This June, the Recording Academy and its various nationwide chapters are celebrating Black Music Month with engaging content and virtual events all month long. As part of the celebrations, the Academy is presenting several upcoming chapter-hosted events highlighting the impact of rap on music, culture and beyond.

Read on for more info on how to tune into each virtual event, and stay tuned for even more programming, events and content all month long on GRAMMY.com.

Conversations: The History of Hip Hop in NYC

Tuesday, June 15, at 3 p.m PT / 6 p.m. ET
Watch on the Recording Academy's Facebook page and YouTube channel

The Recording Academy's New York Chapter will host Conversations: The History of Hip Hop in NYC, a discussion with some of rap's most influential artists and creatives who'll reflect on the history and influence of hip-hop music and culture on New York City.

Torae Carr will moderate the legend-filled event, which will also include Bas, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Erika Elliott, Faith Newman, Grandmaster Flash, Hank Shocklee, Jerry Wonda, Nick Cucci, Rocky Bucano, and Young Devyn.

Up Close & Personal With Rico Nasty

Thursday, June 17, at 3 p.m PT / 6 p.m. ET
Watch on the Recording Academy's Facebook page and YouTube channel

In celebration of Pride Month and Black Music Month, GRAMMY U is hosting an in-depth conversation with futuristic rap star Rico Nasty. The rapper, singer and songwriter, who released her debut album, Nightmare Vacation, last December, is known for her eccentric, adrenaline-rushing "Sugar Trap" style, which mixes melodic sounds over hard-edged rhymes. DJ/radio personality Little Bacon Bear is moderating the panel.

Read: Welcome To Rico Nasty's 'Nightmare Vacation'

Candid Conversations: Women In Rap ATL

Thursday, June 24, at noon PT / 3 p.m. ET
Watch on the Recording Academy's Facebook page

The Recording Academy's Atlanta Chapter is hosting Candid Conversations: Women In Rap ATL, a conversation with leading women music executives in the rap music community, including Ashaunna Ayers (Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, Jeezy), Brandra Ringo (Quality Control) and Cannon Kent Grant (Atlantic Records). Hosted in partnership with Women In Music Atlanta and the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) team, the discussion will cover the panelists' personal career journeys, the current state of the music industry during the pandemic, and social injustices in the U.S. WIM Atlanta's Dina Marto will moderate the panel.

Dyana Williams On Why Black Music Month Is Not Just A Celebration, But A Call For Respect

Today, the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum have announced a total of 212 music teachers as quarterfinalists for the 2024 Music Educator Award, which recognizes current educators — kindergarten through college across public and private schools — who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The quarterfinalists, who hail from 197 cities, were selected from more than 2,000 initial submitted nominations. In addition to the quarterfinalists, 123 legacy applicants from 2023 will also be eligible to win the Music Educator Award this year.

Semi-finalists for the 2024 Music Educator Award will be announced this September. The ultimate recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2024.

Read More: Meet The 2023 Music Educator Award Recipient: How Pamela Dawson Helps Her Students Achieve Healing And Catharsis

A joint partnership and presentation between the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the Music Educator Award is open to current U.S. music teachers, and anyone can nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.

Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. The 10th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, as well as a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. Fifteen semi-finalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.

Read More: 8 Artists Who Were Inspired By Their Teachers: Rihanna, Adele, Jay-Z & More

The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.

Learn more about the Music Educator Award.

See the full list of the 2024 Music Educator Award quarterfinalists and legacy applicants below:

2024 MUSIC EDUCATOR AWARD QUARTERFINALISTS

2024 MUSIC EDUCATOR AWARD LEGACY APPLICANTS

Working For Students: How Music Industry Professionals Find Fulfillment In Education

Did you know that among all of the students in GRAMMY U, songwriting and performance is one of the most sought after fields of study? We want to create a space to hear what these students are creating today!

The GRAMMY U Mixtape, now available for your listening pleasure, highlights the creations and fresh ideas that students are bringing to this industry directly on the Recording Academy's Spotify and Apple Music pages. Our goal is to celebrate GRAMMY U members, as well as the time and effort they put into making original music — from the songwriting process to the final production of the track.

Each month, we accept submissions and feature 20 to 25 songs that match that month’s theme. This month, we’ve cultivated the perfect playlist that spans various genres and moods in order to celebrate our members. As the school year winds down, we want to celebrate the music of those in the GRAMMY U Class of 2023. This eclectic mix of songs is sure to inspire and honor all of our graduating seniors, as we wish them the best of luck as they continue to pursue their careers in the music industry.

So, what’s stopping you? Press play on GRAMMY U’s Mixtape and listen now on Spotify below and Apple Music. 

Want to be featured on the next playlist? Submit your songs today! We are currently accepting submissions for songs of all genres for consideration for our February playlist. Whether you write pop, rock, hip hop, jazz, or classical, we want to hear from you. Music must be written and/or produced by the student member (an original song) and you must be able to submit a Spotify and/or Apple Music link to the song. Students must be a GRAMMY U member to submit.

About GRAMMY U:

GRAMMY U is a program that connects college students with the industry's brightest and most talented minds and provides those aspiring professionals with the tools and opportunities necessary to start a career in music.     

Throughout each semester, events and special programs touch on all facets of the industry, including the business, technology, and the creative process.

As part of the Recording Academy's mission to ensure the recorded arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, GRAMMY U establishes the necessary foundation for music’s next generation to flourish.

Not a member, but want to submit to our playlist? Apply for GRAMMY U Membership here.

By all means, the 2022 the Recording Academy New York Chapter Nominee Celebration was a fantastic bash, and a welcome return to in-person reverie. But on multiple levels, the party this year was just looser. Which is no knock against last year's edition; it simply reflects the times we're living in.

This brings us to the 2023 Recording Academy New York Chapter Nominee Celebration at Spring Place, a spacious, verdant, intimately lit workspace and social club in Tribeca. Adjacent to the main space was a candlelit "conversation room"; almost nobody went for it, opting to be shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar.

Sure, some opted for masks, but there was a tangible sense of relaxation. More than that, reverie — as a special appearance from New York Mayor Eric Adams underlined.

Adams began with a reflection on the pandemic's impact on NYC, with some poetic asides about the spiritual power of music. "When you sing, when you dance, when you play an instrument, you feed something inside us — [it] feeds the emotional anatomy of our spirit," he stated. He then broke the ice.

"Slick Rick, if you only knew how many shorties I met off your songs!" Adams called out to the rapper in attendance — a recipient of the 2023 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award — to raucous laughter and cheers. "Now let's bring home the GRAMMYs!"

Aside from relief at the tail-end of a long pandemic, the 2023 New York Chapter Nominee Celebration felt looser in a more profound way. While locked inside, most of us were subjected to technological hypersaturation — our phones became like new limbs. And the everything-now demand of streaming did a number not only on our attention spans, but the value of music as a commodity.

That's all changing, said one GRAMMY-winning trombonist.

"I feel like it's a musical shift," Doug Beavers, a member of Spanish Harlem Orchestra who co-produced their latest album, Imágenes Latinas, told GRAMMY.com. To him, this year's GRAMMYs nominations list — said album is up for Best Tropical Latin Album — reflects an increased grounding in artistic communion, and the here and now.

"Instead of relying on our eyes, we're going back to our ears more," Beavers continues. "I feel like what's represented is good-quality, listenable music. We're going from the streaming stuff and gimme, gimme, gimme now, to: Let's sit down with this record and really enjoy what they're trying to say with it."

It's worth stressing that the General Field is not the be-all-end-all of the GRAMMYs nominations; all fields, from American Roots Music to Global Music to Best New Age, Ambient or Chant, are of the most esteemed importance. Driving this home was the preponderance of musical theater artists on the red carpet.

While you might have to scroll down 63 sections to find that field, it's essential to what Adams called "the baddest city in the world" — and to the Recording Academy.

Jason Veasey, who performs as part of the Broadway musical "A Strange Loop," cites the importance of cast recordings to those who can't readily travel to — or live in — the Big Apple. "Until I got to New York, it was the only thing that I had," he told GRAMMY.com. "All these idols that I loved, I learned about through a [vinyl] album or CD."

Flash forward to the 2023 GRAMMYs, where "A Strange Loop" is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album: Veasey is touched by the honor due to the primacy of the format. "That's how half of our fans found the show," he says. "So, with that genre and art form, it's actually one of the most important things that can happen."

When considering the weight of a GRAMMY nomination, John-Andrew Morrison — who was part of the original cast of "A Strange Loop" — looks back to his childhood abroad.

"The GRAMMYs have been something that I watched since I was a little kid in Jamaica," he tells GRAMMY.com. "I've seen all these brilliant reggae artists and all of these people win, and it's been the pride of Jamaica to see that every year."

Morrison notes that getting a show to Broadway is something of a superhuman feat: to him, "a million and two things have to go right at exactly the same time." "To be able to make a Broadway debut on a show that I love in an industry that I love, and then have all of that wonderful stuff happen," he continues, "to then get nominated for a GRAMMY feels like supremely rarefied air."

Read More: 2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List

Jazz singer/songwriter Nicole Zuraitis was nominated for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals at the 2019 GRAMMYs. As she looks ahead to her upcoming album, the Christian McBride-co-produced How Love Begins, in July, she considers how the nomination changed her trajectory.

"I think [husband, drummer, composer, and fellow GRAMMY nominee] Dan [Pugach] and I were at the point in 2018 where we were working so hard, but not getting very far,” Zuraitis tells GRAMMY.com. "And when we got our GRAMMYnomination… there's that validation of the hard work that we put in."

"The Recording Academy makes us want to put out the best work that we possibly can," she continues. "My best work, I think, is ahead of me."

These two worlds that can be a little niche — musical theater and jazz — are not lost on the Recording Academy, and they were tremendous presences at the 2023 New York Chapter Nominee Celebration. In a hypercompetitive city, under a global culture where pop can hold something of a monopoly, seeing these worlds so happily and generously represented was moving. (This especially applied to musical theater; folks from "MJ: The Musical," "The Phantom of the Opera," "SIX," and more were on the red carpet.)

Maybe the cultural, technological and pandemic-related squeeze is giving way, it was hard not to think. Maybe we're sitting down and really listening.

This year's annual platinum event partner was The Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment, along with annual gold event partner Great South Bay Music Group, and annual silver event partners include Concord and The Orchard. GREY GOOSE® Vodka is the official spirits partner.

A Look Inside The 2023 Recording Academy Nashville Chapter Nominee Celebration, A Tribute To Its Supportive Musical Community

Ahead of the 2023 GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative will welcome Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as the keynote speaker for its annual GRAMMY Week Event. Mayor Bass will join leaders in the legal and creative communities at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Fri, Feb. 3, as they celebrate the work of their peers and the year-round efforts of the Entertainment Law Initiative, which aims to encourage discussion and debate around the impact of legal affairs on the music industry.

"We are honored to welcome Mayor Karen Bass to the ELI GRAMMY Week Event as we gather and celebrate with the trailblazing professionals and students who are paving the way forward in the entertainment law industry," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "Mayor Bass has been a longtime supporter of music creators' rights in her legislative roles, and she has a unique understanding of how the creative industries intersect with law and policy that we look forward to hearing at this year's event."

"I'm proud to support GRAMMY Week because of the role that our entertainment industry plays in powering our local economy and to encourage efforts to increase equity and opportunities for Angelenos to break into the music business," Mayor Bass said.

Mayor Bass was sworn in as L.A.'s mayor on Dec. 11, 2022, after representing California's 33rd Congressional District from 2011 to 2013 and its 37th Congressional District from 2013 to 2022 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 2004 and 2010, she served in the California State Assembly and was elected as Speaker in 2008. 

The event will also honor the winner and runners-up of the Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA). The contest challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. The winner of this year's Writing Contest is Aron Lichtschein, a JD student at NYU School of Law, for his essay, "Tickets to Ride: NFTs and the Future of Concert Ticketing." Lichtschein will receive a $10,000 scholarship as well as tickets to the 2023 GRAMMY Awards and other GRAMMY Week events. As well, his essay will be published in the ABA's journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. Runners-up Gina Maeng and Amanda Sharp, students at Georgetown Law School and University of San Diego School of Law, respectively, will each receive $2,500 scholarships for their essays.

The Recording Academy announced last month that Peter T. Paterno, Partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, will receive the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award at the ELI GRAMMY Week Event; the award is presented each year to an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service. 

Where, What Channel & How To Watch The Full 2023 Grammys