- Beyond country music, Black artists in Nashville have made significant contributions to blues, bluegrass, folk, rap, R&B and more.
- This article highlights contemporary Black artists in Nashville who are making waves in genres beyond country music.
- These artists represent the broad spectrum of Black musical talent in Nashville, and their impact extends beyond the city.
Nashville may be the epicenter of country music, but it is also a foundational site of Black music in America. In 1873, a capella singers from the historically Black Fisk University traveled from Nashville to London to perform before Queen Victoria. She heralded the Fisk Jubilee Singers as representing “a Music City,” giving Nashville its nickname.
Over 150 years later, Black artistry in Nashville continues in the genres of blues, bluegrass, folk, rap, R&B and more.
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