Born in New Orleans in 1911, Mahalia Jackson grew up in a home shared by 13 people. Raised by her Aunt Duke after her mother died in 1917, economic circumstances forced Jackson to quit school and work at home when she was in fourth grade. Her earliest influences were the sights and sounds of Uptown New Orleans: banana steamships on the Mississippi River, acorns roasting in Audubon Park, hot jazz bands, the beat-driven music of the Sanctified Church, and Bessie Smith's bluesy voice wafting from her cousin Fred's record player. But Jackson found her greatest inspiration at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, where she sang on Wednesday, Friday, and four times on Sunday. Even at age 12, her powerful voice could be heard all the way to the end of the block. "You going to be famous in this world and walk with kings and queens," said her Aunt Bell, predicting an illustrious future for a voice that would change the face of American music, empower the Civil Rights movement, and bring Mahalia Jackson worldwide renown.
In Chicago, Jackson joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church and began touring with a gospel quintet. Jackson only sang gospel, refusing to sing secular (non-religious) music, because, she said, "When you sing gospel you have a feeling there is a cure for what's wrong." She made her first solo recordings in the mid-1930s and eventually signed with Columbia Records in 1954. Jackson collaborated with the "Father of Gospel Music," Thomas Dorsey. She recorded with jazz great Duke Ellington, packed Carnegie Hall in New York City on a number of occasions, had a radio show, and sang for four presidents. Besides being a great singer, she was a highly successful businesswoman.
With the power of her music, Mahalia Jackson participated in the civil rights movement and became a prominent figure in the struggle. Jackson has influenced many singers of today, such as Aretha Franklin. Martin Luther King Jr. said of her, "A voice like this comes, not once in a century, but once in a millennium." Ask your parents and grandparents if they have heard the gospel songs of Mahalia Jackson.
Nina Simone (1933-2003)
Born on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, Nina Simone received a scholarship to study classical piano at the Juilliard School in New York City, but left early when she ran out of money. She turned her interest to jazz, blues and folk music and released her first album in 1958. In the ‘60s, she became identified as the voice of the civil rights and wrote songs about the movement. She died in France on April 21, 2003.
Fela Kuti (1938-1997)
Fela Kuti was born on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Beginning in the 1960s, Kuti pioneered his own unique style of music called "Afrobeat." Rebelling against oppressive regimes through his music came at a heavy cost. Kuti was arrested 200 times and endured numerous beatings, but continued to write political lyrics, producing 50 albums before he died on August 2, 1997, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The song Zombie is about soldiers in the army or the african followers who follow thier leaders without arguments!
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
Born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson became the lead singer of his family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. He went on to a solo career of astonishing success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. The "King of Pop" died just before launching a comeback tour in 2009. The song "They Don't Really Care About Us" was filmed in Brazil and deals with the struggles of oppressed people around the world.
Nas (1973-)
One of the more distinctive rap artists to emerge in the mid-'90s, Nas put an emphasis on gritty, poetic storytelling. His dense, percussive mixes, which didn't preclude savvy pop moves, won him both commercial success and critical support. The son of masterful jazz cornetist and songwriter Olu Dara, with whom he has sometimes recorded, Nas was raised in the Queensbridge Houses, a massive Queens housing project that was home to many other hip-hop pioneers.
As a child, he wrote short stories about his life in the projects and conceived his own comic books and screenplays, taking inspiration from the films of Martin Scorsese and George Lucas.
Nas has released many famous albums including "illmatic" "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "From Illmatic to Stillmatic," "The Lost Tapes Vol. 1," and "God's Son." and continues to be active in the music scene today.
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