The BRC was founded in 1985 in New York City by Vernon Reid (guitarist for the rock band Living Colour), Greg Tate (journalist for the Village Voice), Dk Dyson (lead singer of Eye & I), and Konda Mason (producer),[1] but today has members from around the world.
[4] At the time of formation of the BRC, society was racially stratified in that structural differences remained even though musical aesthetics spread beyond original borders.
Behind the stereotypes, there was a notion produced by culture and mass media that “it was just easier to market conventional R&B to black kids, and conventional rock and roll to white kids.”[6] Consumers were ignorant to the fact that black musicians were capable of producing certain genres of music, such as rock ‘n’ roll, due to lack of exposure provided by mass media.
LaRonda Davis, the executive of the Black Rock Coalition, explained this was a marketing tactic used to avoid any confusion that the consumer may have off their judgment of the album cover.
In order to do this, the group followed through on their manifesto - to find recording and performance spaces for black musicians to give them equal opportunities for success.
[11] In order to fight against these stereotypes and promote racial equality, the BRC supports and advocates performances by black musicians of musical styles publicly associated with whiteness – hard rock, heavy metal and thrash.
Also the use of bending guitar strings and bottleneck slides became a staple of rock music, although these styles were created by blues artist years earlier.
Events in Brooklyn, New York and neighboring locations ranged from a fund raiser for BRC's Original Rocker Scholarships, a vocal clinic at the Metrosonic Showroom, rehearsal space at the Funkadelic Studios for members and friends, performances by BRC's Orchestra playing tribute to Jimi Hendrix's live album Band of Gypsys at the BAMCafé, and various social events.
[17] They also hosted "Million Man Mosh 3" at The Wind Up Space featuring artists such as Tamar-kali, Thaylo Bleu, and Throwdown Syndicate.
Steve Perry (musician) saw the phenomenon of black artists topping the “Hot 100” as positive for its integration and implications for cross-racial harmony.
Living Color was one of the bands that were closely connected to the BRC and it played a significant role in the impact of the crossover of black music to white audiences.
In the band's song “Which Way to America”, the effects of the crossover are reflected through the lyrics even though the two different lives depicted were not racially defined explicitly.
Artists who have participated in BRC activities include Doug Pinnick (frontman and bassist for the progressive metal band King's X), Spacey T, Keziah Jones, Tamar-kali, Suffrajett, Graph Nobel, Imani Coppola, David Ryan Harris, Jeffrey Gaines, Sophia Ramos, FunkFace, Pillow Theory, Apollo Heights, Avery Brooks, The Family Stand, Carl Hancock Rux, Caron Wheeler, and DJ Reborn.