Madonna & Black Music | Part 1: Making Madonna

Madonna's Relationship With Black Music is a multi-part deep dive into how Black music shaped the sound, style, and success of one of pop’s most influential artists. From the underground clubs of New York to collaborations with legendary Black producers and artists, this series explores Madonna’s deep connection to Black music—album by album.

Episode Credits
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Director: Milik Kashad
Executive Producer: Milik Kashad
Script & Research: Tim Dillinger
Script Editor: Milik Kashad
Editor: Milik Kashad
Motion Graphics: Milik Kashad
Voiceover: Milik Kashad

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#madonna #janetjackson #michaeljackson #popmusic #ladygaga

[MilikKashadTV]

To support this channel in its efforts to continue making quality and accessible music education content, please consider a donation:

[youngold]

I pressed play soo fast. I’m glad someone finally did a video on Madonnas real influence: black music. It’s something that’s never really talked about (for a variety of reasons).

[Art-tmxo]

What a lot of people don't realize is African Americans are the one's who discovered Madonna first. I remember her music being played on R&B radio stations in NYC, while pop stations could've cared less. Madonna's music has always been R&B influenced. She admits it. She's called the "Queen Of Pop", but she's done many genres. R&B, Dance, House, Electronica, Disco, HipHop, Latin. Most originating from Soul music.

Her latest song with The Weeknd & Playboi Carti "Popular" is R&B/HipHop. She's my favorite artist, but I can say If it wasn't for African Americans the world may never have heard of Madonna. She owes her career to R&B music. PERIOD!

I love me some Teena Marie too. Extraordinary talented.
Thanks for highlighting this. Madonna's multi-dimensional & a global phenomenon. Most people don't see the connection with her & R&B music. Glad u did Milik.

[grapefives]

My mum always said that in London when Holiday came out everyone thought it was a black woman singing. And everyone was shocked when they found out it was a white woman!

[MichaelTownz]

She was definitely inspired by Black Artists heavily. She’s always owned this and a lot of her hits have been co-created/created by Black Artists. Steven Bray, her ex-boyfriend and longtime songwriting partner is BLACK

[pophybrid]

Madonna has always given credit to black culture. She said that when she was growing up in Michigan all of her girlfriends were black. Like a Prayer was powerfully poignant and radical. She featured Tupac on a track Id Rather Be Your Lover when pop artists didnt do things like that. I feel her connection to the culture is genuine and black America appreciates Madonna as well

[Matuteilcapo]

Madonna's relationship with the black culture/community is so genuine, since day one. Since her R&B roots, the people she has worked/collaborated with, her family, her charity work in Africa, her constant defense on the BLM movement & more. Who says Madonna has done cultural appropiation knows nothing about her.

[duane_]

R&B club beats mixed with light pop vocals mixed with punk rock fashion with a touch of Catholic iconography! LOVE early madonna! My fave era! Thank you for making this video essay

[mkoh]

If there’s anything to laud Madonna for, she’s the blueprint for every pop alabaster girl that’s followed her. And the blueprint, more or less, has not changed since the early 80’s.

[DiegoMartinezDP]

The way I immediately clicked on this video because YES, this is an aspect of her career that is hardly ever talked about. It’s great to see that there were parallels between her early era and R&B/Soul like Teena Marie and Shalamar.

Can’t wait for part 2. And BTW, to me “Borderline” is her greatest single, by a long mile.

[NestleCrunchy]

This video was so jam packed that it didn’t feel like 10 min!

[paulanthonygarcia]

Madonna was cute but, TEENA MARIE was a force to be reckoned

[jamistew]

I was a kid during Madonna rise in the early 80s and never knew Mtume and Nile Rodgers produced her early records! No wonder I love Burning Up to this day. Great video! Look forward to part 2 ❤

[marcobenneti]

Thats what made her interesting from the beginning, that black and latin influences in her origins. Thank so much for this video.

[KingAlone]

Madonna most r&b album "Bedtime Stories" was born after she heard Joi (of the dungeon family & lucy pearl) first album "Pendulum Vibe", but she did look after Joi and also was responsible for making the call that made her the first black model in a major Calvin Klein print ad.

[TheBamaPrinceable]

Teena Marie lived and died by the black audience. I won't go so far as to call her an honorary sista but the woman was definitely not a cosplayer; she was a soul SANGer through and through and was proud to remain in that lane without crossing over.

That's more than I can say about today with these vultures and fly by nighters we've been so fast to accept and defend like Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea, Post Malone and Tom MacDonald as well as below basic soulless copycats like Justin Bieber and Jack Harlow.

[michaelwilliams]

I'm a Black man who's getting ready to turn 52, and I've been a HUGE Madonna fan since the age of ten (when "Holiday" was her first Top 40 hit)! Plus, I've been a HUGE fan of the late, great Teena Marie since the age of seven (when I first heard "I Need Your Lovin")!

[minddonnysoultv]

Great job with this! I remember getting the record of Madonna’s first album as a young black gay kid. Your information on Reggie Lucas and Teena Marie was fascinating. Can’t wait to see what you talk about with the Nile Rodgers influence and also to see how far you go with Madonna’s career. People think she was born a NYC girl but no, she’s from the suburbs of Detroit. She grew up in Motown and had many black friends growing up. Throughout her career, I do remember her visuals have been criticized by black culture for her use of burning crosses and a black Jesus in Like a Prayer and for assimilating black Harlem culture in the Secret video. And chile, remember her cornrows in the Human Nature video? Madonna definitely seems to have profited from black culture. I guess some could argue she’s given back by creating her school in Africa and adopting her own African children. But Madonna’s largest contribution was to kick open doors for all female artists to be more open with their sexuality and to be proud of their feminism.

[PHlophe]

the first person that clued me in on why Madonna had a Black era and she kept using Black influence and African influence in her music was my grand mother who was had incredible musical ear. I truly wish she was here because it is only during lockdown that i understood her wealth of musical knowledge. I am in pain because my grand mother was a true storyteller .
she could look at the blue album and locate which song was recorded by a Black woman FIRST and then used as a "plate" for Madonna . Please if you can find obscure material on this.

There was Black Madonna before mainstream whitening the same way Black Michael jackson before thriller was a thing

[MelodyMaker]

This was interesting. I honestly never understood why her and Teena were ever compared. Both are talented but Teena was an R&B musician at a whole different level from even some of her black peers at the time if you get down to it. Her and Madonna were in two totally different lanes. I went to several of Teena's shows back in the day and the audience was 99 percent black. That is not the case at a Madonna concert.