Roots of Earth Wind and Fire

Blue Magic is an American R&B and soul group, and one of the more popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. Founded in 1972, the group's original members included lead singer Ted Mills with Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt. From 1972 to 1976 they had 6 top twenty hits on Billboard's R&B chart. Their most notable song was a number one R&B hit single entitled, "Sideshow", which peaked at number 8 on Billboard's pop chart. "Sideshow" sold over one million units and was awarded an RIAA gold record certification. Other notable songs included, "Spell", "What’s Come Over Me", "Three Ring Circus", "Look Me Up", "Welcome To The Club" and "Stop to Start".

Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know", "Jealous Guy" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.

Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for combining a brass section with rock band instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a wide range of musical styles. Their sound has merged rock, pop and R&B/soul music with big band jazz.

War is an American funk/soul/rock band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1969.

The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first recording in 1954 and two years later had their first R&B hit with "Oh What a Night". After disbanding due to a near-fatal car crash in 1958, the band re-formed in 1960 with Funches being replaced by Johnny Carter. This lineup remained together until Carter's death in 2009. In 2004 the Dells were inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The group performed until illness forced longtime lead singer Marvin Junior and bass vocalist Chuck Barksdale into retirement, ending the group's 60-year run.

Patrick Leroy "Sleepy" Brown is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is one-third of the Atlanta-based production team of Organized Noize, which has created hits for acts such as Outkast, Goodie Mob and TLC. TLC's "Waterfalls", penned by Brown and Organized Noize's Rico Wade and Ray Murray, was a #1 hit single on Billboard's Hot 100 in the summer of 1995.

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album The In Crowd earned Lewis critical praise and the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance. His best known singles include "The 'In' Crowd", "Wade in the Water", and "Sun Goddess". Until 2009, he was the host of the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on the Chicago radio station WNUA.

Tess Henley is an American singer-songwriter and pianist from Kent, Washington, United States. Born into a musical family, Henley studied and performed since childhood before launching a career performing soul music. Since 2008, she has released several full-length albums, EPs, and singles and made her television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2015.

"This Is America" is a song by American rapper Childish Gambino. Written by Gambino, Ludwig Göransson and American rapper Young Thug and produced by the former two, it was released on May 6, 2018, at the same time that Gambino was hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live. The song also features backing vocals from fellow American rappers Slim Jxmmi of Rae Sremmurd, BlocBoy JB, Quavo of Migos, and 21 Savage. The lyrics and accompanying music video, reflecting the core of the Black Lives Matter movement, confront issues of ongoing systemic racism, including prejudice, racial violence, the ghetto, and law enforcement in the United States, as well as the wider issues of mass shootings and gun violence in the United States.