... Bohlman, Philip V. Music and the Racial Imagination. University Of Chicago Press, Chicago. 2001. Print.
Moreover, the task at hand is not one that is easily accomplished. In order for music to be a hit, it had to be a hit within the white community. The ...
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” It is not a mystery that minorities were oppressed throughout the history of the United States. In 1990 70% of African Americans and Hispanics in their mid to late twenties held a high school diploma or higher compared to the 86% that their white counterparts achieved. The disparities were obvious throughout the decade. The hip-hop culture gave minorities a voice and a realm to express themselves. There were always minorities who experienced the same lives as the majority of America did, but hip hop mainly spoke to those minorities in urban neighborhoods who were entrapped by violence and negativity. Most of these minorities were young people who were reaching the peak of their adolescent years. Their attitudes could be seen in the lyrics of Notorious B.I.G. when he chants, “I don’t want to live no more. Sometimes I hear death knocking at my front door,” in the song “Everyday Struggle.” Without hip-hop music I believe there would be more minority violence because this was the only genre of music that spoke specifically to minorities, especially those in the inner cities. Hip hop was monumental because it did not apply to one group of minorities; every aspect of the minority population was represented by artists who presented different lyrical content and cultural messages. The genre also gave those who were not minorities a look into the insight of those who were being oppressed, ultimately creating some form of understanding. The majority population could never fully understand the minority population because they never would have the opportunity to experience ...
In dealing with these issues, historians have neglected to examine the social implication of “race music” on a white audience, specifically teenagers. Historians most often explain the origins of the music as something of a legend; Afro-American music and culture is praised, and white American society is indebted to the cultural enrichment it has received from it. Afro-American music saved white society from being boring.[2] The social realities of the United States during that decade make this birth story seem hypocritical and condescending. The 1950s did not produce harmony between the black and white populations of the United States; racial tensions were enormous.
Throughout early American history, musical repertories have shown traces of how painful and agonizing the experiences that African American’s had dealt with during the Slave era and how painful and tragic the transition was. This a moment in African American history in which developing a new culture was a difficult process, due to the fact that they were previously stripped away from their homeland and were forced to adapt a new way of life. Spirituals were introduced throughout the culture of African American Slaves as a new form of musical expression who had converted to New World
What would the world be like without music? The world would be a very silent place. Music is in many ways the material of our lives and the meaning of society. It is a reminder of how things were in the old days, a suggestion of how things are, and a view of where society is leading to. Music is the direct reflection of the picture of art, music, and literature. Music can be a way to deliver messages, being poetic, a fine art, or it can just be for entertainment. No matter what it is used for, music is the perfect art there is and there are various types of music; such as classical and romantic. This paper will discuss how classical music and romantic music had a turning point in humanity’s social or cultural development, and how they have
Music defines our culture. As Americans, we listen to music while we drive our cars, are at work, doing housework, studying, etc. We have songs for special occasions: Christmas, Hanukah, birthdays, weddings, parties, etc. We have taken songs from the various cultures that make us diverse: Arabic, German, Mexican, Native American, etc. We have many genres: country, hip-hop, rap, pop, blues, jazz, rock, heavy metal, etc. And although we may think of music as simple and easy, looking at all this makes one realize how diverse and complex our music truly is. Two things that contribute to this diversity are theme and symbolism.
In the works An Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson and Slave Songs of the United States by William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, both stories include the topics about music from the African-American perspective. Although both works are quite different, there are some similarities between the stories. An Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and Slave Songs of the United States both show the difficulty of an outsider trying to transcribe music from a somewhat “unknown” and challenging perspective. Although they are similar in this aspect, their plans, understanding of the music, and musicking experience greatly differ from each other.
Have you ever thought about how important hip-hop is? Many people thought it was a simple fad in its beginning, but it has transformed into an enormous international, money-generating business. Some might argue that the culture has become distorted from the original form, due to the “tainted” nature of the genre in the global market. Others agree that the 1990’s were the most prolific time for the art form and this period is commonly referred to as the “golden age” of the Genre. This was the first point in time where a large number of youth grew up listening to hip hop music more than any other genre; they were experiencing the genre throughout their entire lives. During this time period there were many innovative artists who constantly pushed the envelope to create new projects and styles. Creativity seemed to be everlasting, although many clichés were created because of unoriginality. Many people who are now considered legends made their debuts throughout the decade and they are now testaments to the power of the culture. The 1990’s showed people that the art forms of hip hop would be a permanent fixture in music and culture because at this point it existed for roughly twenty years. Minorities had always embraced hip hop since the beginning because they were the creators, but the 1990’s was important because this is when the music being made became more relatable. Artist such as Nas and the Wu-Tang clan embodied a lifestyle in their music that many minorities agreed with because it depicted the lives that those minorities were living. This is not to say that there was not music that was viewed as gimmicky and fabricated.
Some people consider jazz to be a “black music”, so white musicians should not be included in the history of it. Others think it’s unfair to call jazz a “black music” or that white musicians need to be given more credit in jazz history. DeVeaux argues that jazz music has origins in traditional African musical culture and is based on the experience of African Americans, so it should be considered black music. But at the same time, he also argues that white musicians did play an important role in jazz, both from a consumption and production standpoint. This fact should not be ignored because to do so would be to rewrite history. This should never be done even if doing so might be considered good for social movements. DeVeaux sensitively found a middle ground, so his argument could mean unity for critics who before could only see jazz as either black or white. This article also encourages unity within music and could increase equality in jazz for musicians. Through this groundbreaking article that destroys racial barriers, DeVeaux has successfully answered the question he posed for himself at the beginning of his
History tells us that music not only helped shape movements, but it further played a major role in how we developed as a civilized society. From primitive sounds and chants, that further helped mankind communicate linguistically, we can assume music developed, rather unintentionally, and gradually with us. To honor my brief brush with Music Appreciation, this research paper will delve into how music has affected and developed with mankind, how humanity has affect it, how it influences American culture, and justifies the notion of how it reflects society’s redeemable wish to sail into further enlightenment.
Some scholars theorize that the Middle Passage to the Americas was so traumatic that most African influence was eradicated, and that few traces of Africa exist in African-American music. This “cultural tabulala [sic] rasa” theory is rightfully rejected by many scholars (Wilson 3). The inflow of African people to the New World was brought on by the existence of slavery, and resulted in the creation of a sort of extension of the African continent in a different hemisphere. In his article “The Significance of the Relationship Between [sic] Afro-American Music and West African Music,” music scholar Olly Wilson refutes the tabula rasa theory, and provides extensive examples of the ties that continue to exist between the two distant geographical regions. Another prominent scholar who recognizes the integration of African elements in American musics is Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Though his much deeper and more analytical approach to African musics is divergent from Wilson’s, both scholars acknowledge African diaspora musics and examine them in different ways based on different criteria.
Music is another was that people can have a sense of cultural identity. Gloria also writes about how even the Chicano music portrays the struggles that they have had to endure. Even though there can exist this sense of pride in one’s music, to some Chicanos there was a sense of shame. “In the 50s and 60s, for the slightly educated and agringado Chicanos, there existed a sense of shame at being caught listening to our music”
Chart-topping artists have long been able to capture America with music videos that feature catchy lyrics, buoyant beats, and a vivacity of visual elements. The appeal of these videos lies in the glorification of celebrity lives, playing on the desire for pleasure amongst viewers. In the quest to address this desire, a pattern of White artists adopting clothing, hairstyles, and language that are attributed to Black culture has manifested. The appropriation that is present in these videos make them a source of capitalism in which a dominant race or class of people are able to simplify cultural rudiments of another for the sake of commercial appeal. These elements are
The music industry’s history is a convoluted mess. There is no real consensus on what the music industry IS and what paths it has taken. Were the Beatles the greatest band to ever exist? Maybe. Is there a hyper objectification of women throughout the “men’s club” that is the music industry? Probably. It’s this hard to define, frankly confusing business that is worth roughly $130 billion dollars today. With it’s flimsy and opaque edges, can the music industry ever be called into question on its wrongdoings? The racist undertone throughout its history may force it to. With the music industry as an ever growing business that seems to change almost every decade, the one thing that has not changed throughout time is an undercurrent of racism that