by David H. Jackson Jr. | Oct 16, 2023 | African American History, People
Sultry, soulful vocalist, lyricist, composer, actor, and activist Oleta Adams was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 4, 1953, and began piano lessons at seven. When she was 11, her family moved to Yakima, Washington, where she sang in the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church...
by David H. Jackson Jr. | Feb 13, 2022 | African American History, People
Composer, conductor, and lyricist Van Allen Clinton McCoy was born on January 6, 1940, in Washington, D.C., to Norman S. McCoy Sr. and Lillian Ray. Van had one brother, Norman S. McCoy Jr., and a sister Mattie McCoy Taylor. Van began piano studies at four before...
by FikesRobert | Jul 15, 2021 | African American History, People
Robert Rihmeek Williams, also known as Meek Mill, is a rapper, songwriter, and activist. Williams was born on May 6, 1987 to Kathy Williams and an unnamed father in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Williams’s father died when he was five years old in a robbery attempt....
by David H. Jackson Jr. | May 6, 2021 | African American History, People
Composer, librettist, and pianist Michael D. Raphael was born January 12, 1952, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Latham Hill, Sr., a factory worker, and Lillian Walton Hill, a trained social worker. His name at birth was Michael Hill. He grew up in the mostly Black town of...
by MikellRobert | May 4, 2021 | African American History, People
Melissa “Missy” Arnette Elliott, songwriter, rapper, and music producer, was born on July 1, 1971 to power company dispatcher Patricia Elliott and U.S. Marine Ronnie Elliott at Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia. Elliott had a troubled childhood while the...
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