What 10 music artist do you think define Black music in the 20th century?

[GodinDaFlesh]

Michael Jackson
Aretha Franklin
Stevie Wonder
James Brown
Ray Charles
Marvin Gaye
Tina Turner
Whitney Houston
Jimi Hendrix
Tupac

 

[Booker T Garvey]

No particular order:

1) MJ
2) James Brown
3) Marvin Gaye
4) Stevie Wonder
5) Little Richard
6) Aretha
7) LL cool J (debate me)
8) Whitney
9) Sly
10) Teddy Riley

 

[ultraflexed]

Duke Ellington
Aretha Franklin
James Brown
Chuck Berry
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
Jimi Hendrix
Michael Jackson
Prince
Marvin Gaye
Tina turner

Even with this list, I feel like I'm missing some major players (like Tupac, for example).

Fixed

 

[ultraflexed]

No particular order:

1) MJ
2) James Brown
3) Marvin Gaye
4) Stevie Wonder
5) Little Richard
6) Aretha
7) LL cool J (debate me)
8) Whitney
9) Sly
10) Teddy Riley

I would put babyface over teddy riley who was really only great for one era.

Sly stone is legit but he fell off from drug and didnt sustain his peak

LL.......no.....just no

 

[K.O.N.Y]

@IllmaticDelta

sister rosetta tharpe?

 

[IllmaticDelta]

If I was to make a top 10 of people who represent the RANGE sounds of the 20th century and not ALL necessarily TRUE innovators but still great

Miles Davis (5+ decades of jazz....played a role in bebop and harbop and the main pioneer in Cool jazz, modal, jazz fusion. Even did some hiphop type jazz)
George Clinton (a wider range of Funk sounds than james brown)
2pac ( most globalized HipHop star)
Marley (popularized reggae to the world)
Aretha (queen of Soul)
Stevie Wonder (the total package of singer-songwriter)
T-Bone Walker or Charlie Christian (the true fathers of electric blues and then its later offshoot into rock n roll/blues rock/etc... from a guitarist POV)
Hendrix (changed the sound of the guitar and musical palette of ALL modern pop)
Chick Webb (the TRUE first modern drumming/drum kit king)
Quincy Jones (did it all from jazz, pop, R&B, movies scores and hiphop)

 

[LezJepzin]

Michael Jackson
Miles Davis
Bob Marley
Bill Withers
Stevie Wonder
Ray Charles
James Brown
Aretha Franklin
Tupac
Whitney Houston

 

[Booker T Garvey]

I would put babyface over teddy riley who was really only great for one era.

Sly stone is legit but he fell off from drug and didnt sustain his peak

LL.......no.....just no

1) Teddy Riley created an entire genre that pretty much dominated all of music for about 5-6 years.

2) Sly Stone was the first urban R&B soul artist to cross over to that rock audience without compromising his sound - long before rick james and prince

3) LL Cool J was the first emcee to show that you could do commercial radio ballads for the ladies, and underground hardcore hip hop; that's been hip hop's blueprint ever since. <<< that's wrong?

 

[TinFoilSnapBack]

Duke Ellington
Thomas Dorsey
Chuck Berry
Smokie Robinson
Stevie Wonder
Aretha Franklin
Michael Jackson
Babyface
LL Cool J
Dr. Dre

 

[IllmaticDelta]

@IllmaticDelta

sister rosetta tharpe?

she up there with t-bone walker and charlie christian

 

[Days of Future Piff]

Just the fact that we can debate this much on a top 10 really speaks on the quality, range, and innovation coming from our artists.

...

I love black music.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

the common ancestor all modern rappers stem from

yes sir

 

[Devilinurear]

How is beyonce on this list?

What had done that hasn't been done?
Beyonce is not even the first beyonce that was tina turner who crossed musical boundries between soul and rock and roll

People's opinion

 

[CrushedGroove]

Duke Ellington
Robert Johnson
Ella Fitzgerald
Miles Davis
Aretha Franklin
Marvin Gaye
George Clinton
Michael Jackson
Luther Vandross
2Pac

 

[BrownBunny]

No particular order:

7) LL cool J (debate me)

What’s your reasoning?