black music legacy

The CBMA's mission is to research, preserve and celebrate various music genres, created, influenced and inspired by primarily Black Canadian musicians.

archive

Customize how you search the CBMA archive. Click any of the archive categories to get started or select a featured artist to view more information about them!

artist

genre

region

decade

Featured Black Canadian Drummers

The Arsenals

1960s, Jazz, Ontario, Reggae, Toronto

Ranee Lee

1980s, Blues, Jazz

Muhtadi Thomas

1990s, African, Ontario

Larnell Lewis

1980s, Blues, Fusion, Jazz, Ontario

Joe Isaacs

1960s, Calypso, Funk, Ontario, R&B, Reggae, Soul

Grand Analog

2000s, Hip-Hop, HipHop, Manitoba, Rap, Winnipeg

Floyd Sneed

1960s, Alberta, British Columbia, Pop

Archie Alleyne

1950s, Jazz, Ontario

featured

news

Collage of various Black Canadian Artists

City of Toronto Proclaims June as Black Music Month (2025)

June 1, 2025

This June 2025 has officially been proclaimed as Black Music Month in the city of Toronto. Following a request from the Canada Black Music Archives, Mayor Olivia Chow and her office have issued a proclamation stating June as Black Music Month, highlighting the contributions of Black Canadian musicians to the artform.