The Blackbyrds is a former rhythm & blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1973. The group was led by trumpeter Donald Byrd and featured some of his Howard University students: Kevin Toney (keyboards), Keith Killgo (vocals, drums), Joe Hall (bass guitar), Allan Barnes (saxophone, clarinet), and Barney Perry (guitar). Orville Saunders (guitar), and Jay Jones (flute, saxophone) were later members of the group. They signed to Fantasy Records in 1973. They are best known for their 1975 hit "Walking in Rhythm", which received a Grammy nomination.

Their 1975 song "Rock Creek Park" from the City Life album became a staple "break" in the pre-record days of Hip-Hop park DJs. It's stature as a break stretched to a younger generation when Breakbeat Lenny compiled it on his Ultimate Breaks and Beats compilation series in the mid-1980s. This caused it to later be sampled regularly by groups as diverse as De La Soul, Boys from the Bottom, Bobby Konders, Massive Attack, Ice Cube, and Nas, among several others. Its ubiquitous presence in music led it to a further presence in pop culture when it appeared on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on Master Sounds 98.3 and on 2006's Pop-Jazz Volume One.

The Blackbyrds were a jazz-funk group with thick R&B streaks running down their backs. Assembled by Donald Byrd in 1974, the group’s original members — percussionist Pericles “Perk” Jacobs, Jr., drummer Keith Killgo, keyboardist Kevin Toney, reeds player Allan Barnes, bassist Joe Hall, guitarist Barney Perry — were mined from Howard University’s music department, where the doctor and jazz legend was an instructor. (Other key players included guitarist Orville Saunders and saxophonist