In the words of Maya Angelou, “Music is one of the hero/sheroes of African American existence.” From spirituals and slave work songs of the nineteenth century, to jazz and the blues of the twentieth century, to hip hop and rap of recent decades, American blacks have expressed their beliefs and gripes through the music they create. Black musicians have tackled polarizing topics such as politics, religion, pop culture, and social issues. For centuries, African Americans have used the vehicle of music to express their sentiments about the state of the country; some examples of African American music styles are work songs, the blues, jazz, and hip hop/rap.
During and after the period of time in which slavery existed in the United States, African Americans on plantations often expressed themselves through and work songs. When slavery was still prominent, the slave owners allowed their slaves very little freedom, perhaps needless to say, but because the slave owners themselves were deeply religious, and they viewed religion as a good thing for their slaves, they often allowed and encouraged their slaves to practice Christianity. Work songs are songs that were sung by African American slaves and, later, sharecroppers while they were working on plantations. One example of a work song is the song, “Pick a Bale of Cotton.” A quote taken from “Pick a Bale of Cotton:” “Jump down, turn around to pick a bale of cotton. / Jump down, turn around, pick a bale a day. / Oh, Lordy, pick a bale of cotton! / Oh, Lordy, pick a bale a day!” (35). This one song in particular brings in elements of Christianity with “Lordy.” It seems as if this song, “Pick a Bale of Cotton,” was crafted almost by the oppressive white slave owners. I say this because, in the song, there are a number of references to other people picking cotton; just in this one song, there are lyrics about “my gal,” “my wife,” “my friend,” and “my poppa,” all picking cotton. The song gives off a feel of being crafted by the slave owners because it seems like it is trying to instill in the slaves that their families and everybody around them should be picking “a bale of cotton.” This song, “Pick a Bale of Cotton,” is just one example of many African American work songs, and while these work songs are not nearly as prevalent as they once were, the spirituals are still sung today in churches and other Christian venues. Work songs are an older style of black music, and they
The blues is the quintessential African American music form. In terms of African American music genres, the blues is a genre that is often sad. Literally called the blues, this genre was created from earlier African American music forms such as work songs and spirituals, and is itself largely responsible for the birth of jazz and later black music genres. The blues as a genre is characterized by the lyrics and instrumental music that composes it. Blues topics have a wide range, but similarly to other African American genres, and perhaps even less subtly, blues songs often speak on racial discrimination and other grievances of the black community. Some examples of famous blues musicians are Muddy Waters, BB King, Lead Belly, Howlin’ Wolf, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. In a song called “Rising High Water Blues,” Blind Lemon Jefferson sings about some of the struggles of living along the Mississippi and its tributaries. At the end of the song, Blind Lemon sings “The backwater rising, come in my windows and door / I leave with a prayer in my heart, backwater won’t rise no more.” I feel that this line from “Rising High Water Blues” is an effective representative of what blues lyrics often are; Blind Lemon speaks on the problems he is having in his life, as many blues artists do. The quote, “I leave with a prayer in my heart” emphasizes that often times, the blues incorporates religion into the lyrics of the song. The blues was created exclusively by African Americans, and often times, the songs just reflected the problems within the artist’s life.
Jazz music sprouted from the blues, and was pioneered by black musicians. Going all the way back to the early twentieth century and the Harlem Renaissance, jazz has been an extremely important component of African American music. Jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, to name a few, have not only been wildly popular, but have had a profound effect on both listeners and the African American vernacular. A jazz saxophonist by the name of Kenny Garrett (not Kenny G) put out an album called Do Your Dance!, and the title of the album speaks to the racism that his musical predecessors had to face when performing. The album’s name is a reference to how black musicians were told to get up on stage and entertain, and do nothing else; they were told not to speak or act in a way that would distract from the entertaining. Although jazz typically does not include vocals and lyrics, you as a listener can get a strong sense of what the artist is trying to evoke from the soulful solos and the general feel of the song. In fact, I personally believe that the jazz music itself, without lyrics, can be more powerful and evocative than some vocal forms of music. That’s not to say that all jazz music is without lyrics. Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday popularized a sub-genre of jazz that included vocals and lyrics. Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” lays very powerful, emotionally evocative lyrics on top of very dark-sounding jazz chords. The lyrics in “Strange Fruit” read, “Southern trees bear strange fruit / Blood on the leaves and blood on the root / Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze / Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” The “strange fruit” that Holiday references are the bodies of southern blacks who were lynched. There is no confusing what Billie Holiday’s intentions behind “Strange Fruit” are. Even though Holiday is not from the South, she used her platform as a jazz singer to bring awareness to and speak out against the atrocities that African Americans faced, especially in southern states. Jazz music is one of the classic black music styles, and the emotion and meaning of the artist can be seen even without lyrics.
From the late twentieth century until now, I would think it safe to say that African American music has been dominated by hip hop and rap music. From rap music’s origins with N.W.A. to more recent music from artists such as Kendrick Lamar, rap music has been very politically and socially pointed, addressing huge issues such as police brutality and racism. Just to begin with the two aforementioned examples, N.W.A.’s debut album, called Straight Outta Compton tackled both police brutality and racism in a very blunt manner. One song on Straight Outta Compton is literally called “Fu** Tha Police.” N.W.A. and their breakout album sparked extreme controversy, and is largely responsible for the beginnings of the rap subgenre of “gangsta rap” and the popularization of rap music as a genre. Kendrick Lamar, also from Compton, released on one of his popular albums, To Pimp a Butterfly, a song called “The Blacker The Berry,” a reference to Wallace Thurman’s 1929 novel of the same name. Lamar insightfully uses the name of a Harlem Renaissance novel to title a song that speaks on racial stereotypes. The song itself has a more aggressive tone to it, as if Lamar was saying, “Yes I’m black and these stereotypes are true, but so what?” In the song, Lamar repeatedly finishes the line, “the blacker the berry” with “the sweeter the juice,” arguing that the more stereotypically black traits he possesses, the better. For his most recent album DAMN, Kendrick Lamar has received the Pulitzer Prize for Music. I believe that Lamar can attribute most of his success to his powerful blend of groovy beats, punchy lyrics, and, perhaps most crucially, his pointed messages. Donald Glover, also known as Childish gambino, recently released a modern social critique called “This Is America.” While the song is clearly about American politics and society, the music video, is chock full of cryptic metaphors about American culture. Glover inputs many subtle clues in the music video to make a statement about the current state of American culture. But much of the music video is up to interpretation, just like a well-written novel. Towards the beginning of the video, Glover uses a gun to kill a man in a pose that mimics Jim Crow. A man rushes over to carefully take the gun while the African American man’s body is just left there. During the entire video, Glover is shirtless, wearing a pair of pants that resemble a Confederate soldier’s. The significance of the pants is that white people are and have historically been responsible for the killing of countless black people. While the song and video mostly critique the racial problems that exist in America, Childish Gambino also alludes to the problems with America’s latest generation. In the middle of the song, the video shows a few teenagers, who are sitting idly on their phones while all of the action goes on around them. Glover is alluding to the current generation of kids who are missing out on a lot, due to their cell phones. At the end of the song, there are seventeen seconds of silence, for the seventeen victims of the Parkland school shooting. Rap music has in recent years become the go-to for blacks to voice their opinions.
In conclusion, African Americans have for centuries used a number of music styles to speak on and critique the condition of America. Often, their critique is based on racial injustice and violence, but they also speak on other topics, such as the shortcomings of the upcoming generation of young adults. Before looking into this topic, I would often listen to music without paying attention to the lyrics and what the artist is attempting to say. I do not think that I am alone in this habit, but I believe that it is important to listen to what people are trying to say, and not just sit around on my phone, missing out on life, just as in Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” Music is a key part of the African American vernacular, and blacks often turn to musical platforms to make a statement. While it is true that not all African American music is not as pointed as some of the music discussed in this essay, I think it is important to listen for meaning in music, even if it does not at first appear to be there.