Year By Year History

Black music and culture gets a nationally televised platform with massive "crossover" reach On a historic Tuesday night (January 3rd 1989), The Arsenio Hall Show made its debut. Arsenio Hall was the first African-American to host a major talk show – and he did so very successfully, reaching a diverse cross-section of mostly under ‘30-something’ viewers. The debut of The … [Read more...] about 1989: Things Really Start To Heat Up

New Edition on their historic Heart Break Tour (with opening acts Al B. Sure and Bobby Brown in 1988) Around the start of 1988, two albums kicked off a new era of youth-driven R&B: Pebbles’ self titled debut, and Keith Sweat’s Make It Last Forever. With the singles “Girlfriend,” “Mercedes Boy,” and “I Want Her,” the sonic landscape of R&B music had become much more … [Read more...] about 1988: The Wheels Start Turning

Janet Jackson: Rhythm Nation Tour 1990 By the time 1990 rolled around, mainstream Top 40 music had grown increasingly “urban-informed” in sound and look: the biggest chart toppers included: Soul II Soul, Paula Abdul, Milli Vanilli, and Janet Jackson. Even '80s Pop icon Madonna sought a more “urban-informed” image by incorporating more African-Americans in her videos (“Like A … [Read more...] about 1990: New Jack Makes The World Go ‘Round