Black Music Month is celebrated in June. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter declared June as Black Music Month to recognize the influence of Black music on the United States and the world. In 2009, President Barack Obama renamed the month African-American Music Appreciation Month.

Black music started as a combination of blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, and gospel. It appealed to young audiences across racial divides. In the 1960s, Black musicians developed funk and were leading figures in the fusion genre. In the 1970s and 1980s, Black artists developed hip-hop and house music.