2 NAACP Image Award Nominations as well as the Time for Peace award celebrate this socially aware album sub titled message music from teh movement.

“No more mystery, Glorious History. In the mirror you see – Kings & Queens.
You’re Living Remnants, Bear Strong Resemblance, Royal Descendants of Kings & Queens.”
“Stolen from Kingdoms to become slaves. Beaten, raped and branded from cradle to grave.
Families torn apart on the auction block. Lies about us told - 3/5 human and no soul.”

One of the great paradoxes of modern times is the prominence, pervasiveness and popularity of African-American music and culture – while simultaneously being obscured, misrepresented and misunderstood. These conflicting realities are not new, as attested to by the words of two of the greatest poets of The Harlem Renaissance - Alain Locke, who candidly wrote of a people being -

"So culturally esteemed yet, so socially despised" – and, poet laureate Langston Hughes who wrote, "You've taken My Blues and you've gone. You mix them up on Broadway so they don't sound like me --- But, one day, someone is gonna write about me, and sing about me, and put on plays about me - Black and Beautiful. It'll be me I reckon, yep it'll be me."

Those extraordinarily powerful words, particularly the Langston Hughes quote, embody the very essence of my lifes work, goal and purpose for presenting and creating music from The African-American Experience, for all people. My work strives to 'set the record straight' regarding the full and true extent of the musical and cultural contributions made by African-Americans to this nation and to the entire world. For, beyond the historical inaccuracies created by the distortion, exclusion, and misrepresentation of African-Americans from world and American history, the most detrimental effect has been to fuel the flames of bigotry. Because, whenever the full extent of the contributions of any people, group or gender are not taught, known and acknowledged, it paves the way for them to be viewed as, and to view themselves as unequal to and, 'less than' those whose history, culture and contributions are always taught, recognized and celebrated. This sad, peculiar and ongoing phenomenon originally was rooted in the commonly held belief that enslaved Africans were less than human (three-fifths), and therefore had no history or culture. Consequently the unique history and culture of enslaved Africans, even after 'Emancipation' was not then and, to this day still has never been fully taught, understood or appreciated – within or outside of African-American culture.

Therefore, it is imperative for Sounds of Blackness to conscientiously and diligently preserve, create and present the healing and unifying properties of the entire Family of African-American Music; Field Hollers, Work Songs, Spirituals, Ragtime, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Rock, R&B, Soul, and Rap.
For, this awesome 'body of music' - as the great Anton Dvorak labeled it, can be the primary and most effective weapon in the battle against intolerance, indifference, ignorance and insensitivity, within and between ethnicities and cultures.

This music born of faith, hope, sorrow, suffering and perserverance, also holds the key to intra-cultural, inter-cultural and even inter-faith reconciliation - in ways that politicians, commissions, committees, conferences, councils, legislation and wars can never achieve.

The incomparable artist, actor, athlete and statesman Paul Robeson once profoundly stated that,
"All true artists have a responsibility to their people". For thirty-five years, Sounds of Blackness have been and continue to be 'true artists' – with a responsibility to our people and to ALL people.
Music and Art For People's Sake – not just For Arts' Sake. For Peace, Healing and Love’s Sake.
Sounds of Blackness presents and represents a culture, a history and a ‘body of music’.
It is the music of the African-American experience and of the African Diaspora - eons old, yet, as fresh as today and as new as tomorrow.
"Kings & Queens", is a music-based Movement and campaign promoting positive self-images and taking a stand against domestic violence. Those two realities are not mutually exclusive.Therefore, Sounds of Blackness are partnering with The NAACP ‘STOP’ Program and, The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African-American Community (IDVAAC) to bring the Spirit of ‘The
Movement” to the issues of self-denigration and domestic violence – in the tradition of Martin Luther King.

Sounds of Blackness and Best Buy have also joined forces to donate a portion of the sales of this CD to help raise funds of The Martin Luther King Memnorial

The primary reason for the "Kings & Queens" goal of promoting positive self-images is to stem the tide of violence and death that continues to plague our Youth. Despite the valiant efforts of many well-meaning people and organizations, this epidemic of violence and death not only continues - it is escalating and, it has been exacerbated by budget cuts to positive youth programs, organizations and activities.

Time and again, music has consistently been shown to have a very positive, palpable and even quantifiable impact upon the behavior and lives of youths. For decades, study after study. has definitively demonstrated the direct correlation between self-image, self-esteem and behavior, achievement, and goals - particulary among youth. What comes form the heart reaches the heart. That is why the music and lyrics of, "Kings & Queens" encourage walking, talking, and being –“Kings and Queens”.

Gary D. Hines, Sounds of Blackness