June Is Designated As Black Music Month

NEW YORK - June 6, 2014 - PRLog -- June has been the month designated to formally honor Black Music Month. President Jimmy Carter announced it on June 7, 1979, to celebrate the musical contributions of African-Americans. This article is the first of a three part series on Black music starting with Hip Hop.

From its humble origin in the South Bronx with the sounds of Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Hip Hop has risen to the top of the music charts. Not bad for a genre that many expected to be nothing more than a passing fad. Hip Hop rose from the gritty New York City streets, Neighborhood Parks and House parties. Back in the early days of Hip Hop street DJ's controlled the action with the cutting, scratching and mixing of Break Beats.

When hip-hop began more than 20 years ago, corporate America ignored it. Big mistake..From the early days of Marly Marl and the Juice crew which featured Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap. To the Bridge wars with KRS One. To the Kings Of Queens Run-DMC, who brought Rap music to the masses through MTV. Videos such as Rockbox, King Of Rock and Walk this way helped Hip Hop reach mainstream America.

In addition Run DMC ushered in a new era of product endorsements with the ADIDAS brand worn by the group in print and video. Additional endorsements include Busta Rhymes deal with Courvoiser. The smash “Pass the Courvoisier” song stands as an example of a product endorsement that changed the way deals are done. The song helped Courvoisier’s parent company, France’s Allied Domecq, achieve a huge rise in U.S. sales of the top shelf liquor. Rapper Nelly's homage to Nike’s Air Force Ones landed him a shoe deal, with a signature Nelly Nike shoe.

Russell Simmons the guiding force behind Run- DMC is known as the first rap mogul. The original hip hop mogul,he and Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Recordings in 1984 in a New York University dorm room with a $5,000 investment. At that time, rap artists were selling music out of cars and at parties. Simmons would go on to build Def Jam Records as the number one rap label in America. The roster included L.L Cool J, Public Enemy, Slick Rick and the Beastie Boys to name a few.

The recent purchase of the Beats Company by Apple indicates the power Hip Hop has in the marketplace. Dr Dre the face behind Beats headphones, has emerged as the first billionaire in Rap music. Dre is followed by Sean P. Diddy Combs with a net worth of 700 millon. Jay Z is Third with a net worth of 550 million. Hip Hop has a base of 45 million hip-hop consumers between the ages of 13 and 34. According to research compiled by Wright Communications Worldwide, this group has $1 trillion in spending power.

Wright Communications Worldwide Inc. a Marketing and PR Firm helps brands and corporations deliver outstanding campaigns and results. A key objective is to communicate information to multicultural consumers using Integrated Marketing Communications For additional information visit wrightcommsgroup.com

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