THE WORLD OF BLACK MUSIC

Exactly what is “Black Music”?  That question is harder to answer than one might think.  Some people feel there is no such thing as “Black Music”, because of the popularity of a growing number of performers who are not Black, such as Robin Thicke and Eminem, but who have achieved a high level of popularity on the R&B and Hip hop charts.  But while these artists have occasionally been criticized, perhaps unfairly, as “culture bandits”, and some people are concerned that African culture is in danger of being adulterated and “stolen” by the corporate music industry in the interests of making money, there remains a general idea that there is indeed such a thing as “Black Music”.  Most of us may have a very basic and limited idea of what that is, but we often don’t realize how much of today’s music was influenced by the rhythms that Black people brought and inherited from Africa.

We generally equate the drum with Africa, but for many of us the connection ends there.  We thus deprive ourselves of a wealth of cultural information that helps establish both the African roots of much of today’s music and the universality of many of the forms of cultural expression we take for granted today.

We may remember basic music classes from school and thus recognize the xylophone (from Greek words “xylon” for wood and “phone” for sound), but how many of us are aware of its origins (either Asia of Africa, depending on the researcher)?  How many of us are aware of the modern-day African balafon (above, left) and marimba, which are capable of producing a surprising array of tones that are both soothing and intoxicating?  How many of us remember the African-American masters of the xylophone and vibraharp such as Lionel Hampton (above, right), the jazz ensembles such as the Modern Jazz Quartet who featured the instrument prominently, or the more recent virtuosity of Roy Ayers?

Operatic performances and “barbershop quartet” harmonies lift our collective spirits.  Many of us considered this style of musical expression to be of Western influence exclusively, that is, until we heard choral groups such as South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo (pictured, left) and were swept away by the harmonies they produced.

Those of us who are used to defining African music through the drum are often pleasantly surprised when we hear practitioners of the lute, the kora (pictured, right) and other instruments, and we then begin to see the influence these instruments have on modern-day R&B, Rock-N-Roll and even Classical Music.

Much of American popular music was influenced by African-American music, which, in turn, was influenced by the music of Africa.  Chuck Berry’s energy and skill laid much of the groundwork for Rock-N-Roll; in fact, many of his fans insist that he, and not Elvis Pressley, is the King.  (And if not Chuck Berry, then either Little Richard or Jimi Hendrix.)

The African-American style we call “The Blues” had a great deal of influence on American Country-Western music, from the rhythms to the tales of woe that often accompanied them.  (The influence of “the blues” on Country-Western music was even described once in a joke: “What do you get when you play a Country song backwards?  You get your car back, you get your house back, you get your spouse back, your dog comes back home …”)

Rhythm-and Blues, or R&B, led to the “Motown Sound”, the “Sound of Philadelphia”, the general “Sound of Soul”, Disco and House, all of which were dominated by African-American artists, largely because they were the pioneers of the music.  Hip hop permeates much of the popular music of today, with raps, samples and turntable effects remaining prominent.

While many of us perhaps didn’t make the connection right away (at least I was a bit slow on the uptake when I was much younger), the popularity in Caribbean communities of Reggae, Calypso and Soca helped prepare us for the rich sounds of the Mother Continent.  The rhythms of Reggae forced us to broaden our concept of music from the R&B we were more familiar with, and the messages of social uplift and resistance to oppression in much of the music of the legendary Reggae artists such as Bob Marley (pictured, left), Peter Tosh, Toots Hibbert, Third World and The Mighty Invaders gradually brought us closer to Africa.  Thus, when we were finally exposed to more of the music of Africa, there was a foundation upon which our appreciation could grow and flourish.

African music artists gave much to the creative expression of African-descendant populations around the world, and that contribution has come full circle as R&B, pop, jazz and rock elements have been employed in the Music of the Mother Continent.  Nigerian superstar and “Father of Afrobeat” Fela Kuti (pictured, right) not only influenced the music of America with his African-inspired rhythms, he was also influenced by African-American music and culture during his visits to the United States.  Similar cultural exchanges have been occurring between Africa and her “scattered children” through the years.

On these pages, we will discuss several aspects of what we call The Spectrum of Black Music, as we continually explore the depth and the vastness of this incredibly diverse and rich art form.  We also share some background on special events in the African and African-American tradition, including birthday parties, weddings, retirement parties, nightclub events, community block parties, wake-keepings and conscious cultural events.