needs students from D.C.-area schools.   Working with promoters Darryll Brooks and Carol Kirkendall, he requested to do the show for […]

Nipsey Hustle, Rapper, and Activist born

*Nipsey Hussle was born on this date in 1985.  He was a Black rapper, entrepreneur, and community activist.  Born Ermias Joseph Asghedom, he was the son of Angelique Smith, a Black woman, and Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean immigrant. He was raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles with his brother Samiel and his sister Samantha.  At 14, he left home and joined the local Rollin […]

Emicida, Rapper born

*Emicida was born on this date in 1985.  He is an Afro Brazilian rapper, singer, songwriter, and MC.  He was born Leandro Roque de Oliveira into a poor family in Sau Paulo, Brazil. His father died when Leandro was still a child, as told in the song “Ooorra …”.  He composed rhymes and passed them […]

Miguel, Blaxican Singer, and Actor born

*Miguel was born on this date in 1985. He is a Blaxican singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Miguel Jontel Pimentel was raised in San Pedro, California. He is one of two sons of an African American mother and a Mexican American father. At a young age, Miguel was introduced to the older R&B his mother listened […]

The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Opens

*The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, a non-profit music education organization, is celebrated on this date in 1986.   The institute was started by T. S. Monk, the son of the late American jazz musician Thelonious Monk, opera singer Maria Fisher, and jazz musician Clark Terry. The institute has held the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition annually since 1987, offered its full […]

Emeli Sandé, Singer born

*Emeli Sandé was born on this date in 1987. She is a Black Scottish singer and songwriter. Adele Emily Sandé was born in Sunderland, England, to a Zambian father, Joel Sandé, and a white English mother, Diane Sandé-Wood. Having moved from Zambia, her father met her mother at the Polytechnic in Sunderland. The family moved […]

Kendrick Lamar, Singer and Lyricist born.

*Kendrick Lamar was born on this date in 1987. He is a Black rapper and lyricist. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California. He is the first child of former gang hustler Kenneth “Kenny” Duckworth and hairdresser Paula Oliver. Both of his parents are African Americans from the South Side of Chicago. As teenagers, […]