When you think of Black music, what genres come to mind? Jazz, blues, gospel, rock and roll, R&B, and hip-hop might come up, but what about classical music? Although Black Americans have helped shape the genre, their contributions have been undervalued and ignored throughout time. Historically, artists globally associated with the genre have predominantly been white men—Mozart, Igor Stravinsky, Beethoven are among those celebrated as geniuses. In the U.S., it’s been no different. White men continue to dominate and represent today’s classical scene, although Black Americans like Jonathan Bailey Holland, Jessie Montgomery, Anthony R. Green , and 2021 Guggenheim Composition Fellow Nkeiru Okoye are heavily influencing the contemporary genre. 

The music of these brilliant Black American composers has too long been neglected in the American classical music tradition, but this month GRAMMY.com is celebrating some of the most famous and influential Black composers in classical music history. Below find a list of Black musicians, from Scott Joplin to Florence Price, who transformed classical music. 

Scott Joplin (1868 - 1917)

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At the turn of the 20th century, Scott Joplin the "king of Ragtime" was one of the most influential American composers. During his career, Joplin wrote over 100 ragtime pieces, a ragtime ballet, and two operas. He rose to national fame after releasing one of his best-known works, Maple Leaf Rag, ragtime's first hit and the standard example of the music's genre. Although Joplin did not invent ragtime, he became the genre's most gifted composer by creating harmonies, sporadic syncopations and complex bass patterns that composers still mimic today.

Joplin's death in 1917 marked the end of ragtime as a mainstream musical format. In the early 1920s, the genre evolved into other styles including stride, swing, jazz, and classical. In the early 1970s, Joplin's compositions were revitalized when American Conductor Joshua Rifkin released his pieces as classical music recordings. The album was nominated for two GRAMMY Awards (Best Album Notes and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance) and sold more than a million copies. This was followed by the 1973 production of The Sting, a film featuring several of Joplin's compositions including "The Entertainer" and "Solace."

Florence Price (1887 - 1953)

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In 1933, Florence Price became the first African American woman to have her symphony premiered by a major orchestra. When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered Symphony No. 1, the composer was one of the most celebrated composers of her time. Her musical style, a mixture of classic European music, Black spirituals and the rhythms associated with the African Juba dance drove well-known artists of the day to perform her work. Even Contralto Marian Anderson would regularly close her concerts with pieces Price arranged. Most notably, Anderson performed Price's arrangement of My Soul's Been Anchored in de Lord at her famous Lincoln Memorial Concert in 1939. 

Price composed over 300 works ranging from symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, vocal compositions, and radio music. After her death, the majority of Price's music was forgotten until the Women's Philharmonic created an album of Price's work in 2001. Eight years later more than two-thirds of Price's manuscripts were discovered in an abandoned house in St. Anne, Illinois. The compositions included dozens of musical scores including two violin concertos and her last symphony. Today Price's work is being remembered and slowly regaining attention. Her rediscovered manuscripts reside in the University of Arkansas Library where musicians can access and play her work.  

William Grant Still (1895-1978)

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William Grant Still, also known as the "dean of Afro-American composers," is considered to be one of the most prominent American contributors in classical music for the many firsts he achieved throughout his career. In 1931, Grant became the first African American to have a symphony performed by a professional orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic. Four years later, he became the first Black composer to conduct a major American orchestra with his music and to have an opera performed by a major opera company. 

Still’s compositional career flourished despite operating in a predominantly white profession, and throughout it he highlighted Black Americans (the Afro-American Symphony; Lenox Avenue; the ballet Sahdji; and the opera The Troubled Island with a libretto by Langston Hughes). At a time where jazz and blues were considered low-brow music, Still blended classical European music with jazz, blues and spirituals. He wrote over 150 compositions including operas, symphonies, ballets, chamber works, and film scores. Today, Still is considered to be among the greatest American composers ever.  

George Walker (1922 - 2018)

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In 1996, Walker became the first African American composer to receive a Pulitzer Prize for music for his Walt Whitman song-cycle "Lilacs." The onset of his career is filled with stories of "firsts." He was the first Black graduate of the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, as well as the first among his peers to have his compositions performed by every major orchestra in the United States. The composer rose to fame after publishing Address for Orchestra, his most performed orchestral work to date. 

Although jazz, folk songs and hymns influenced Walker's musical style,  most of his work pays homage to Europe's 20th-century classical music style. Adamant he should be seen as an American composer rather than a Black composer, Walker experimented with sounds that resembled his white contemporaries. Walker composed nearly 100 compositions ranging from symphonies, concertos, and solo piano pieces. Later in his career, he decided to pursue teaching, working at some of the most distinguished schools in the country, including the New School, Rutgers University, University of Delaware, and Smith College where he was named the first Black tenured faculty member.

James Lee III (1975 -)

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This modern pianist and composer's history is still being written. Lee, who is considered to be one of the most promising young composers of his time, has been commissioned for orchestral works since earning his D.M.A. in composition in 2005 from the University of Michigan. He rose to national prominence a year later after his dissertation Beyond Rivers of Vision premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In the past decade, Lee has written over 80 works including orchestral and band works, chamber ensembles, solo pianos, and vocal pieces with 14 new pieces due to be premiered. Lee's musical styles include European classical music and sacred music. Lee, a proud Seventh-Day Adventist has mentioned his faith plays a major role in his musical inspiration. His best-known orchestral works include Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula, and Night Visions of Kippur, a piece inspired by the biblical book of Daniel. He is currently a Professor of Music at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.

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Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

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He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Lil Nas X became a global sensation practically overnight, but it wasn't an accident.

The American singer and rapper — born Montero Lamar Hill — became fluent in music and pop culture at an early age, becoming a meme aficionado. His love for internet culture cultivated the perfect recipe for his debut single, "Old Town Road," to become one of the most viral hits in music history; the song also prompted a necessary conversation about the bounds of genre. 

"Old Town Road" rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and still holds the record for most time spent at No. 1 at 19 weeks. The single later helped Lil Nas X snag two GRAMMY Awards for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance and Best Music Video. (To date, he's won 2 GRAMMYs and has received 11 nominations overall.)

Aside from his immense musical talent, Lil Nas X — who came out as gay on social media during his Hot 100 reign — has been a fierce champion for LGBTQIA+ and Black communities.

"It's just acceptance of gay people. And they see that as a bad thing, like, They're trying to normalize it. You know what? Yeah. That's actually what I'm trying to do," he told GQ in 2021.

At just 24 years old, Lil Nas X has plenty more history-making and game-changing moves in store. As he revealed during his March 2023 campaign with Coach, "My next big chapter is coming."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Lil Nas X's industry-altering career, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Black Sounds Beautiful.

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Kenyan singer Fena Gitu is grateful for the little things — down to her fake jewelry. And through an odyssey of gratitude, she's learned to love everyone, to create a more peaceful world.

In this episode of Positive Vibes Only, Gitu delivers a stripped-down performance of her new single, "Love Is," a musical expression of her appreciation for everything around her. For Gitu, loving is minimalistic — and that message is only made more clear from the simplistic setting of this keyboard-driven performance.

"For my God, I stand, give him all my praises/ That I get to live to see another day, yes/ For my fake gold diamond pieces/ I just really want to thank you, Jesus," Gitu declares. "God is love, and love is true/ Love is You."

"Love Is" is the lead single from Gitu's latest album, Love Art Lust, which arrived on June 2. "It's a journey in love. Love for yourself, love for others, and love for God," she explained in a press statement. On June 29, she will return to her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya for a special performance celebrating the album's release.

Press play on the video above to watch Fena Gitu's sentimental performance of "Love Is," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Positive Vibes Only.

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Nearly 50 years after its initial release, Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" has been covered by thousands of musicians. But no other rendition compares to Whitney Houston's iconic 1992 cover for the Bodyguard soundtrack — and in 1994, the two shared a full-circle celebration of the song's massive success.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, relive Houston's Best Female Pop Vocal Performance win for her version of "I Will Always Love You" at the 1994 GRAMMY Awards.

"Dolly, of course, coming from you, this is truly an honor. You wrote a beautiful song. Thank you so much for writing such beautiful songs," Houston said to Parton, who presented the award and originally released the recording (which she wrote herself) in 1974.

Houston praised Rickey Minor, her band, and David Foster, who helped Houston arrange the ballad. "All the songwriters and producers on The Bodyguard, BeBe [Winans], I love you," she added before performing an impromptu song to thank her team members at Arista Records.

"I love you, Mommy and Daddy — I wouldn't be here without you. And always first in my life, I thank my Father, Jesus Christ. Without them, I am nothing," Houston said. Before leaving the stage, Houston took a second to uplift her supporters. "To all the fans, I love you! Thank you, and God bless you!"

"I Will Always Love You" also took home Record Of The Year that night, and The Bodyguard won Album Of The Year — one of only four soundtracks to date to win the coveted award.

Press play on the video above to watch Whitney Houston accept her award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 36th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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