Pop Music's First Black Stars

Today, the U.S. popular music industry is worth billions of dollars. And some of its deepest roots are in blackface minstrelsy and other racist genres. You may not have heard their names, but Black musicians like George Johnson, Ernest Hogan, and Mamie Smith were some of the country's first viral sensations, working within and pushing back against racist systems and tropes. Their work made a lasting imprint on American music — including some of the songs you might have on repeat right now.

Guests:

Matthew D. Morrison, Associate Professor in the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and author of Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States

Daphne A. Brooks, Professor of African American Studies, American Studies, Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, and music at Yale University, and author of Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound

Larry Wayte, Senior Instructor at the University of Oregon and author of Pay for Play: How the Music Industry Works, Where the Money Goes, and Why

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