iHeartRadio Presents Black Excellence

As we continue to celebrate Black History month during February, we’ve been showcasing and highlighting artists that have shaped popular culture and made an impact far beyond their respected craft. For this episode of #BlackExcellence​ iHeartRadio’s Jamar McNeil highlights just some of the reasons why John Legend is and example of #BlackExcellence​.

Legend started playing piano at age four and sang in his church choir at seven. His mother sang and directed the church choir, his Grandmother played the organ, his father was a drummer. John Legend WAS DESTINED to be a musical man. He was homeschooled but was so smart academically that he skipped 2 grades! As a young kid in Ohio he earned some awesome opportunities. He got into Georgetown, Harvard and eventually went to U Penn where he was a member of the popular a cappella group The Counterparts. Where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in English and African American Lit. Once he started getting recognized as an artist to look out for, he was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend, and that's exactly who you hear playing the piano on her classic song Everything is Everything.

Another key Intro would send John Legend to the next level. Kanye West, who hired him to sing some hooks on some of Kanye’s early songs. It was at that time that the crew gave John his stage name LEGEND because of his voice. For such a new artist he had a distinct old school swag and sound. Like he was already a legend....John Legend. I clearly remember Kanye and John Legend coming to do small shows on the college circuit when I was in School in DC. I thought that the combination of Kanyes old school samples and Legends Old Soul Sound was INCREDIBLE and so authentic. It was amazing. That relationship became solidified when Kanye signed him as one of the founding members of his new Label GOOD Music.

The world now knew of the power of the voice of John Legend. In 2008 you may remember when he Sang for former President Obama’s campaign song produced by Wil I Am - Yes We Can. He did a pop produced by Andre 3000 of OutKast, Green Light which joined Ordinary People as his one of his highest charting singles but then he really expanded.
He is one of 16 people, and the first Black man, to achieve EGOT status – winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

In addition to numerous acts of service through philanthropic work, Legend has been outspoken on a number of social justice issues. HIV AIDS/AntiRacism/Women's Education Heath and Justice

He has spent five seasons as a coach on The Voice, where he had the Season 16 winning singer, in 2019.

And his No. 1 hit was 2013’s “All of Me,” a ballad about his wife Chrissy Teigen is a radio and WEDDING CLASSIC HIT or LEGENDARY track. Black History has truly been enrich by the legendary career of John Legend, Black Excellence.

Check back for more #BlackExcellence​​​ episodes throughout #BlackHistoryMonth​​​

CREDITS:
Research By Jamar McNeil, John R. Kennedy

Jully Black sits down with Jamar McNeil a few days after singing the Canadian National Anthem at the NBA All Star Game, and discusses her decision to change one word in the Anthem.

Jully tells Jamar about how she struggled to stand behind the anthem after droves of Indigenous children's bodies were found near Residential School sites, and how the generational trauma of the Indigenous experience is not one that she has as a Black Canadian, but one that she empathizes with.

Jully talks about her journey through taking action with Truth & Reconciliation, and walks us through what she was feeling all the way through the Anthem Soundcheck.

Jully and Jamar talk about the empathy they feel for the Indigenous community, and why Jully took the stand she took.

Jully and Jamar talk about the solidarity and bridge building between Black, Indigenous, and all people of colour in Canada.

The inaugural edition of Black Excellence highlights a young man who has changed the sound of R&B pop music over the past decade. We hold him in high regard for all that he has achieved and accomplished... Plus he’s one of the biggest acts to ever come out of Canada.

iHeartRadio's Dames Nellas walks you through just some of the reasons Abel Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd is an example of Black Excellence.

Hailing from the east end of Toronto, The Weeknd starting making noise in 2010, and his his critically acclaimed mixtape “House OF Balloons” was released in 2011. He’d follow up with with Thursday and Echoes of silence before signing his first record deal with Republic Records.

It didn’t take long for him to climb up the Billboard charts, landing 2 #1 ’s “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills” in 2015. His album “Beauty Behind The Madness” also landed him his first Grammy for “Best Urban Contemporary Album”.

Since then, The Weeknd has gone on to win 3 Grammys, 5 American Music Awards, 10 Junos and he’s even been nominated for an Oscar thanks to his song “Earned It".

With the success of his music, The Weeknd has been able to partner with companies like Marvel comics and Puma.

In 2020, he announced a partnership with TD Bank to launch The Black HXUSE, which is an incubator for BIPOC entrepreneurs in Toronto. To date, he has raised over $2 million dollars to support social injustice platforms like Black Lives Matter, Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights defense initiative and TikTok's equal justice Initiative after the devastating explosion in Lebanon.
While donating abroad is always encouraged, he has been doing his part in his home community as well. The Weeknd has donated thousands of dollars to the Ethiopic Studies program at UofT, while purchasing $500k worth of PPE for frontline staff at Scarborough Health Network to combat COVID 19

Check back for more #BlackExcellence episodes throughout #BlackHistoryMonth

iHeartRadio’s Jamar McNeil highlights just some of the reasons why Alicia Keys is #BlackExcellence.

Keys started playing piano at age six and studied classical music and jazz. Her exposure to the music of Billie Holiday Ella Fitzgerald and Thelonius Monk as well as Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin explain her signature style of fusing the classical sound with Black Swag. She wrote her first song at the age of 12 on the piano and shortly after She signed a record deal at 15.

She had a rough start in her professional career. Creative disputes about her songs her look, her hair and her overall presentation made things difficult for her during her relationship with record label. She was able to get attention from the one and only Clive Davis who brought her over to his new label J Records where he allowed her to have creative control of her music and her likeness. Without that support, we might not have gotten the Alicia Keys with her urban wear and her signature Corn rows that let us know that this classic piano virtuoso was keeping it ALL THE WAY REAL

At 20, she released her debut album Songs in A Minor. It's one of my fav albums. A combo of Soul, Classical Piano, Neo Soul and BoomBap east coast hip hop. She’d been working on it since she was only 14. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned Keys five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for “Fallin’

Keys co-founded Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that supports families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India. In 2017, she was named by Amnesty International, an award that also went to Canadian Indigenous rights activists.

Alicia Keys over came her rough environment of Hell’s Kitchen Manhattan and the tough pressures of the corporate recording industry to be given titles like, Artist of the decade, one of the 100 Greatest Women in Music, 100 most influential people in the world to name a few.

CREDITS:
Research By Jamar McNeil, John R. Kennedy

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As black history month continues this February, we’ve been highlighting artists that have changed popular culture in more ways than one. Whether it be music, acting, philanthropy or social justice. It’s important and imperative to highlight their achievements. Through their craft and their actions, they’ve been able to impact a generation of now, while leaving a legacy for generations to come.

In today’s episode we’re talking about Childish Gambino.

Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino was born in California and raised in Stone Mountain Georgia... Just north-east of Atlanta. While creative as a child, he didn’t start exploring the arts until he reached high school. This is where he found his footing in entertainment. Performing in school musicals and plays. He was actually voted “Most Likely To Write For The Simpsons” in his yearbook. He would move on to study and graduate with a degree New York University’s Tisch School Of The Arts in Dramatic Writing.

While attending university, he started to develop his voice in the booth and Childish Gambino was born. Sort of. How did he get the name? The internet of course. He managed to secure his alias using an online Wu-Tang name generator and began recording, producing and DJing. From humble beginnings, his 2013 release of Because The Internet put him in the conversation with the very best music had to offer, garnering him his first of 12 Grammy nominations to date. He’s s gone on to win 5 Grammys, including 4 for his chart topping, ground breaking song and video THIS IS AMERICA. To date, the video has garnered 3⁄4 of a BILLION views on youtube alone, and was 1 of the largest cultural talking points of 2018.

While we know Childish Gambino for songs like Redbone and This Is America. We recognize Donald Glover from where we’ve seen him. It all started as a writer on the hit TV 30 Rock. Hand picked by Tina Fey, she had this to say “He was literally still living in the NYU dorms,” Fey said. “And that was a great resource for us. We would turn to him and ask, ‘What would a young person say here?” He spent 3 seasons on 30 Rock as a writer, before transitioning to acting in another cult classic “Community”. After 4 seasons on Community, the ever evolving entertainer decided to put all the puzzle pieces together and try his hand at producing, writing and starring in “Atlanta”. He’s won 2 Golden Globes for “Best television series Musical or Comedy” and “Best Actor” – television musical or comedy. His role in Atlanta also landed him in the history books when he became the first black man to win an Emmy for “Outstanding Directing In A Comedy series.”

In 2017, Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino was named to Time 100 list of most influential people. He has managed to use his influence for some great social causes. In 2020, he reunited with the cast of Community for a live read to benefit World Central Kitchen and Frontline Foods’ COVID-19 relief efforts.

The take away from Donald Glover’s story is to be you. Pursue what your heart desires, don’t let anyone tell you what can and can’t be done. Never confine yourself to one thing. You’re so much more. Your options are infinite.

Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino is Black Excellence.

Check back for more #BlackExcellence​​ episodes throughout #BlackHistoryMonth​​

CREDITS:
Research By Dames Nellas and John R. Kennedy

Donald Glover Time 100 Most Influential People By Miles Bowe
https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/20/chance-rapper-donald-glover-time-100-most-influential-people-of-2017/#:~:text=Chance%20the%20Rapper%20and%20Donald,those%20who%20have%20shared%20them.%E2%80%9D

Donald Glover “Community” Cast to reunite for COVID-19 relief By Althea Legaspi
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/donald-glover-community-cast-reunite-covid-19-relief-event-995873/