Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music

The five-hundred-year story of Black British music is a journey from the court of King Henry VIII to the "Ends" of South London, from Africa to the Caribbean to the UK and back again. It spans subterranean speakeasys and church halls, royal command performances and sold-out stadiums, tracing how Black artists went from outsiders to shaping Britain's musical identity and dominating the charts.

It is a story of resilience that grapples with the slave trade, the prejudice of unwelcoming instit...