Arts Blog

Five Must-Hear Pittsburgh Albums to Stream (for free!) this Black Music Month

By Lisa Cunningham, Director of Marketing and Communications

In honor of Black Music Month, we’re highlighting five remarkable Pittsburgh-based Black musicians available to stream for free through Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s STACKS digital music platform.

 

This month marks the 45th anniversary of Black Music Month, celebrating the historical contributions of Black musicians. But while an official recognition for African American Music Appreciation Month didn’t come until 1979, the impact of Black musicians throughout the country – and right here in Pittsburgh – has even deeper roots.

“We are very committed to representing all of Pittsburgh’s local music diversity on the STACKS site.” — Joelle Levitt Killebrew, Carnegie Library Music Librarian

From the 1930s through the 1950s, the world-renowned Crawford Grill in Pittsburgh’s Hill District showcased some of the world’s most notorious jazz legends including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Pittsburgh’s own Mary Lou Williams. From Lena Horne and Billy Strayhorn to Roger Humphries and Wiz Khalifa, the city’s Black music scene has continued to thrive, thanks to an ever-growing list of musicians across genres including hip hop, blues, rock, and more. 

 

Black musicians found amid the current Carnegie Library’s STACKS collection serve as a great sampling to the incredible music you can find every day in the Steel City. All music on the site is free to stream, and free to download for anyone with a library card.

 

Know an up-and-coming artist who deserves a spotlight? The Carnegie Library will once again open submissions to local musicians from July 1-31, 2024. Selected artists – as chosen by a jury including WYEP DJ Liz Felix, Pittsburgh jazz artist Carlos Pena, longtime WRCT DJ Zombo, and Pittsburgh rap and hip-hop musician ChaRon Don – will receive a one-time $200 stipend to have their album included in the line-up.

 

Here are five of our current favorites worth celebrating.

GNM's Search For Home album cover featuring a black-and-white photo of the back of a Black person's head, featuring buzzed dark hair, a white lace tank top, a dangly earring, and a necklace

G.N.M
Search For Home

Beautiful tracks ridden with emotions from a self-defined “passionate and committed artist, working to communicate our shared humanity, through music.”

Tony Campbell's Blues Ballads & Beyond album, featuring a colorful illustration of a Black silhouette playing a saxophone and surrounded by abstract swirls of colors

Tony Campbell
Blues, Ballads & Beyond

Must-listen for jazz fans, showcasing the youngest saxophone player inducted to Pittsburgh Jazz Society Hall of Fame.

Jack Swing's Get What's Mine For You album, featuring a photo of a Black man with dark hair, beard, and mustache, wearing red-and-black plaid pajamas, and sitting on a flowered sofa

Jack Swing
Get What’s Mine For You

Fronted by rock-and-roll artist Isaiah Ross, this album is full of powerful guitar riffs and soulful solos.

pvkvsv's Peel 2 album, featuring a photo of a foggy mountain looming over a brown field and dark trees

pvkvsv
peels 2

Hypnotizing instrumental album. Heavily inspired by “music and rhythms around the world, especially sounds from Brazil and the Arab world.”

Bilal Abbey's Paradise album cover featuring an illustration of a Black man with long hair.

Bilal Abbey
Paradise

Featuring swoon-worthy hip-hop tracks, including a few songs performed with the always amazing R&B musician Clara Kent, a fellow STACKS artist.

For even more incredible Pittsburgh Black musicians, check out our Black History Month blog post, featuring a few more STACKS artists including INEZ and Treble NLS. 

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