These artists will be inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame next month

The second class of Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame inductees will soon be celebrated for their musical influence.

On Wednesday, Hamilton County Commissioner and Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame founder Alicia Reece announced the 2022 class of inductees, which includes singer Penny Ford, techno-funk band Midnight Star, mega-producer Hi-Tek and jazz musician Wilbert Longmire, who will be inducted posthumously.

Ford – who is the daughter of longtime label executive and producer Gene Redd, Sr. and singer Carolyn Ford, and sister to singer Sharon Redd – got her start performing at local talent shows in Cincinnati. In 1979, a 14-year-old Ford went on a world tour with Parliament-Funkadelic, during which she sang background vocals for the electro-funk group Zapp. Ford went on to become the lead singer of the Eurodance group Snap! and enjoy a successful solo career.

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Longmire, a noted jazz guitarist, made his first recordings in 1963 with the Hank Marr Quartet. He played in Cincinnati in the early '60s and went on to perform with jazz stars such as George Benson, Billy Eckstine, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell and more. Longmire died in 2018 at 77 years old.

Midnight Star was co-founded by Cincinnati native Reggie Calloway. His brother, Vincent Calloway, later joined the group. The band had a string of hits in the '80s, including "Operator," "No Parking on the Dance Floor" and "Freak-a-zoid."

Born Tony Cottrell, Hi-Tek is known for producing beats for Talib Kweli and other hip hop stars, as well as Kweli and Yasiin Bey's duo, Black Star. Hi-Tek is also a staff producer for Dr. Dre's record label, Aftermath Entertainment,

The 2022 class follows last year's founding inductees Bootsy Collins, the Isley Brothers, Charles Fold and Otis Williams.

The Black Music Walk of Fame, currently being built in The Banks in downtown Cincinnati8 next to the Andrew J. Brady Music Center and across from Paul Brown Stadium, will be a permanent, interactive attraction honoring inductees.

The completed Walk of Fame will be unveiled during the 2022 induction ceremony on July 23, the final day of the Cincinnati Music Festival, from noon to 3 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 2022 Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame inductees announced