NPR Music pays homage to BET for Black Music Month with Tiny Desk lineup

Big Tigger, former host of BET's "Rap City" and "106 & Park," helped NPR make the announcement.

June is almost here, which means it’s time for NPR Music’s celebration of Black Music Month. This year, they’ve enlisted the help of a BET legend to kick things off.

Big Tigger, the former host of BET’s iconic music shows “Rap City” and “106 & Park,” announced that NPR Music will pay homage to BET with a stacked lineup of artists for its Tiny Desk series.

The artists include:

• GENA with Liv.e and Karriem Riggins

• Shaboozey

• Joe

• Ayra Starr

• The Paradox

• Eve

• Fred Hammond

• Bow Wow

• Floetry

  There’s also a surprise act that hasn’t been announced yet.

Created in 1979 by pioneers Kenny Gamble, Ed Wright, and Dyana Williams and backed by President Jimmy Carter (watch the YouTube video below), National Black Music Month celebrates the genres Black Americans created and developed.

Though it was conceived in 1979, it wasn’t until 2000 that President Bill Clinton signed a proclamation formally recognizing Black Music Month.

“Black music remains one of America's greatest cultural and economic exports to the world to the tune of billions of dollars and immeasurable joy to the human population,” Williams told NBC BLK in 2015.

NPR Music officially launched its celebration of Black Music Month in 2022, with performances from Usher, Monica, Maverick City Music, and more.