Regina King Aaliyah's Idol

Known as the “Empress Of Blues”, Bessie Smith was said to have revolutionized the vocal end of Blues Music. She showed a lot of pride as an independent African-American woman. Her style in performance and lyrics often reflected her lifestyle. Bessie Smith was one of the first female jazz artists, and she paved the way for many musicians who followed.

Fantasia Barrino is a well-known singer with lots of talent and growing talent (Fonseca, 2006). She is motivation to the upcoming singers, teen girls, and music lovers.

She has risen from a poor background and was ranked the richest African American of the 20th Century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world’s only black billionaire. She is also known as the most influential woman in the world, both older generations and young.

Without a doubt there is one major performer that certainly stands out within our pop culture world. The name of this very famous American icon is, Dolly Parton. Dolly has surpassed any rags to riches story that ever lived. She has touched the lives of so many individuals over many decades through her many talents. Dolly started her career at a very young age and continued fulfilling her life endeavors through country music, pop music, and even acting. This American icon didn’t stop with just her talents, she also gave back to our society through charity, fundraising, and establishing her own theme park. Dolly Parton was brought up in a very poor family, however through much dedication she became the famous icon everyone idolized today.

Queen Latifah is one of the first successful female hip-hop artists of the late 1980’s; born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark New Jersey. At age eight a cousin nicknamed her Latifah, meaning “delicate and sensitive” in Arabic (Editors). Latifah’s career started when she was just a teenager. Furthermore, she is one of the most successful black women in entertainment branching out into other types of music, music production, acting, and hosting talk shows. Latifah’s hip-hop song called “U.N.I.T.Y” earned her, her first Grammy Award (genius.com).

Amelia Earhart inspired many women to follow their ambitions and dreams. She is still a symbol of the power and perseverance of American women. When she first saw an airplane, she wasn’t very interested, but as soon as she left the ground at a stunt-flying exhibition, she knew that she had to fly. Six

Aretha Louise Franklin also known as the Queen of Soul was born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis Tennessee. She is known for being a solo singer, and also a very talented pianist. Soul, R&B, Jazz, and Gospel are genres that she sings. Throughout her career she signed with Colombia Records and has released many popular singles that would now be considered classical. Aretha became the first female artist to be introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. Up until this day Aretha is still alive living at age seventy two and has won many Grammy awards and considered one of the most honored artist.

Aaliyah was my best friend, we told eachother everything, I was there with her when she first recorded her first song, we sang together, we even wrote a song together, i thought of her like a little sister, little did I know of the short time I had with her. I remember when I first heard of her, she was performing in Las Vegas with the famous singer Gladys Knight. You should have seen my face full of shock and awe as I heard this eleven year old’s voice, the way she hit all the right notes, and how her voice blended perfectly with Gladys was amazing. From that point on I knew she was going to be a superstar, and that I wanted her, no needed to have her in one of my albums. Three years later, yet again she surprises me by her debut album with

Dorothy Dandridge may seem to be like a beautiful and strong African American woman on the outside, but on the inside she held in a lot of pain. Dorothy Dandridge is an actress, singer, and entertainer, who no longer walk this green Earth, but when she did, she made history. Dorothy was the first African American actress to achieve a leading-role status. Dorothy also had a deeply troubled life and racism didn’t make her life any easier especially when it came to achieving her dreams, but she got through it and during her time, the early 1930’s through the 1960’s, that was saying something. Racism was a lot worse then what it is now, but it made it harder for African Americans to achieve their goals, especially African American women. Dorothy was very worth looking up to now and when she was alive. Dorothy Dandridge is a contribution to African American history because she was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, how she fought all odds against her, mainly racism, and she made it possible to for other African American women to follow in her footsteps and look up to her as a role model.

Beyoncé Knowles is an American Singer, Dancer and Actress. She began her career in the R&B Girl group Destiny’s Child as the lead vocalist spanning over 11 years. They released songs such as ‘Say my Name’, ‘Independent woman part 1’ and ‘Lose my Breath’ in 2004 when they returned from their 2-year hiatus; to name just a few of the top 10 hits. Beyoncé went on to become a solo artist and released her debut ‘Dangerously in Love’ in 2003 which stayed at number one for five consecutive weeks. Since then Beyoncé has released five more albums, appeared in the eight movies one of which gave her an Oscar nomination; Dream girls. While being known for her vast accomplishments, Beyoncé has used her craft to highlight the achievements and struggles of the African- American Community.

Unlike Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou devoted her life to inspiring African Americans to do whatever they wanted to do no matter what other people said. She also wanted to inspire people. Her poems Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise inspired not only the African American people, which is was intended to, but the whole world including men. Like Hughes, Maya Angelou did not think that one day she would be reading one of her poems at President Clinton 's inauguration. But she did think that she would inspire young African American writers that they too could become wonderful writers in a white society. Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman.

Crowned as "The Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin is one of the most honored female vocal artists of the last 50 years. She is an American soul singer, songwriter as well as a pianist. Her soulful, soaring voice has earned her mythic status over the years. It has been said that Aretha was a child prodigy of the golden age of gospel and was the anointed successor to gospel singers Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson. Many idolize her and her musical intelligence to this day. She is said to be one of the most quintessential sounds of America alongside The Beetles, The Stones, and Louis Armstrong.

I believe Kelly Rowland is a leader in hip hop community because she was a member of the top-selling American R&B girl group Destiny’s Child. Kelly Rowland a.k.a Kelendria Rowland, Kelly was born on February 11, 1981(age34). Kelly has has won multiple Grammy Awards and has sold more than 50million records worldwide, in the early ‘90s Kelly Rowland and Beyonce performed as a part of Girls Tyme. At 7 Rowlands mother left he daddy because of domestic violence and they moved to Texas. That’s where Kelly met Beyonce. Kelly mother felt it was better that she will live with beyonce parts so they took her in. Rowland would provide lead and background vocals successful albums:

She is one of the most diverse entertainers. An Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe winning actress, top selling music artist, and activist.

Beyoncé has been a rebel her entire life and brought this fettle to her career and into the world of music. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is a massively influential singer and songwriter who gained influence through her singing career, her bold statements and what some would call an “attention seeking” attitude. However, those who say this are regularly met with ten fans that support her in everything she does, and this makes her into an idol that many can’t stand up against her. During her career, she has been shown to be very rebellious and has been demonstrated to stray away from the norm quite a lot which makes her as popular as she is and just as controversial. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles shows her rebellious nature from an early age.