In honor of Black Music Month 2021, Brooklyn hip-hop DJ Clark Kent has created a special mix. Below, he shares his thoughts on Black music and how its rich legacy comes alive in his work. “Black music means all music. All music derives from the first song or rhythm created. Black people were the first humans to walk the earth. Therefore they would be the first to create these musics. Whether prayerful wailings, ritualistic chants, or rhythmic drumming, everything that is musical, which we have ever heard, started there. With that noted, I would have to say all music is Black music. At the heart of Black music, there is a soul. In my mix, I included Kenny Loggins and The Doobie Brothers. Both are white artists, both probably lived in predominantly white neighborhoods. If you never knew who they were, based off of the songs, you could have easily assumed they were Black. Black music permeated their culture. Black music influenced the ways they used their talents. Black music made them feel. Black music gave them soul.”