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From shattering glass ceilings to redefining entire genres, these artists changed music forever! Join us as we count down our picks for the most groundbreaking moments when musicians of color made history. From all-Latin Super Bowl spectacles to Grammy record-breakers who redefined their craft!
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00:00You spoke at the U.N., you sold out Citi Field in under 10 minutes.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 history-making
00:09moments for musicians of color.
00:11And I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors.
00:15God bless y'all, thank you so much.
00:18Number 10, Jennifer Lopez and Shakita, All Latin Super Bowl.
00:23In 1992, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine became the first Latin band to take the stage
00:29at the Super Bowl halftime show.
00:3128 years later, Shakita and Jennifer Lopez came together to give the world its first
00:37ever All Latin Super Bowl halftime show.
00:39Shakita opened with a medley of songs in both Spanish and English with special guest Bad Bunny.
00:50J-Lo then took us through some of her greatest hits with an assist from J Balvin, before uniting
00:56with her daughter and Shakita to close out the show with a bang.
01:00The performance was an absolute spectacle, showcasing the hallmarks of Latin pop music.
01:11It became one of the most watched halftime shows and won multiple awards, including four
01:17Primetime Emmy nominations, winning one.
01:25Number 9, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton.
01:29For over 200 years, there has been a certain fixed image of America's founding fathers,
01:34propelled in schools and through books and documentaries.
01:38Then came Lin-Manuel Miranda.
01:39Up until your musical, up until your musical, who talked about Alexander Hamilton?
01:44People thought he was a president, but he was never a president.
01:46No, he was just a guy on the 10, but you know, people have always underestimated Alexander
01:51Hamilton, so I think I pictured the ghost of Hamilton being like, I'm not coming off that
01:55money.
01:56Inspired by Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton biography, Miranda developed a play based on
02:01the life of America's first treasury secretary.
02:04But this wasn't a straight-laced or faithful adaptation.
02:08Hamilton tells its story through hip-hop and R&B soul-infused show tunes, and stars a diverse
02:14cast as the founding fathers, with Miranda initially portraying Alexander Hamilton.
02:29The play debuted in 2015 and instantly became a national phenomenon.
02:34Receiving high praise for its cultural retelling of America's story.
02:38It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 11 Tony Awards and shattered box office records.
02:46Hamilton, an American musical, embodies the best values, the best impulses that make our
02:53nation a beacon to the world.
02:55Number 8.
02:56DJ Kool Herc, The Merry-Go-Round.
02:59Hip-hop is one of music's most successful and influential genres.
03:03A fact believed by its humble origins at a 1973 Bronx block party.
03:0818-year-old Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, threw a party with his sister
03:13to help her earn some extra cash.
03:16He emceed the party, debuting a technique that revolutionized the music business, the Merry-Go-Round.
03:22At the time, the gang was, you know, terrorizing the house parties and stuff.
03:26So we asked, can we give a party, you know?
03:29They liked what I was playing, and the rest is history.
03:33He used two versions of the same record to extend the drumbeat instrumental or break part
03:39of the song.
03:39Once the break on the first record was nearly complete, he switched over to the second record
03:44and started the break again.
03:46All the foundation that became emceeing, actually, they did everything.
03:51They just did it so early in the game, you know, that people, you know, they just didn't
03:56see it.
03:56Pioneers like Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata developed the technique further,
04:02catapulting hip-hop from the turntables to the music juggernaut it is today.
04:06Bad Bunny had his big break on the 2018 single, I Like It, with J Balvin and Cardi B, and things
04:26only went up from there.
04:27His third studio album, El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, was the first all-Spanish album to reach
04:33No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
04:40His next album, Un Verano Sin Ti, topped that when it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
04:46and spent six months in the top two, a new record.
04:50The album also won numerous awards and, as of July 2025, is Spotify's most streamed album.
04:57I just made this album with love and passion.
05:01Anything else, love and passion.
05:04And when you do things with love and passion, everything is easier.
05:10His concert tours have been massive sellouts, with his third tour, El Ultimo Tour del Mundo
05:152022, grossing $117 million and becoming the fastest-selling tour since 2018.
05:23This comes after selling out his 36-date El Ultimo Tour del Mundo arena tour in record
05:29time.
05:306.
05:30Ella Fitzgerald, first Grammy by an African-American woman.
05:35Overcoming a reportedly rough childhood, Ella Fitzgerald had her debut at 17 years old in
05:41New York's Apollo Theater.
05:42It was just at that time people did not accept the fact of the racial situation.
05:52What followed was an astounding five-decades-plus career that saw Fitzgerald release 50 studio
05:58albums and numerous live albums and singles.
06:01And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.
06:07She's the first African-American woman to win a Grammy, receiving the awards for Best
06:12Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Jazz Performance, while Count Basie was the first
06:17African-American male both winning at the first ceremony in 1959.
06:21As the Civil Rights Movement gained traction, Fitzgerald's victory was further proof that
06:33African-Americans, like all people of color, can reach the greatest heights of success.
06:38She would go on to win 12 more Grammy Awards, the NAACP's Inaugural Presidents Award, the
06:45National Medal of Arts, and many other accolades.
06:48Do you often lose yourself in a song?
06:51Many times.
06:53Sometimes I make up my own lyrics.
06:57Yeah.
06:595.
07:00BTS
07:01K-Pop Goes Gold
07:03For those of, uh, a lot of people who are watching right now, uh, I think it would be
07:06helpful if you guys would introduce yourself to the world.
07:09A lot of people are watching The Tonight Show.
07:11We're betting it's nearly impossible nowadays to find a young person who hasn't at least heard
07:17of BTS, and with good reason.
07:19The South Korean boy band has been at the forefront of K-Pop's explosive rise in popularity.
07:25They were the first K-Pop group to perform on an American award show performing their 2017
07:30single DNA at the American Music Awards, and also the first to perform on Saturday Night Live.
07:36Their single Mic Drop further pushed the envelope when it became the first single from a Korean
07:48group to be certified gold in the US.
07:51We could keep gushing about how, as of July 2025, BTS are the best-selling Korean group,
07:57but at this point, it's fairly obvious we're loyal members of the Army.
08:02It's mainly about speaking yourself, like, instead of letting other people speak for you,
08:06because, you know, to truly love ourselves, it's important to firstly know who I am and,
08:11you know, where I'm from and what my name is and what my voice is, kinda like that.
08:15Good for you.
08:164.
08:17Kendrick Lamar
08:182018 Pulitzer Prize for Music
08:21Kendrick Lamar has consistently been ranked among the world's greatest rappers with the awards,
08:26critical reviews, and fan support to show for it.
08:35One of his most unique honors came when he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music
08:40for his fourth studio album, Damn.
08:43But here we have Kendrick Lamar from the world of popular music, for one,
08:48and even more rap music, which has never happened before.
08:51The Pulitzer board cited the album's impressive track listing,
08:55Lamar's dynamic rhythm, and his ability to capture modern African American life in making their selection.
09:01Lamar is the first musician outside the classical and jazz genres to win this award,
09:07cementing him as one of the most accomplished songwriters not just in hip-hop,
09:11but in the greater music industry.
09:13At 29, I've been so well hit Cartwheel in my estate, and I'm go shine like I'm supposed to anti-social extrovert,
09:20and accept me the extrovert.
09:22Number 3.
09:23Aretha Franklin
09:24Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Presidential Medal of Freedom.
09:28Who knows how far I can't forget, it's gonna think about your love, slow down, yeah.
09:35Aretha Franklin had a career so remarkable that she twice earned the distinction of being Rolling Stone's
09:42greatest singer of all time.
09:44Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Franklin's career lasted through seven decades.
09:49Timeless hits such as You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman and Respect cemented her reputation as a stellar performer,
09:56and earned her the nickname Queen of Soul.
09:59It's a love for me. It was my first love, and it's a constant. It's always there.
10:05Does it change?
10:06No. It is fun, but more than fun, it's a love.
10:101987 saw her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the first female artist to receive this honor.
10:17First female and the only female to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Queen of Soul, hello, the Queen of Soul, Miss Aretha Franklin.
10:28A supporter of various social and civil rights causes, she was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
10:382. Beyonce, Grammy Goddess and Cowboy Carter
10:43The Grammy Award is one of music's most well-known and coveted awards.
10:47To win one Grammy is a notable accomplishment. To win 35 is nothing short of extraordinary.
10:53It's very surreal, and it's been 25 years of just working really hard and trying my best to keep growing and keep opening up doors.
11:05From a successful career with Destiny's Child to over 200 million records sold as a solo artist, Beyonce's career has been unparalleled.
11:14She is considered one of the world's greatest artists and a cultural icon.
11:19Re-introduced some of that history that I think has been lost and very, very honored that I got the response and the open heart and people welcomed the album.
11:31As of July 2025, she holds the record for the most Grammy wins by any artist and has won over 700 additional awards.
11:40Her Super Bowl performances have been some of the most talked about in the show's history.
11:45Meanwhile, the global phenomenon that was the 2025 Cowboy Carter tour broke venue records, earned over 400 millions of dollars, and became history's highest grossing country tour ever.
11:58Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
12:10PSY – Gangnam Style – First YouTube video to reach a billion views.
12:15The award-winning Latin pop and reggaeton song heard around the world.
12:28Carole G – Manana Cera Bonito World Tour – The highest grossing Latin tour of all time for a female artist.
12:41Marvin Gaye – What's Going On – One of Soul Music's greatest albums.
12:52I want to know what's going on.
13:00Marian Anderson – Presidential Medal of Freedom
13:03Received the first Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.
13:07Looking at a black woman singing.
13:11It's stunning, right?
13:14No matter who you were, that moment must have felt amazing.
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13:35Number 1 – Michael Jackson – The greatest entertainer of all time.
13:40Hit me, hit me, you can never get me.
13:43All I'm gonna say is that they don't really care about us.
13:47Listing Michael Jackson's accomplishments would need a whole video, so here are just a couple.
13:52He's the first artist to have a top 10 hit in five different decades.
13:56He's the best-selling solo musical artist.
13:59And his 1982 masterpiece, Thriller, is the best-selling album of all time.
14:04Jackson redefined what it meant to be an artist, elevating every aspect of performing and influencing so many who came after him.
14:17His contributions to music, fashion, dance, and visual arts are still relevant today.
14:23He devoted his career to tearing down racial barriers, and the Billie Jean music video was one of the first from an African American artist to air on MTV.
14:38There are many incredible artists, but there will always be one king of pop.
14:43There's a formula. Not that I know of. It's my heart. I put my heart in it.
14:48You put your heart in it? Yeah.
14:50What other person of color artists and historic moments should have been celebrated on this list?
14:55Let us know in the comments below!
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