Books for Black Music Appreciation Month

By Coll Rowe | May 7 2025 | MusicBlack History

In June, we celebrate Black Music Appreciation month and the influential Black musicians and artists who have brought entertainment to their communities and beyond, and inspired others to make their own art.

Collection of titles for Black Music Appreciation Month

Bitter Crop
Bitter Crop
The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year
Paul Alexander
9780593312520

A revelatory look at the tumultuous life of a jazz legend and American cultural icon.

$19.00 US
Mar 11, 2025
Paperback
368 Pages
Vintage
A Little Devil in America
A Little Devil in America
In Praise of Black Performance
Hanif Abdurraqib
9781984801203

Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction; Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, and the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award • A stirring meditation on Black performance in America.

$20.00 US
Mar 08, 2022
Paperback
320 Pages
Random House Trade Paperbacks
Dirty Bird Blues
Dirty Bird Blues
Clarence Major
9780143136590

A quietly influential force in African American literature and art, Clarence Major makes his Penguin Classics debut with the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Dirty Bird Blues.

$18.00 US
Feb 08, 2022
Paperback
384 Pages
Penguin Classics
Odetta
Odetta
A Life in Music and Protest
Ian Zack
9780807002896
The first in-depth biography of the legendary singer and "Voice of the Civil Rights Movement," who combatted racism and prejudice through her music.
$19.00 US
Apr 13, 2021
Paperback
288 Pages
Beacon Press
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
A Poet's Biography of a Blues Legend
Jackie Kay
9780593314272
Bessie Smith is a beautiful genre-bending tribute to the larger-than-life blues singer Bessie Smith. Scotland’s National Poet blends poetry, prose, fiction, and nonfiction to create an entirely unique biography of the Empress of the Blues.
$16.95 US
Sep 28, 2021
Paperback
224 Pages
Vintage
The Come Up
The Come Up
An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop
Jonathan Abrams
9781984825155
The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture.
$20.00 US
Oct 03, 2023
Paperback
560 Pages
Crown
Boyz n the Void
Boyz n the Void
a mixtape to my brother
G'Ra Asim
9780807055557
Writing to his brother, G’Ra Asim reflects on building his own identity while navigating Blackness, masculinity, and young adulthood—all through wry social commentary and music/pop culture critique.
$14.95 US
May 10, 2022
Paperback
288 Pages
Beacon Press
Boogie Down Predictions
Boogie Down Predictions
Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism
9781913689285
Essays that explore the connections between time, representation, and identity within hip-hop culture.
$25.00 US
Sep 13, 2022
Paperback
352 Pages
Strange Attractor Press
The Spirit of Music
The Spirit of Music
The Lesson Continues
Victor L. Wooten
9780593081662
Grammy Award winner Victor Wooten's inspiring parable of the importance of music and the threats that it faces in today's world.
$17.00 US
Feb 02, 2021
Paperback
368 Pages
Vintage
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
The Authorized Biography
Staci Robinson
9781524761059
The first and only Estate-authorized biography of the legendary artist, Tupac Shakur, a moving exploration of his life and powerful legacy, fully illustrated with photos, mementos, handwritten poetry, musings, and more.
$22.00 US
Oct 22, 2024
Paperback
448 Pages
Crown
Prince: The Last Interview
Prince: The Last Interview
and Other Conversations
Prince
9781612197456
A collection of the very first, the very last, and the very best interviews conducted with Prince over his nearly 40 year career.
$16.99 US
Mar 12, 2019
Paperback
144 Pages
Melville House
3 Shades of Blue
3 Shades of Blue
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
James Kaplan
9780525561026

The story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959, told through the journey of three towering artists—Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans—who came together to create the most iconic jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue.

$20.00 US
Mar 04, 2025
Paperback
496 Pages
Penguin Books
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