Include. Advance. Uplift. The Recording Academy's Black Music Collective (BMC) today announced the addition of new music creators and professionals to its esteemed Honorary Chairs and Leadership Council. These members — which include both new and returning Honorary Chairs, like Quincy Jones, John Legend, Yolanda Adams, and Ethiopia Habtemariam, and Leadership Council representatives, like H.E.R., Brianna Agyemang, D-Nice, and Terri Lyne Carrington — will continue the BMC's commitment to supporting and elevating Black artists, creators and music professionals.

The full list of the Black Music Collective's new and returning Honorary Chairs and Leadership Council members is included below.

The new and returning Honorary Chairs and Leadership Council members will work hand in hand with the Recording Academy's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team and BMC leads, Ryan Butler and Ricky Lyon, to elevate the mission of the BMC. As well, Recording Academy's Board of Trustees Vice Chair Rico Love steps in as the new BMC Chair.

"The Black Music Collective has remained steadfast in its mission to advance Black music since its founding in 2020. We are thrilled to have inaugural members of the BMC returning and honored to have an esteemed community of new industry leaders joining us to accelerate progress," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "Black music is an integral part of all music, and we are committed to the long-term work required to drive real and measurable change."

Established in 2020, the BMC has thrived and grown ever since. Its industry-leading, trailblazing events, initiatives and collaborations have supported Black musicians and professionals across all genres, industries and backgrounds. The BMC's annual "Your Future Is Now" scholarship program, launched in February 2021 in partnership with Amazon Music, and the launch of the HBCU Love Tour, created in partnership with GRAMMY U, have supported students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who represent the next generation of music industry leaders. The first-ever Recording Academy Honors Presented By The Black Music Collective event, an official GRAMMY Week 2022 event launched in April ahead of the 2022 GRAMMYs, honored John Legend with the inaugural Recording Academy Global Impact Award and celebrated D-Nice, Love Renaissance, MC Lyte, and BMC Leadership Council member Riggs Morales.

"There have been moments where I knew I had to be the one young girls saw pick up a guitar, or advocate for the right to be creatively free, to stand for myself. They needed to see a dark-skinned, plus-size woman do that, so this moment feels like a deepening of my mission for representation for all of that. For this and so many more reasons, I'm so profoundly honored to join the Black Music Collective Leadership Council," singer/songwriter, musician and actress Yola said. 

The Black Music Collective's Honorary Chairs and Leadership Council:

HONORARY CHAIRS

Returning

  • Jeff Harleston

  • Jimmy Jam

  • Quincy Jones

  • John Legend

New

  • Yolanda Adams

  • Valeisha Butterfield Jones

  • Ethiopia Habtemariam

  • Yvette Noel-Schure

LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Returning

  • Brianna Agyemang

  • Tunde Balogun

  • Tuma Basa

  • Catherine Brewton

  • Binta Niambi Brown

  • Terri Lyne Carrington

  • D-Nice

  • Phylicia Fant

  • H.E.R.

  • Jeriel Johnson

  • Om'Mas Keith

  • Rico Love, Chair

  • Heather Lowery

  • MixedByAli

  • Riggs Morales

  • Steve Pamon

  • Tayla Parx

  • Ryan Press

  • Rashad Robinson

  • Jamila Thomas

New

  • Prince Charles Alexander

  • Jimmie Allen

  • Denzel Baptiste & David Biral (Take A Daytrip)

  • Jennifer Goicoechea

  • Mickey Guyton

  • Claudine Joseph

  • Ledisi

  • Herb Trawick

  • Ebonie Ward

  • Yola

Stay up to date on the BMC's progress and follow the BMC on Instagram.

How The Recording Academy's 2022 New Membership Class Reflects Its Ongoing Commitment To Diversity, Equity & Inclusion