Black On Both Sides: Should the term “black music” be used in the
music industry today?
Luke Davis
2013
Student ID: 1017213
Supervisor: Riana Walsh
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Abstract
The focus of this research is to determine whether the term “black music”
should still be used in the music industry today. Since the late 19th
century, music derived from the descendants of African slaves has
undergone numerous changes, expansions and offshoots, sonically and
socially. A collective term to characterise this music has also differed
throughout the 20th century and beyond.
Through the guidance of literature discussing the same subject, the use
of the term "black music" has been constantly re-evaluated as the sociopolitical landscape that defines it has changed. A number of different
terms have been used, including "negro music" and "African-American
music" but they all converge together with certain notions of origin. The
paper includes notable examples from each major genres of "black
music" such as ragtime, blues, jazz, rhythm & blues, soul and hip hop.
The centre of this analysis includes works by Scott Joplin, Muddy Waters,
Miles Davis and Ray Charles. Their musical characteristics are what set
them apart from other so called "non-black music" as well as their sociohistorical presences amongst society. There will also be social and
cultural critiques of political movements of the time, to add basis to the
argument for or against the term "black music".
From the literature read and discussed, there is no clear indication for the
term "black music" to be used any longer within the music industry. It is
an integral identifier within black history but due to the racial overlaps
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throughout the 20th century, there is nothing fundamentally "black" about
the music to warrant the term.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................ 7
1.1. Overview ...................................................................................... 7
1.2. African music .............................................................................. 8
1.3. Research question ...................................................................... 9
2. Chapter Overview ............................................................................ 10
3. History/etymology ........................................................................... 12
4. Negro spirituals ............................................................................... 15
4.1. Gospel music............................................................................. 17
5. Ragtime ............................................................................................ 19
6. Blues ................................................................................................. 22
6.1. Influence from negro spirituals................................................ 22
6.2. Mississippi blues ...................................................................... 23
6.3. Muddy Waters............................................................................ 23
6.4. White appropriation and the blues revival .............................. 24
7. Jazz ................................................................................................... 26
7.1. The Jazz age to bebop .............................................................. 27
7.2. Miles Davis and modal jazz ...................................................... 29
8. Rhythm and blues ........................................................................... 31
8.1. Segregation and Ray Charles .................................................. 32
9. Soul/funk .......................................................................................... 35
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9.1. Motown ...................................................................................... 35
9.2. Black pride ................................................................................. 36
9.3. James Brown and 70s funk ...................................................... 37
10. Hip Hop ............................................................................................. 40
10.1.
The origins of hip hop ..................................................... 40
10.2.
Turntablism ...................................................................... 42
10.3.
The Message .................................................................... 43
10.4.
Black On Both Sides – an analysis ................................ 44
11. Technology ...................................................................................... 47
11.1.
Herbie Hancock ............................................................... 48
11.2.
Sampling and drum machines........................................ 48
12. Present Day ...................................................................................... 50
13. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 53
14. Black vocal survey .......................................................................... 60
Contextual study ................................................................................... 62
15. Bibliography..................................................................................... 75
16. Appendices ...................................................................................... 81
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We went from picking cotton
To chain gang line chopping
To Be-Bopping
To Hip-Hopping
[…]
I said, Elvis Presley ain't got no soul (huh)
Chuck Berry is rock and roll (damn right)
You may dig on the Rolling Stones
But they ain't come up with that style on they own (uh-uh)
~ Mos Def (1999)
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1. Introduction
1.1. Overview
Before the subject of black music can be discussed, a basic definition has
to be decided. For the purposes of the research, “black music” will
describe Western black popular music and the term “African music” will
describe music of Western Africa. Also, due to the subject of African
music being outside the scope of the research, it will not be discussed at
length in this dissertation. The different genres and musical elements
categorised under the term “black music” cover a large spectrum of
Western popular music, in their purest forms or merged with other
genres. The existence of black music is known within the music industry
and academia but it cannot be clearly distinguished by any succinct
definition without exceptions. As popularity has increased, this elusive
definition has become more difficult. Authors such as Paul Oliver, Olly
Wilson and Simon Frith (Oliver, 1990; Wilson, 1983; Frith, 2007) have
agreed that the origins of black popular music derived from Africa but in
using that as an identifier, it would require calling all Africans black, which
is genetically incorrect as Northern Africa is considered to be part of the
“Arab world”. Because of this and other defining issues, some authors
have refuted the idea of “black music” altogether (Oliver, 1990;
McRobbie, 1999). Oliver, in his book “Black Music in Britain” (Oliver,
1990) looked deeper into the idea that black people carried a
“supermusic” gene and made the point of interracial breeding and since
slavery, people of darker skin tone would have bred with people of a
lighter skin tone and if the notion that darker black people carried this
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gene more so than lighter skinned black people, that this gene would
become less dominant over generations (Oliver, 1990). However, by
looking at musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Charlie
Parker of a darker tone we see or hear no relevant or distinguished
superiority or even inferiority in their music or performance compared to
those of a lighter hue such as Billie Holiday or Lester Young (Oliver,
1990). This shows that people of purely black ancestry are no better or
“worthy” of playing what is called black music than those with a mixture of
white (or more specifically European/Caucasian) in their ancestry. There
is no supergene and therefore nothing is lost in the process.
1.2. African music
The concept of West African music being the main origin of black popular
music in the West, however, cannot be refuted. Innovative lyricism and
improvisation within black popular music genres are often linked to
African features that were carried into the New World, extending into
techniques of music such as conventions in instrument play and even the
creations of new one (Oliver, 1990). As well as the secondary elements,
some musical foundations have drawn from West African music such as
a metronomic approach to metre and tempo, the use of call and
response, which was later kept intact in late 19th century slave music and
transferred to gospel, blues, R&B and finally to soul in the 1960s (Oliver,
1990). Instrumentally, many of the implements used in Africa were
brought over and altered over time. The banjo, although of disputed
origin, had a striking resemblance to the African kora, xalam (Oliver,
2012) and akonting, all stringed instruments from Western Africa with
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long characteristic necks and varying body shapes. There was also the
mbira or “kalimba”, a thumb piano made of wood with attached metal
keys. Its form is similar to that of a vibraphone, used predominately in
jazz music, itself a close descendant of the “balafon”. Players of some of
these instruments were often known as “griots” or “jali”. These performers
would act as the storytellers and poets, enriching the listeners on the
culture of Africa, even when they were transported over to the Americas
as part of the slave trade. They formed the basis of the blues artists,
telling their stories of pain and hardship and even further into the modern
day, as rappers took on the mantle of the griots with their lyrical prose.
1.3. Research questions
The following questions will be addressed within the dissertation:

Should the term “black music” be used within the music
industry today?
o When did the term first come into general use?
o What makes “black music” black?
o Can non-black musicians perform “black music”?
o What genres are regarded as “black music” genres?
o Are there any notable non-black musicians mentioned
within genres of “black music”?
o What has the industry’s role been in reinforcing the use of
the term?
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2. Chapter overview
Chapter 3 looks at the history and etymology of the term “black music”
and any alternative terms that have arisen.
Chapter 4 is an overview of negro spirituals, discussing the African
diaspora and the effects on the slaves by Christian doctrine and their
subsequent musical development. Gospel music will also be briefly
analysed.
Chapter 5 discusses ragtime, the influences of negro spirituals on the
music and notable composers within the genre as well as critical analysis
on compositions of the period.
Chapter 6 looks at blues music from its origins to the blues revival of the
1960s.
Chapter 7 discusses jazz music, it’s historical origins and notable
progressions in the genre as well as a brief overview of Miles Davis’
music.
Chapter 8 is an overview of rhythm and blues, its birth out of the “race
records” moniker and its move from predominately black gospel oriented
music to more a secular genre, with Ray Charles given as a major
proponent of this movement.
Chapter 9 looks at soul and funk music, the black power movement that
helped to bring it into the black and American conscious and its
influences on future music.
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Chapter 10 discusses hip hop, its development from disco and electro
music, the fundamental elements of hip hop culture and notable artists
within the genre
Chapter 11 is an overview of technology within black music, some of the
black technological pioneers and examples of the newer instruments and
hardware used
Chapter 12 looks at modern day black music, particularly how the term is
perceived now.
Chapter 13 is the conclusion to the dissertation, summarising the
argument for or against the use of the term “black music” in today’s music
industry.
Chapter 14 is the contextual study, a reflective summary of the research,
problems that arose, the solutions undertaken and possible scope for
future research.
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3. History/etymology
The use of colour to pigeonhole people of a darker complexion has a long
history dating back to the first millennium, when the term Moorish was
used to initially describe people (mostly Muslims and Arabs) from
Spanish colonised areas of Northern Africa. Within Europe from the 15 th
century, the term Moor was extended for black Africans and later negro,
from the Latin niger meaning 'black', was used. Although the word
“colored” was used more extensively to describe the people, “negro” had
been academically publicised from as early as 1900 (American Folklore
Society, 1900). “Negro” and “negro music” are no longer used today but
they still carry some historical and cultural weight; in 2010, for example,
the United States Census Bureau included "Negro" on the 2010 Census,
alongside "Black" and "African-American" (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010)
because a significant number of older black Americans still identified
themselves with the term (UPI, 2010). The term “negro music” was most
common amongst black American musicians and academics, as the
“negro” was deemed less offensive than “colored” in United States until
the 1970s, when Afro-American became a brief overall definer. This was
due to the growing influence of the “afro” hairstyle during this period,
coinciding with the “blaxploitation” era of film. By the 1980s, African
American became the definitive term. In the 1980s, Jesse Jackson
became the first major proponent for its usage (Baugh, 1999). It was final
stage in a line of different identifiers for people of African descent, from
the days of slavery. The term “black music”, however, is predominately
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used within academic circles while more significant use within society is
found in Europe (see Chapter 12 for more information).
“Urban contemporary” or “urban music” was coined by radio DJ Frankie
Crocker (University of Delaware, 2004). Crocker was notable in his
refusal to play The Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight on his radio station
because it was “too black”, however, he subsequently relented and the
song eventually became a hit (Watkins, 2005). Urban also has the
advantage of being an international identifier for music that would
otherwise have been called “black music”. “African-American music” is
another possible alternative terms for “black music”, although this may be
more specific to black Americans of African descent. As most popular
black music stemmed from the United States, this term encompasses a
majority of the music described within the “black music” umbrella. In an
article about the use of the term “black music”, BBC Radio 1 DJ Mista
Jam (2010) claimed people get “very touchy with the obvious racial
connotations” but argued that the term could be “culturally and historically
correct“, despite possible alienation. De Lerma (1975, p.517) distanced
black music from Western music, claiming the “difference becomes more
obvious the closer its roots are to Africa”. Brackett (2005) explored the
contradictions and relationships between identity and musical genres. He
used “race music” as an example of a genre with ambiguous identities.
He explained that the genre had been relabelled numerous times and
despite its link with African-Americans, Brackett claimed “it would be a
mistake, however, to assume that this linkage has been straightforward or
consistent” as “non-African Americans have recorded music that has
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been classified in this category” as well as “purchased, consumed, and
listened to the music classified in this category” (Brackett, 2005, p.75).
The latter argument seems somewhat flimsy as a genre’s listeners don’t
necessary define that genre. However, he later made an interesting point
when discussing the etymology of the word genre: “If the term genre
evokes stasis and spatiality […] then to describe a text as ‘participating’
in, rather than ‘belonging’ to, a genre emphasizes temporality” (Brackett,
2005, p.77). This could be extended towards “black music” as the term
may no longer be defined exclusively by its racial identity and thus leave
it redundant in the present day. Brackett refers also to Tagg’s Open Letter
about ‘Black Music’, ‘Afro-American Music’ and ‘European Music’ (1988)
and while he agrees with Tagg’s reasoning, he does pose some possible
counterarguments. For example, Tagg (1988) claimed that because
physiological traits could not be heard, and music held cultural traits,
there could be no “black music”. Brackett put forward the idea that genres
were not “static assemblages” of musical characteristics but there were
also “social connotations about race and gender” and that they were only
coherent in relation to other genres at that time (Brackett, 2005, p.80).
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4. Negro spirituals
The ideology behind the negro spiritual started during the 19 th century.
The African slaves that were sent across to the United States had
brought their own indigenous religions but in an attempt to “de-Africanise”
them, use of native languages were prohibited and they were quickly
converted to Christianity. This led to secret religious services at night
when their masters were asleep and the singing of “work songs” while
they were on the fields. These songs would go on to be called “spirituals”.
These spirituals were a combination of the lyricism and context of
Christian hymns and African elements, such as shouting in praise and
“call and response”, which can still be seen in the “black music” of today.
According to Floyd (1995, p.39), the spiritual was the most well known of
all African-American genres during the early days or the “Africans’
transformation into African Americans”.
Spirituals are said to come in two textual forms: sorrow songs and
jubilees (Floyd, 1995). The sorrow songs discussed the pain and
suffering of slaves while jubilees, made famous by groups such as
Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, expressed optimism for a better life
post-abolition. As Floyd discusses (1995, p.42), there were prominent
links between the early spirituals and African performances, showing in
songs like “Steal Away”, with its short repeating phrases that grow into
larger melodies containing “multimeter, pendular thirds and descending
phrase endings”. Negro spirituals were also notable for their so-called
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“code messages”. In songs such as “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, the
“home” described in the chorus wasn’t perceived to be the freedom of
America – at least amongst the slaves themselves – but their original
homeland, Africa (Powell, 1990). This type of social and cultural
retaliation against the white slave owners reinforced the ideology behind
“black music” being “for the people and by the people”.
Where songs like these differ from European music is in their exuberant
performances, physically and vocally. Spiritual hymns were often sung in
churches or played in the form of sacred music and madrigals. The
religious embellishments were portrayed through the instrumental and
vocal music. However, when the African slaves infused these hymns with
their style of physical praise, the musical devotion to God became more
widespread. While there are arguments as to the magnitude of white
influence on these spirituals, the key factors that make them stand out
from these “white” hymns are their African characteristics. Courlander
(1992) acknowledged the African traits within the spirituals and folk songs
but explained that there were many different influences from Europe, in
places like Louisiana with its French folk music and the French
Caribbeans bringing similar styles. Courlander also mentioned something
he called “feedback” (Courlander, 1992) where a recording artist sang a
song and if it were particularly popular, it would receive airplay and
effectively “influence” the style of the performers amongst its audience. In
this sense, the media was shaping the sound of spirituals, albeit for
financial gain. One of the influential groups to perform negro spirituals
were the Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African-American a cappella group,
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made up of students from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Their
formal training made them stand out from the slaves who didn’t have that
advantage. Journalist James Monroe Trotter described the performances
as “fully developed by the singers” (Trotter, 1878, p.259), which was in
contrast to how spirituals were perceived; for example, Floyd described
jubilee spirituals as having “shuffling, angular, off-beat, additive,
repetitive, intensive and unflagged rhythms” (Floyd, 1995, p.6).
4.1. Gospel music
Gospel music was a type of Black American religious music that started
in the late nineteenth century, inspired by negro spirituals, work songs
and white Pentecostal hymns (Robinson-Martin, 2009). Robinson-Martin
(2009) claimed that composers such as Charles Tindley, Lucie Campbell,
and Dr. Isaac Watts were the main instigators of the movement from
slave songs to gospel music in the twentieth century, where they took
traditional songs and adapted them with African-American traits, including
flatted notes, altered rhythms and pentatonic scales. A key component of
gospel music and “black vocal style” is the extensive use of melisma.
Originally a trait in chant music from as early as the 12th century, the type
of melisma exhibited within gospel music contained a lot more vibrato. Dr
Ray Allen characterised gospel as incorporating “melismatic moans of the
spiritual” (Allen, 1987, p.9). As most music of American black origin stems
from the negro spirituals of the late 19th century, gospel is just one
extension of its collective techniques. A number of scholars (WilliamsJones, 1975; Allen, 1987; Burnim, 1980) believe gospel music to have
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majorly contributed to, or been distinctly categorised by, the
black/African-American culture. The style and spirit, for instance,
containing examples of melodic improvisation in the form of melismas,
melodic alterations, improvised humming and moaning (Robinson-Martin,
2009).
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5. Ragtime
Ragtime was another offshoot of the negro spirituals as the Fisk Jubilee
Singers became more popular with their European tours and dance
became an integral part of the musical experience. From the late 19th
century, African Americans began dancing to “rhyme-dance songs”, folk
medleys and other spirituals and these medleys became known as “rags”
and the performances, “ragging” (Floyd, 1995, p.66). Ragtime echoed the
stylistic qualities of marches and dances from the 1890’s (such as the
cakewalk), with its short repetitive melodies in patterns like AABBACCC′,
AABBCCDD and AABBCCA (Berlin, 2001) but the main emphasis of the
genre was on its “highly developed rhythmic syncopation” and the
infusion of Negro folk elements (Danberg Charters, 1961, p.174). The two
most famous rags were the Mississippi Rag (1897) and the Maple Leaf
Rag (1899), the latter written by ragtime pioneer Scott Joplin. According
to Danberg Charters (1961), classic rags - rags written by pioneers of the
genre like Joplin, Scott, Lamb, contained imaginative harmonic variations
and a high level of dissonance due to the use of the Negro folk elements
(as explained before), however he discusses the pentatonic scale, taken
from African music, and its implementation within classic rags and the
possibility of a commonality with white hymns.
For example, in Scott Joplin’s famous Maple Leaf Rag, the pentatonic
scale features in the melody of the trio:
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(Figure 1: Danberg Charters, 1961, p.176)
In “Maple Leaf Rag”, the song is in Db major in the form AABBACCDD.
Because of its heavy influence on the rest of the genre, Maple Leaf Rag
is seen as the magnum opus of ragtime. Its use of syncopation was
extensive, with most of the composition consisting of eighth and sixteenth
notes. The repetition of the first motif was in tandem with ragtime’s
original links to march music.
From there, composers like Joplin and (James) Scott were able to absorb
chromaticisms and harmonic major and minor scales from “white
American culture” into their compositions (Danberg Charters, 1961,
p.178). This early example of “Negro” and white music being mixed
together raises a question: did the African elements enhance the “white”
music or did the “white” music enhance the African elements?
Although Scott Joplin’s name is synonymous with ragtime, it was a white
musician who claimed the biggest accolade of all: the originator of
ragtime. Harney was so adamant that he had fathered the genre; he
offered to quit his profession and offer $100 to anyone who could find a
composition predating his ragtime classic You’ve Been a Good Wagon
but You’ve Done Broke Down (Berlin, 2002). However, Ben Harney’s
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ethnicity was subject to scrutiny, even if his claim of being the originator
of ragtime wasn’t. He identified himself as white despite claims that he
was African American.
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6. Blues
6.1. Influence from negro spirituals
Ellison (1989) took blues’ precedence over any other black music genre
as a close descendent of African music because of the common patterns
and lyrics based on African models. The patterns included characteristics
such as call and response, rhythmic counterpoint, polyrhythms, melodic
and harmonic sophistication, slurred and flatted notes, melisma and
virtuoso instrumental performances (Ellison, 1989). Its chronological
origins, much like jazz, are not as clear-cut as other genres under the
“black music” label. The musical origins are less obscure, however; there
are clear examples of similar lyrical content taken from negro spirituals
and work songs, along with the melisma of gospel music. Where one
branch of the spiritual tree lead to more upbeat march music and
subsequently ragtime and jazz, the pain and suffering of the slaves took a
different root into blues. Above all the musical elements, the blues were
fundamentally about a “feeling”, with the music being a representation of
this. This “feeling”, of course, came from the pain and strife of the African
slaves, taken from their homes and subjected to harsh conditions, being
forcibly stripped of their identities and cultures. Blues music was
something of a “compromise”, with the griots telling their trouble tales with
the banjo, said to be related to the African kora or xalam (Oliver, 2001).
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6.2. Mississippi Blues
The Deep South is seen as the birthplace of the blues, with Mississippi
generally considered as being the epicentre (Davis, 2003; Stolle, 2011;
Gioia, 2008). This early style of blues to come out of Mississippi was
known as Delta blues, the name coming from the Mississippi Delta near
where the music was said to originate. The first recorded examples of
Delta blues weren’t released until the late 20s but they are considered
one of the most influential styles of blues music (alongside the electric
blues of the 1950s). Although the main defining characteristic of blues
music as a whole is the twelve-tone system, Delta blues tends to stand
out with its use of instrumentation and lyrical content. The guitar,
“undisputed king of the Delta” (Gioia, 2008, p.5), was often played using a
bottleneck, a finger tube used in place of the fingers to alter the pitch and
vibration of the strings as the guitar is played. This didn’t always lead to
diverse melodies; at times, single chords would be used throughout
whole songs with only slight adjustments (Gioia, 2008). Examples of this
include Bobby Grant’s Nappy Head Blues, Barefoot Bill’s Snigglin’ Blues
and John Lee Hooker's Wednesday Evening Blues.
6.3. Muddy Waters
Arguably the most famous blues artist to come out of Mississippi was
Muddy Waters. He, and many other Delta blues musicians, took his style
to Chicago and created one of the second major movements within the
genre – Chicago or ”urban blues” (alongside the “Memphis blues”).
Moving cities and environments brought with it new opportunities and
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experiences, not least in the new types of instruments at their disposal.
The acoustic and steel guitars were replaced with electric guitars by the
40s and 50s, coinciding with the guitars being used in rhythm & blues
recordings of the time. Waters’ sexual lyricism was characteristic of most
electric bluesmen, which would later be replicated in rhythm and blues in
the 50s. One of Waters’ most significant impacts on blues and black
popular music was the grittiness of his sound. Before Jimi Hendrix was
experimenting with amplified guitar techniques, Waters added
amplification to his guitar, to the disdain to an English critic who “spent
the last half of the concert in the men’s room, where the sound seemed a
little less shrill” (Keil, 1969, p.36). However, his appeal would soon be
revived when he returned to England years later.
6.4. White appropriation and the blues revival
Dr. E. M. von Hornbostel (1928) claimed that African and “modern” (for
1928) European music were constructed on “entirely different principles”
and therefore couldn’t be combined into one. However, Keil (1966, p.30),
more specifically, refuted this by saying West African music and
European folk music was “enough alike to blend easily in a seemingly
infinite array of hybrids”. With the advantage of hindsight, it is clear that
African and European music had been blended together to great effect,
even before von Hornbostel’s comments. However, this homogenisation
led to cultural controversy in the form of white appropriation. The criticism
at so-called “white appropriation” of blues music was targeted at the idea
of white privilege, social advantages experienced by white people based
on their race (Case, 2012). Where the problems lied was in the lack of
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social advantages black people were given from which blues were born.
By performing this style of lyrically painful music from a privileged section
of society, it was deemed unacceptable by many blacks within the blues
community for whites to perform the blues at all. Daley furthered this by
arguing that the blues revival of the 60s in England was based on
stereotyped notions of black culture, or “colonization of black music”
(Daley, 2003, p.161). Such was the strength of criticism from black
musicians that jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason said, “the blues is black man’s
music and whites diminish it at best or steal it at worst” (Rudinow, 1994,
p.127). It seemed implausible for black blues musicians, who had been
treated with such racial contempt, to have their music played by white
musicians from an area of hurt that they could never come close to
feeling. Goldman had implied that the white youth had wanted a culture of
their own, a more carefree culture compared to the strict responsible
nature of “being white”, and somehow related to the blues (Goldman,
1969, p.D25). However, this was a view of black culture from a privileged
background, unaware of the struggles going on underneath.
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7. Jazz
The decline of ragtime and progression into jazz wasn’t clear-cut. By the
end of World War I, jazz had become the new American popular music
genre for syncopation (Tucker and Jackson, 2001). But this move into
jazz was more of a terminological transition as opposed to a stylistic one;
up until the late 10s/early 20s, jazz was known for its sexual
connotations. It came from the words “jasm” and “jass”, the latter of which
was patois for “vigorous activity”, especially sexual intercourse. Amongst
certain jazz circles, this term has been a source of contention that still
rages on to the present day. Although jazz took over from ragtime in
around 1917, tremors of the musical paradigm shift could be felt from the
end of the 19th century in New Orleans thanks to Buddy Bolden, an
African-American cornet player. Bolden was known for his “powerful and
unique sound” within the annals of ragtime and blues and it was those
bluesy/ragtime-inspired improvisations (Floyd, 1995, p.184-185) that
created the foundations of New Orleans jazz. Notably, Bolden was never
actually recorded, coinciding with his elusive and enigmatic life. In fact, it
wasn’t until 1933 that his music appeared in print (Gioia, 1997). At the
start of Bolden’s career during the 1890s, quadrilles and marches were
the main sound of New Orleans but Bolden and his group implemented
more syncopation in their performances. The “ragged and raucous” music
didn’t cater to the Creole players of the time but the local black
community embraced the rebellious style and Bolden used this to his
advantage, pushing more boundaries (Gioia, 1997, p.35). His life and
legacy didn’t last much longer, however, and he died in 1931 from
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cerebral arteriosclerosis.
Bolden laid down the foundations for jazz as a differentiation from its
precursor, ragtime. He wasn’t alone in doing so, however, as composers
both black and white, had been experimenting with syncopation around
the time Bolden was rebelling against the musical standards (Gioia,
1997). From Bolden’s innovative work came more artists, with New
Orleans becoming the epicentre of what we now call “jazz”; artists like
Jelly Roll Morton (who falsely attributed himself as the inventor of jazz)
and Louis Armstrong were the biggest practitioners of this new concept of
New Orleans jazz. The former was one of the main composers to
implement a new jazzy syncopation in drumming, moving away from the
duple and triple metres of ragtime (Tucker and Jackson, 2001) In the late
1910s, the Original Dixieland Jass Band was formed and became the first
jazz band to be recorded. In doing so, they were highly influential in
making jazz a commercial genre.
7.1. From The Jazz Age to bebop
The black men may have dominated the instrumental and compositional
aspects of jazz but there were plenty of women involved within the
vocals, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday, all
former gospel singers who took their use of melisma and blues tones into
the sounds and syncopations of jazz.
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The 1920s became known as the Jazz Age, where the soloists became
more prominent. During this time, Louis Armstrong led his band The Hot
Five, originally consisting of his wife, Lil Hardin Armstrong, on piano, Kid
Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet and Johnny St. Cyr on guitar
and banjo. The key to their success and Armstrong’s status within jazz
was his ability to improvise as well as implementing the use of “scatting”.
A jazz diaspora from New Orleans to Harlem took place in the late 1910s
and by the 1920s, it sparked was to be known as the Harlem
Renaissance. The name denoted the rebirth of black consciousness that
took place for nearly one and a half decades in the area. Initially, ragtime
was the music of choices but due to their poor quality, of little likening to
Joplin et al (Gioia, 1997), but eventually a technique known as the
Harlem Stride Piano crept into the repertoire of jazz musicians. The
concept behind the stride piano involved the left hand playing out four
beats, switching between a single note or interval on the first and third
beats, and a chord on the second and fourth beats (Carmichael, 2001,
p.4). This way of playing took a great deal skill and helped to develop the
genre whilst giving Harlem its own distinctive style. Soon, the emergence
of big bands and “swing” music of the 30s took hold, thanks to the likes of
Duke Ellington. However, big band became synonymous with white
musicians towards the late 30s, into wartime America, as it became the
music most associated with World War II in the US (Glenn Miller being
the most famous, both for his big band exploits and his disappearance in
action).
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European music had always played some part in the development of jazz,
but never as fundamental as in post-war jazz. Bebop was introduced in
the 40s, pioneered by saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, Thelonius Monk
and Dizzy Gillespie amongst others, which soon developed into hard bop
and eventually free jazz or “avant garde”.
7.2. Miles Davis and modal jazz
By the 50s, jazz was in its fifth decade of existence and had already gone
through a myriad of changes. One of the trendsetters of the current
period was Miles Davis. By the late 50s, he had already achieved
success with Birth Of The Cool, ‘Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead and
Milestones. His style had gone from cool jazz, typified by laid-back
rhythms and generally softer melodies in stark contrast to bebop and its
post-war variants, back to hard bop before experimenting with modal
jazz. Up until the 50s, jazz had generally been played through chord
progressions and scales but Miles began using modes to dictate the
harmonic and melodic progressions in his compositions, starting on
Milestones. John Coltrane was the other major advocate of this style,
moving it further with Eastern influences and increased dissonance, on
albums like Om. This style became known as modal jazz. In 1959, Miles
Davis released Kind Of Blue, now seen as the epitome of modal jazz and
one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded. So What was the most
famous composition from the album, made up of 16 bars in D minor, 8 in
E-flat major and finally 8 more in D minor again. Austin and Størmer
made an interesting observation that the opening melody of the bass and
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the horns acted in a similar way to call and response (Austin, Størmer,
2008). “All Blues” featured an early example of “vamping”, which would
later become a significant element of funk music (Austin, Størmer, 2008).
Jazz has been the subject of racial tension from the days when critics
described it as “devil music” to the exploitation of black jazz musicians by
white promoters, according to Miles Davis (Davis, 1990). Musicians,
critics and listeners alike marvelled at the way these black musicians
composed jazz, with the unique forms of syncopation, improvisation,
dissonance and, later, completely different harmonic structures. This
perpetuated the notion of some kind of “innate ability”, but this was far
from the truth. Black jazz musicians had to work twice as hard to be
heard, some at the cost of their racial integrity and financial strain.
Studying in between working job was paramount; after all, you couldn’t
make up jazz music from thin air. Many of jazz’s finest composers went
over to Europe to evade racial discrimination and criticism for their craft
and were surprised at the unwavering reception they received. Their
attitudes were that of awe and wonder as opposed to scorn for
dismantling classical music in the eyes of the white Americans, but they
appreciate the craft and embraced what they heard. If negro spirituals
and the blues were representative of the black struggle post-Abolition,
jazz was an attempt to pull musicians onto a new plateau of selfexpression, the precursor for bigger and better things.
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8. Rhythm & Blues
Rhythm & Blues (or known colloquially as R&B) was a term introduced in
1949 by Billboard Magazine to replace “Race Records” (Floyd, 1995).
Previously, the term “Race Records” had been used as a marketing tool
but had later been deemed “unacceptable” after the war. This move may
seem like a departure from a racial definition but as Brackett (2003,
p.128) commented, rhythm and blues (alongside “mainstream popular
music” and “crossover”) was a conventional label “used by those who
make, consume, and profit from popular music in the United States”.
According to Ellison (1989, p.4), R&B was seen as a “jazzed up” version
of the blues and gained a “great hold on the public imagination”. Some of
the most notable musicians of the early R&B era included Louis Jordan,
Chuck Berry and Little Richard, who had also been influential in
preceding genres such as (jump) blues and would go on to mould the
sound of rock ‘n’ roll. Picking up from where the Chicago blues of the
1940s left off, the electric guitar became a prominent instrument in the
movement. Jazz also lent its style to the genre, with an emphasis on its
use of the saxophone. Examples of this included Ruth Brown’s R&B
Blues, which featured a “one-chorus tenor saxophone solo” (Floyd, 1995,
p.177), Illinois Jacquet and Big Jay McNeely, who were also proponents
of the technique (Grove Music, 2013). R&B’s first heyday was during the
1950s, when it became synonymous with rock ‘n’ roll, thanks to Little
Richard and Chuck Berry who emerged as the main black rock ‘n’ roll
artists of the mid-50s (Floyd, 1995, p.177). Floyd also noted Berry’s
message during this time as being “essentially African” but “tempered by
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a pop and country oriented delivery” (Floyd, 1995, p.178). This could be
an example of the homogenising of genres, both black and white, during
this time. Country music was a predominately white genre and by this
time and most pop musicians who were defined as being “pop” were also
white. While Berry was amalgamating music on the stylistic front, Little
Richard was blurring the racial and cultural lines, with his own brand of
Call-Response. His biggest hits came in 1956 in the forms of “Long Tall
Sally” and “Tutti Frutti”, which made a huge impact on 1950s youth
culture (Floyd, 1995). Thanks to these two influential musicians, a genre
that had previously been characterised by race – specifically, the black
race – now had a more balanced identity comprising of both black and
white musicians.
8.1. Segregation and Ray Charles
One of the most popular R&B performers of the 50s and early 60s was
Ray Charles. During his years with Atlantic Records, he scored a number
of hits including “Mess Around”, “I Got A Woman”, “Georgia On My Mind”
and "What'd I Say". His unique integration of multiple genres, both “black”
and “white-perceived” (country and pop) music made him a crossover
star. But this success, during a period of racial upheaval in the US, often
left him in conflicts between both the black and white communities.
Turkish-born businessman Ahmet Ertegün signed Ray Charles to his
label Atlantic Records in 1953. Ertegün had started the label with his
friend Herb Abramson in 1947, looking to showcase jazz and R&B. It
wasn’t until the 50s that they began to achieve success, much of it owed
to Charles himself. Charles’ secularisation of his gospel roots provided
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R&B with a new flavour. His reworking of “This Little Light Of Mine” into
“This Little Girl Of Mine” retained the repetitive eight-bar structure, moving
R&B’s borrowed twelve-tone structure and expanding its repertoire
(Maultsby, 1999). However, he wasn’t alone in this secularisation. Artists
like Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield had also started out
as gospel singers (Ward, 1998) and soon a new name had been coined
for this religious infusion – soul. The sexual undertones mixed with his
vibrant gospel music were a treat for the music industry but Ray Charles’
soul was seen as blasphemous amongst the religious communities of
America. But his intentions were far from blasphemous. The incorporation
of gospel in to his bluesy work was his way of coming out of the shadows
of his mentors and predecessors, people he had previously tried to
emulate (Ward, 1998). Jim Crow was in full effect during the 50s and 60s,
which meant black and white audiences were separated during
performances, much to the dismay of black performers. Charles was one
of the first to reject gigs under these laws and in 1962, he was fined for
not performing at a date in Augusta, Georgia (Ward, 1998) and he was
later banned from performing in the state, until the ban was lifted after the
passing of the Civil Rights Act. Charles was joined by the likes of The
Beatles, who also refused to play in front of segregated audiences during
the mid 60s (BBC, 2011).
There had been moments of commercialism in jazz but they never
reached the heights of rhythm and blues. One of the fundamental
differences was purveyors of R&B wanted to alleviate racial issues;
Chuck Berry didn’t want his music to be purely for blacks and aimed to
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blur the segregated lines by incorporating country into his sound, whilst
still retaining the African roots. Ray Charles did the same but took it a
step further by also secularising the religious content. This only angered
the black congregation and the whites that campaigned for segregation
but the blockades didn’t stand for long. Nowadays, R&B is far removed
from its historical origins. Having been tarred with the “urban
contemporary” brush during the 80s and 90s, R&B embraced more of the
modern technology at its disposal, mixing styles with hip hop and
electronic music. Guitars no longer play an integral part to the
encompassing sound and most of the live acoustic rhythm has been
replaced with drum machines or software-powered percussion.
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9. Soul and funk
The early days of soul, ushered in by Sam Cooke and Ray Charles were
a secular form of gospel music, human love became the object of worship
(Goffman, 2010). Black people were starting to move away from the
church and God defining them and their actions in America and began
taking pride in their blackness. The term “soul” was a symbol of this
newfound confidence and their ability to show the oppressors of their race
that they no longer felt inferior (Small, 1998). Defining elements of soul
music included the use of gospel-like backing singers, their own use of
call and response (Ray Charles used this a lot with his backing singers,
The Raelettes), shouts and cries from gospel and blues and more vibrant
rhythms, more so than the ones used in R&B. Solomon Burke combined
not only gospel and R&B into his kind of soul but also country music, with
his cover of Patsy Cline’s Just out of Reach (of My Two Open Arms)
charting at #24 (Cline’s original didn’t) and rock music, which led him to
dub himself the “King of rock ‘n soul”. Charles, like Burke, also added
elements of country into his own music, both with ideas of closing the
racial gap through music. Soul was something of an amalgam of culture
and sound.
9.1. Motown
While Atlantic Records were making hits with R&B and jazz in the 50s, a
new record company from Detroit, Michigan was capitalising on this new
soul craze, allowing for further racial integration within popular music. In
1959, Berry Gordy founded Motown Records and throughout the 60s it
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became one of the most well known labels with an emphatic roster
including Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder
and Marvin Gaye. Soul embraced the energy of R&B and cultural
underpinnings of gospel with its secularisation. The 60s were a time of
adversity for black people in the US but also for a “rebirth” and
acceptance in society as the civil rights movement raged on.
Behind the success was a tightly run business. Gordy employed a set of
writers and musicians and controlled the output of every artist on the
label. Freedom of artists writing their own material was practically nonexistent during Motown’s heyday; this kind of behaviour led groups like
The Jackson 5 to leave the label as the level of their success began to
increase. Motown was also noted as being “the largest black owned
and black managed businesses in the country”, according to Black
Enterprise Magazine (Wright, 1974).
9.2. Black pride
Soul wasn’t just a social mode of self-appreciation for black people. It was
also the biggest platform for black women to push through their gospel,
blues and jazz roots and be heard on the same level as the men, both
black and white. A fundamental component used in this process was
emotion, as Collins (2003) explained when she gave Billie Holiday’s
powerfully moving rendition of Strange Fruit as an example of emotional
delivery “to render a trenchant social commentary” which inspired Aretha
Franklin’s proclamation for “respect” back in 1967. She also went onto
say that, like the black community as a whole, “the suppression of Black
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women’s efforts for self-definition in traditional sites of knowledge
production” had directed black women towards outlets such as music to
convey the black feminist conscious (Collins, 2003, p.48).
40 years after the Harlem Renaissance came another reawakening for
the black community. The 1960s saw a further rise in black pride, with
numerous collectives and groups forming to solidify the movement. In
1965, the Black Arts Movement (or BAM) was formed as the artistic arm
of the Black Power movement, headed by black scholar Amiri Baraka. He
wrote a study of Afro-American music called Blues People (Negro Music
in White America) in 1963 and an anthology of journalistic essays called
Black Music (both under the name LeRoi Jones) where he discussed jazz
music and its evolution (Baraka, 1968). In the former, every aspect of
black music categorised as “negro music” was analysed where Baraka
claimed the conformity of black population to the prevailing white ideals of
the US could be examined through their music.
9.3. James Brown and 70s funk
James Brown and his band The JBs provided the genre with its first icon
and remained popular until the late 70s, not before his career was revived
thanks to the emergence of hip hop and excessive sampling. The title of
Godfather of Funk, however, was bestowed onto George Clinton, the
forefather of P-Funk. If soul music was the sound of the 60s, funk was
certainly the sound of the 70s and onwards, influenced more by jazz than
anything else, with a strong rhythmic aura compared to soul. Thoughts of
God and worship were all but nonexistent although the elements of
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dancing harking back to the days of the African slave ring were still
strong. Funk did away with the emphasis on melody and elaborated on
the rhythmic section, although funk was influential in its use of “vamping”,
a musical technique where a particular chord or note was repeated. This
technique was also extended to the guitar, whereby the player would play
a ninth chord while playing sixteenth notes throughout a whole song. This
became colloquially known as “chicken grease”. Soon, more bands
began to perform funk music and the genre was developed into fusion
with jazz (thanks to Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder et al) and P-funk,
which had an emphasised backbeat and characteristic bass lines from
Bootsy (Bracket, 2001).
Soul music stands out as a genre that would really define what the term
“black music” would mean. Stylistically, its power lied in all of the
preceding black genres and culturally, it represented a victory for race
equality. But some disagreed with this notion. Mark Anthony Neal in his
essay Sold Out on Soul: The Corporate Annexation of Black Popular
Music argued that Berry Gordy and his Motown outfit “sold out” as the title
implied by institutionalising black popular music “as a viable and
profitable fixture across America’s popular landscape” and that he
impeded the expression within black culture even after the Civil Rights
movement (Neal, 1997, p.117). However, due to the power of white
people within the music industry and the audiences, it would have been
almost impossible for them to have not been involved. Perhaps the
sounds of Stax, with a roster comprising of Otis Redding and Isaac
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Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and his politically charged music with The
Impressions or James Brown’s mere existence on stage were “blacker” in
a musical and social context but the fact remained that soul music helped
the Civil Rights movement along and provided its soundtrack, just as funk
did for the blaxploitation era of the 1970s.
Of course, with all the preceding black music genres, soul music was
appropriated to cater for the white audience in the form of “blue eyed
soul”. One of the biggest names in this style of “white soul” was Dusty
Springfield, a singer from London. Initially a pop artist, she began singing
soul in the mid-60s and released Dusty In Memphis in 1969, an album of
pop and soul covers, having signed with Atlantic Records, the home of
Aretha Franklin. The appeal for blue–eyed soul continued to grow into the
70s and 80s, alongside northern soul, a brand of soul taken from the
Northern areas of England. Although northern soul was defined by a
geographical area (much like urban music), the towns and cities in which
it thrived were predominately white, as were the performers.
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10.
Hip Hop
The death of disco in the late 70s was the result of a growing displeasure
by musicians and rock fans; slogans like "disco sucks" brought with it
campaigns and even a record burning rally, known as Disco Demolition
Night, at Comiskey Park, Chicago in 1979 (Lawrence, 2011). A riot
ensued and the baseball game that was due to be played after the rally
had to be forfeited. But that didn’t stop those victimised from garnering
further success from disco to continue their careers from the genre’s
offshoots. Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, released in the same year as
the Disco Demolition Night, contained disco elements as well as R&B,
funk, soul and pop and went on to sell more than 20 million albums. But
possibly the biggest movement to come out of disco’s demise was
electro, which later became infused with music and culture from the black
and Latin communities of America to form hip hop.
10.1.
The origins of hip hop
The problem with disco was its paradoxically insular nature: the music
and the dancing took place in clubs, bars and designated “discos”, out of
reach for anyone under the age of 21 and yet had such a large gay
following, with musicians and fans of the culture very much “out and
proud”. Early hip hop music, on the other hand, catered for all ages and
occurred in the streets and in block parties, most notably in New York
City. The term “hip hop” has numerous origin stories with no official
account of who coined it first, although it is said to be between hip hop
emcee Busy Bee Starski, DJ Hollywood and pioneer Afrika Bambaataa
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(Smitherman, 1997). The overall term “hip hop” encompasses every
aspect of hip hop culture – breakdancing, graffiti, MCing (also known as
rapping, although they can be different), DJing and all the fashions and
language it as absorbed. Cobb described hip hop as having “black roots”
and being “literally a product of the African Diaspora”, black being a
reference to cultures derived from Africa (Cobb, 2007, p.7). But hip hop
wasn’t exclusively African or black. Many of its early innovators were of
Hispanic origin, such as DJ Disco Wiz, Rock Steady Crew and Charlie
Chase (Keyes, 1996, p.231) and later, groups like Cypress Hill achieved
commercial success in the 90s.
The music has since taken hold of the umbrella name due its commercial
success over the past couple of decades. Making do with what little they
had, the inhabitants of New York’s most impoverished areas would come
together for their love of music and art, forming the basis of hip hop. Each
decade had its own political soundtrack for the black population and hip
hop represented the sound of the 80s. Rappers, the root verb original
holding sexual connotations (Smitherman, 1997), echoing those of jazz,
were the political commentators of their community and their age, telling
the stories of the street for the voiceless. All the fundamental aspects of
hip hop culture had already existed in some form or another by the late
70s but it was the borrowing of Jamaican dancehall culture that
simultaneously helped the music and the culture early on (Miyakawa,
2012). DJ Kool Herc often spun with two turntables, each with records of
breakbeats he would seamlessly switch between while the “MC” would
speak over them, known in Jamaica as “toasting” (O’Brien Chang and
- 41 -
Chen, 1998). The MC’s role was to generate hype amongst the audience
with lyrical wordplay that would eventually grow and evolve over the
years. Groups like The Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and The
Furious Five took this further (the former prompted Crocker to refuse the
track airplay as described in Chapter 3).
10.2.
Turntablism
One of the most important roles within hip hop music was that of the DJ.
As the early style relied heavily on the use of turntables, the person
spinning the breaks had to be at his (or her) best. DJ Kool Herc was one
of the first to do this - Walter Gibbons, a disco DJ, was mixing disco and
funk breaks around the same time (Lawrence, 2008) - and the technique
quickly spread throughout New York until it was a staple part of
performances, with pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa
taking the trend into the rest of America and the world. Herc was
originally from Jamaica and was something of a veteran when it came to
sound systems and playing reggae. In the famous party at Sedgewick
Avenue in 1973, his first party in New York, he started playing the
soul/funk breaks. Hip hop as much of a cultural renaissance for the black
community as it was a musical one. By the 80s, technology was
incredibly sophisticated, with inventions like the Walkman, giving you the
ability to listen to your music on the go. Coupled with the rich history of
black popular music genres and labels now having to adapt to the new
sound to survive, hip hop had the tools to become one of the biggest
musical sensations in the post-war America.
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10.3.
The Message
As rappers became more sought after, the need for DJs to accompany
them began to dwindle. Record companies realised they only needed the
rapping, which could go over any kind of music they wanted. For all its
fame and influence, Rapper’s Delight used a house band instead of a DJ,
allowing the rappers to take centre stage. This lead to members of the hip
hop community to dismiss the track for not being truly representative of
the culture on the streets, due to a lack of one of its crucial elements
(Miyakawa, 2012).
The concept of rapping was steeped in African tradition and always
existed in some form with an emphasis on the art of storytelling. Slaves
and blues singers had their own message and so did rappers, all playing
their role in the socio-political climate of the black community during the
70s and 80s. Gang warfare and gentrification was rife in black urban
areas and continued to fuel the lyricism. The mid-to-late 80s saw a rise in
“hardcore hip hop”, stripping away the funky breaks and replacing them
with harsh lyrics and themes of sex, violence and drugs. It wasn’t until the
turn of the decade that a powerful contrast reared its head with the Native
Tongues collective, comprising primarily of groups A Tribe Called Quest,
Jungle Brothers, De La Soul. Their afrocentric themes made them a close
fit with the Zulu Nation. They also relied heavily on jazz sampling as
opposed to the drum machines sounds and electro of the 80s.
With every new genre comes an initial difficulty in comprehension, none
more than hip hop. After rock music’s “victory” over disco, the emergence
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and growing success of this new musical movement was a sensation for
anyone outside of New York. When Rapper’s Delight was released in
1979, Billboard reporter Jean Williams erroneously claimed the Sugarhill
Gang were from Los Angeles instead of New Jersey, which compounded
the disapproving look from hip hop insiders even further, as the group
weren’t from hip hop’s designated birth place (Harrison and Arthur, 2011,
p.315). Another error came when Kurtis Blow was mistakenly called a
“Philadelphia-based rapper” when in fact, he hailed from New York
(Harrison and Arthur, 2011, p.315). These two misattributions may have
done little for the hip hop community within New York in the way of
perceiving acceptance with their music. Harrison and Arthur later
explained another article discussing hip hop’s appeal overseas and within
the “cosmopolitan” areas of urban America, seemingly turning the genre
from that of resistance to a fashion accessory for the affluent (Harrison
and Arthur, 2011, pp.315-316). From what had started as the very people
who were causing the oppression in the first place had transformed a
movement away from the clutches of oppression and stifling conditions
into a financial commodity.
10.4.
Black On Both Sides – an analysis
The unspoken – somewhat ironically - inspiration from the African griots
in the rhetoric of modern day rappers was particularly prevalent in Mos
Def’s debut album Black On Both Sides. Released in 1999, it stood out
amongst the burgeoning era of more “commercial” hip hop and
materialistic lyricism from Jay-Z and Eminem. What makes Black On Both
Sides so different is how rich the content is in black music pedagogy in a
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culture of bravado and excess. These kinds of albums weren’t
necessarily new and already had a term attached to them: “conscious
rap”. Much like “urban music”, conscious rap is generalised phrase to
denote rap with a socio-political agenda, with more emphasis on the
collective rather than the individual (Kitwana, 1994, p.32). Conversely, the
“gangsta rap” of the 90s was seen as the corrupted form, commercialised
and taken away from its roots. But as Saddik argued, this would lead to
the assumption that hip hop existed as a pure art form (Saddik, 2003,
p.113).
Mos Def addressed this binary construct within hip hop as well as black
music roots and their appropriation within his lyrics. From the offset, on
“Fear Not Of Man”, Mos Def discusses hip hop in a metaphorical sense.
People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin’ in the hillside
Comin’ down to visit the townspeople
We are Hip-Hop
Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop
So Hip-Hop is goin’ where we goin’
So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is goin’
Ask yourself… where am I goin’? How am I doin’?
Hip hop, in his eyes, isn’t a metaphorical giant but instead a way of life
and being and in talks of cultural corruption of the genre, he asks people
to ask themselves what they are doing to change it. The track also
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samples Fela Kuti, an African musician who was also a member of the
Black Panthers. On tracks like “Hip Hop”, he raps about his writing
process, from a place of “restlessness” saying “it’s hard to really chill and
sit still” (Mos Def, 1999). As the song goes on, he later expresses relief at
the ability to articulate himself in a more comfortable setting, from
speaking “the king’s English” to “now my chat just like dis” (Mos Def,
1999). This exhibits the contrast of what is perceived within the black
music community as the “white voice” and the “black voice”. On “Rock N
Roll”, Mos Def questions the true “ownership” of genres derived from rock
‘n’ roll.
I said, Elvis Presley ain't got no soul (huh)
Chuck Berry is rock and roll (damn right)
You may dig on the Rolling Stones
But they ain't come up with that style on they own (uh-uh)
Here, he acknowledges the appropriation of black music by Elvis Presley
(an artist who had been the subject of an attack by Public Enemy in the
lyrics “Elvis was a hero to most/But he never meant shit to me you
see/Straight up racist that sucker was/Simple and plain” ten years
previously) (Public Enemy, 1989) and instead attributed rock ‘n’ roll to
Chuck Berry. He also infers that the Rolling Stone’s sound wasn’t original.
- 46 -
11. Technology
A key area in the progression of “black music” was through the use of
technology. From as early as the 50’s, electric pianos were used in jazz
compositions before the “jazz fusion” genre came into play. For example,
Duke Ellington used a Wurlitzer during a performance in 1955 (ABC Jazz,
2012) and Sun Ra used an electric piano extensively on his album SuperSonic Jazz back in 1956. This lead the way for Ray Charles and his hit
song What’d I Say, where Charles also used the Wurlitzer electric piano.
Artists such as Jimi Hendrix played a role in the way instruments were
used after his death in 1970. His flamboyant performances on the guitar,
sometimes playing with his teeth, use of amplifier feedback and
experiments with phasing pushed rock music out of the conventional
pockets of 50s and 60s rock ‘n’ roll. Amongst the technological advances
within instruments, there was also new improvement in the way sound
was recorded and released. The introduction of long playing albums, or
LPs, extended the limited amount of time music could be recorded on to
vinyl from their 78-bpm counterparts, allowing artists like Miles Davis to
create ambitiously long jazz compositions for release and multiple takes
(Austin, Størmer, 2008, p.4). Magnetic tape technology also became
more developed, which gave the impetus for musicians to add extra
nuances that were previously inexplicable on older jazz recordings
(Austin, Størmer, 2008, p.4). At the same time, Herbie Hancock broke out
of jazz conventions during the 1970s with his polyrhythmic jazz funk
albums Headhunters, Thrust and Man-Child. While many of the other jazz
musicians to dabble in jazz-fusion incorporated more rock elements,
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Hancock went down the funk route. Hancock’s use of synthesizers
continued into the 1980s and he reached his commercial peak with the
album Future Shock. The album was notable for its use of turntablism
and scratching, provided by Grand Mixer DXT. It was DXT who inspired a
new generation of DJs to implement scratching as a rhythmic tool. Herbie
was also a regular user of synthesizers in his work, a trait that worked
well amongst the backdrop of synth-based music of the 80s in multiple
genres, but particularly funk, electro and hip hop.
11.1.
Sampling and drum machines
The introduction of sampling into black popular music began with the
turntable mixing of the 70s, exhibited by Kool Herc and company. In
1982, the Fairlight CMI, the first polyphonic sampling synthesizer, was
released. E-mu Systems entered the sampling game in the 80s with their
Emulator series, again embraced by Hancock and Wonder but the major
use of samplers were in hip hop towards the mid-to-late 80s. The first
sampler championed by producers was the Emu SP-1200, used in the
“golden age” era of hip hop between 1986 and 1989 and in the second
golden age of the 90s. The 1200 was known for its gritty sound quality,
due to its low sampling rate (half that of a compact disc). This gave it the
ability to mimic the audio texture of vinyl records and helped maintain the
style of using vinyl, harking back to the early hip hop days.
But there were other motives for sampling technology. Particularly for
those who couldn’t play instruments, it was an opportunity for producers
to use their favourite drum breaks and bass lines in compositions or
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interpolate them to sound how they wanted without the need of formal
musical training. For black music, sampling could be seen as a
technological form of storytelling, where the person sampling would be
the “digital griot”. Drum machines were introduced in the early 80s, with
the Linn LM-1 being the first drum machine to use digital samples. Roger
Linn, the inventor of this machine, later helped Japanese manufacturers
Akai in creating the MPC60 (Music Production Center). Emu’s SP-1200
competed alongside the MPCs but the latter soon became the “industry
standard” with each new iteration. As time went on, the concept of drum
machines and samplers became less detached as producers began to
sample drum hits from records instead of using the default drum sounds
from their machines. The advantage of using these drum machines within
compositions was in it’s precise metering with quantization of drum hits
and the implementation of swing. However, as styles evolved, particularly
within hip hop, some producers began to use quantization less.
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12. Present Day
The rich history in the subject of black music leads to an important
question for the present day: “Is the term still used?”. The answer to this
appears to be yes, although not everywhere, not by everybody and not in
all contexts. Black music scholars will always use the term because it
holds a gravitas within academia because of the term’s historical
heritage. In the US, the terms “urban contemporary” and “AfricanAmerican music” have generally replaced “black music” amongst the
people and media publications, but the story is different in Europe.
Reporting for blog The Root, Cord Jefferson explained his shock at
seeing a photo of a ”black music” section in a German music shop,
particularly because groups featuring white musicians also featured on
the shelves. He claimed that “the picture raised questions about racial
politics and the reach of history”, but the most important question was “if
three white Jewish guys [Beastie Boys] making speed-punk can fit under
the umbrella of ‘black music’, then isn't that umbrella too big?” (Jefferson,
2009). As expressed throughout the previous chapters, “black music” as
a moniker for stylistic innovation has been used as a marketing tool for
decades. Embedded within that is the implicit notion of natural talent or a
“natural rhythm”, which some white musicians have appropriated, Eric
Clapton’s racial diatribe about Jimi Hendrix being a classic example.
In 1996, the Music Of Black Origin Awards (or MOBOs for short) were
established Kanya King MBE to “recognise the outstanding achievements
of artists who perform music in genres ranging from Gospel, Jazz, RnB,
Soul, Reggae to Hip Hop”. Since inception, the MOBOs have been the
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most influential movement for black music heritage in Britain, a place that
doesn’t have the same sort of historical longevity in the subject.
Nevertheless, over the past few years, with many white musicians
received nominations and going on to win awards, questions have been
asked about the name “Music Of Black Origin” if a white artist can win it.
Interestingly, on the MOBO website, the terms “urban music” and “black
music” are used together but in slightly different contexts: MOBO being
“Europe’s leading urban music brand” while it has also “played an
instrumental role in elevating black music and culture to mainstream
popular status in the UK”. The term black music is only used once on the
website in relation to its status in the UK while “urban music” is used
seven times, to describe its reputation in Europe and the rest of the world,
which may appease some of those questioning the brand’s multiracial
contradictions.
A genre currently under racial scrutiny by some black musicians is jazz.
In 2000, a jazz trumpeter called Nicholas Payton went on a lengthy but
scattered poetic rant on his blog about “why jazz wasn’t cool anymore”.
One of the key points he discussed was how jazz had died in 1959 and it
was now just a marketing ploy. Just last year, pianist Orrin Evans no
longer described his music as jazz but instead “Black American Music”.
He had featured at a Black American Music conference and while his
input was minimal, the general tone of the event was that of jazz being a
racist term. Willard Jenkins went a step further by concluding that there
was still an issue of racism within jazz (Jenkins, 2003). Unfortunately, the
stigma towards the word and the racism imposed upon both the name
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and genre wasn’t misguided. Jazz did not have a good reputation
amongst white critics as they deemed it plagiarism and mutilation of
classical white composers (Anderson, 2004, p.135) but this has since
changed as more white jazz composers became prominent within the
genre. In the early days, jazz was often called “devil music”, possibly
attributed to the deep-seated links with classical music and religious
context (consonance relating to God, dissonance to the devil). In spite of
this, African American music, has come to represent liberation, emotional
depth, and sensuality (Monson, 1995, p.405).
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13. Conclusion

Should the term “black music” be used within the music
industry today?
A distinction between the “black music” within the music industry and
what society sees and hears and the academic study of black music
needs to be set. Because of the way they are both addressed and
exhibited, they both tell different stories. The Big Three, the collective
term of the three biggest music businesses in the industry, are all headed
by white men and by association; they are in control of most of the music
identified as “urban mainstream music”. In contrast, those who write
about black music academically are predominately black musicologists
within specified black music research units like the ones in Chicago and
London. As Wilson explained, black American music has influences from
many non-black traditions which makes a term like “black music” difficult
to use and to pinpoint the significant black traditions that would sanctify
the phrase (Wilson, 1983, p.2). Wherever a case for the terms usage
appears, a counterargument arises in favour of non-black influence.
There has been a common theme of rising from oppression, acclaim for
innovation and appropriation via commercialism and misinterpretation
throughout the history of black music, by which time certain crazes are
left with the non-black audience while the black musicians find new
musical pastures to grace. It seems that whenever these black popular
music genres have reached their peak, a non-black music executive, who
has the power to change things to suit a particular audience, has helped it
along. This comes at a cost to whatever “blackness” the music may hold
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and thus begins to negate the term “black music”. Even when Berry
Gordy, a successful black businessman, made Motown one of the biggest
labels the world has ever known, he was accused of selling out to the
white man in the name of money (Neal, 1997, p.117) by ways of making
pop and nullifying the expression of black culture. With music of black
origin evolving rapidly over time and being embraced by other cultures,
the umbrella term it has been living under begins to lose its meaning in
the industry.
o When did the term first come into general use?
Finding the first use of “black music” proved difficult. The earliest use
found was in 1928 by E. M. von Hornbostel (von Hornbostel, 1928) but
that was briefly in relation to Negro music. Terms more commonly used
were negro music, race records, Afro-American music and AfricanAmerican music.
o What makes “black music” black?
The social progression of black people from the mid-to-late 19th century to
the present day has given the world a remarkable view into cultures
obscured by the oppressive nature of the colonial elite. One of the most
significant areas where black people have excelled from segregation to
social inclusion is through the discipline of music. One of the fundamental
issues faced by black people has been racism. Implicitly, black musicians
were made to perform in ways white executives deemed “black”, a view
heavily skewed by their stereotypical ideals, or that would cater to the
white audience at the time, both for financial and social motives.
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Explicitly, blacks were separated from participation in many white music
halls, whether they were performing or watching from the audience. It
would seem almost impossible, therefore, to suggest a type of music
could be defined by just one race in this manner due to the forcible nature
of another. This, however, does not imply that a mix at the hands of
selfish white businessmen was the most significant part of black music
development. It was through those times of struggle that black musicians
overcame this silent oppression by continuing to add musical and cultural
elements that were “forbidden” – African religious context within Negro
spirituals, heavy dissonance in ragtime, the painful lyricism of the blues
and the strong melismatic nature of gospel were just some of the ways in
which blacks made their own unique mark on a culture that had been
dominated in the West by primarily white Europeans until the 20th century.
The Harlem Renaissance of the late 1920s was the first example of a
“forward-looking optimism and deeply felt community pride” amongst
black people (Gioia, 1997, p.93) and produced some of the greatest
musicians of its time who would go on to shape many more genres, both
of black and non-black origins. Kopano (2002) posed an interesting idea
when he claimed that blacks used sounds different to those of their
oppressors by tapping into a black rhetorical and cultural tradition to
facilitate this resistance (Kopano, 2002) and by doing so, provided a
basis for the sanctification of the term “black music”.
However, black musicians within the realms of so-called “non-black
music” cannot be ignored. To typecast a whole race by one type of music,
however it may be defined, is a form of segregation in itself. To most
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people, heavy metal would not be deemed a black music genre but there
are a number of black musicians who helped to mould its sound,
including Jimi Hendrix, George Clinton and Living Colour, the first
mainstream all-black heavy metal group. Are those musicians enough to
quantify a change in the historical perception of heavy metal? The
historical integrity of the genres and musicians that have been placed
under the black music umbrella term should not be ignored but neither
should the movements away from it.
o Can non-black musicians perform “black music”?
Non-black musicians can and have performed black music for decades,
but of course, any perceptions of innate characteristics cannot be
replicated by these performers. For example, the lyricism and context
from blues music was portrayed from a direct point of view expressed by
the bluesmen. This same feeling could never been conveyed by white
musicians as they were never subjected to the same racial discrimination.
Instead, their lyrics were of different troubles. The white influence on
black music has been both damaging and constructive but still existent. A
noticeable binary shift was also apparent within the early stages of black
music development. It was well known that white musicians would
perform in blackface (Al Jolson, William H. West, George Washington
Dixon) but coupled with the forcible nature of black musicians being made
to “sound white” both in playing style and vocal style, it would seem that
the racial roles had been reversed, but paradoxically, to the advantage of
the white performer as they were in charge of “being black” for the
audience and have their voice/playing style performed by black musicians
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as well as themselves. To the contrary, there is also a case for black
musicians who perform music perceived as being “non-black”. Despite
the black innovators within rock music and its roots within blues, rhythm
and blues and gospel music rock music is seen as a “white” genre. In
fact, even within a “black music” genre, black musicians would sometimes
perform in ways to cater white audiences (Ferris, Jr., 1970). By attaching
such a specific term to a style of music seems counterproductive and
stagnating. The two biggest black musicians in genres not immediately
associated with black performers – Jimi Hendrix and Charley Pride – both
experienced the hostility of racism but nevertheless became influential
artists in their respective fields. Hendrix was born in Washington, to
African American and Cherokee parentage, both marginalised ethnicities
in America during his childhood and subsequent career while Pride came
from the homeland of ragtime, Mississippi. However, despite it all, they
found success in music perceived to be “white”. In the conversation of
black music, Hendrix is often mentioned as a musician who bridged the
gap, stylistically and racially and because of his roots in rhythm and blues
and electric blues, this helped keep him in the discussion. However,
Charley Pride, the most successful black musician in country music rarely
gets a significant voice in the black music exegesis and this seems
particularly puzzling. If Jimi Hendrix could make a name for himself in the
white-driven world of rock music, why couldn’t Charley Pride for country?
In his Open Letter, Tagg went as far as considering his omission in
discussion of the term “Afro-American music”, which he seemingly
contradicted when he later said “[…] reading between the lines of what
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frequently seems to be implied by ‘black’ or ‘Afro-American’, we might
find ourselves concentrating on black US-Americans living in the South”
(Tagg, 1988, p.5). If there is to be more improved critical analysis of black
music in the current day, areas such as Pride’s success in country music,
the roads it helped open for modern-day black country singers like Darius
Rucker and bands like Living Colour in hard rock need to be looked at in
more depth.
o What genres are regarded as “black music” genres?
The main black music genres are indentified as Negro spirituals, ragtime,
blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and hip hop. While disco had
deep roots within the black community as well as the genre’s biggest
musicians, there were also fundamental influences from the Latin and
white communities.
o Are there any notable non-black musicians mentioned
within genres of “black music”?
There are many non-black musicians within the above genres except
Negro spirituals. The self-proclaimed father of ragtime, Ben Harney, was
white, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Seasick Steve were two examples of
white bluesmen, Bix Beiderbecke, Bill Evans, Chet Baker and Dave
Brubeck were some of the most influential white jazz musicians.
o What has the industry’s role been in reinforcing the use of
the term?
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The industry has used many different names in the past to describe the
same thing, as discussed in Chapter 3, mostly in the US. Black music has
been more prominently used amongst scholars for academic purposes
while “black music” is used in tandem with “urban music” in Europe
(mentioned in Chapter 12).
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14. Black vocal survey
A survey was conducted to see whether a singer’s race could identified
purely from the sound of their voice. A total of ten participants took part in
the survey, each listening to small 30-second clips and asked to identify
what race they thought the singer was and why. They were also asked
what they perceived “black music” to be and whether they thought the
term should be used in industry today.
From the data obtained, the following results were found:

40% of the participants were between 18-25, 40% were 26-35 and
the remaining 20% were 36 or over

60% were of White ethnicity, 20% Black, 10% Asian and 10%
Mixed Black and White

Around 90% classified black music as “music of black origin” or
“music created by black people”

For the first track, 70% correctly identified the singer as white,
while 20% could not distinguish the voice and 10% thought the
singer was black. One of the main reasons for guessing “white”
was a likeness to Sinatra. They also remarked on a “black” vocal
style due to the timbre.

For the second track, 80% incorrectly identified the singer as
black, while the remaining 20% could not distinguish the voice.
The main reasons for guessing “black” was due more to the style
of music (“Motown-y”, “soul” and “funk” were mentioned) than the
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vocals, although one person remarked upon the singer’s timbre
and “husky” voice.

For the third track, 80% incorrectly identified the singer as white,
10% could not distinguish the voice and 10% correctly guessed the
singer was black. The main reason for guessing “white” was
because of the style of music (country). One person, however,
guessed “black” because of the vocal timbre.

When asked if the term “black music” should still be used in the
industry today, most people said no due to a difficultly in
categorisation and the breadth of music.
Overall, it can be surmised from these results that there may be a
perceived idea of what a “black vocal style” is. Only the first singer, a
white man, was correctly identified as white, possibly because jazz music
is no longer seen as a “black genre”. Interestingly, that was the only track
that was analysed by the participants for vocals alone. The remaining two
were incorrectly identified because of the style of music not immediately
associated with their corresponding races (soul/funk not synonymous with
white and country to black). However, these opinions may be based on
socially influenced ideals as opposed to an innate ability to classify vocal
characteristics purely from sound. As a small example, this is a helpful
indicator but more research would be needed to prove anything
substantial.
(12,769 words)
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Contextual Study

Introduction
o Formulating research questions and sources
The idea behind the research question for this dissertation was conceived
in the first year of the course, when I wrote about a similar topic. The
research material had to be cut down and I felt there was more to
explore. Initially, the question was “Can the term ‘black music’ still be
used in the industry?” but this was changed to “Should”, as upon further
study, the term was still being used on a smaller scale and I wanted to
question whether it should continue. The overall purpose was to identify
significant definitions of the term “black music” as a way to classify a
branch of music and conclude whether it should continue existing within
the music industry.
Having already written about the subject before, I retained the material
and bibliography from my previous paper. The research from that came
primarily from academic literature but surveys and focus groups were
also carried out to gather public opinion. For this dissertation, I added
journal articles, magazine articles and relevant blog articles as well as a
unique listening survey where participants were required to guess the
race of the singer just from the vocals and give reasons for their answer.
This was to determine whether there was an inherent “blackness” in a
voice or it was a misconception.
The first item to discuss was a general definition of “black music” for the
purposes of discussing it in the dissertation. I decided to look into the
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genres that had stemmed from the late 19th century when slaves were
being set free to the present day. From there, I looked into historical,
political and cultural aspects to substantiate this. There were a number of
scholars (Oliver, 1990; Wilson, 1983; Frith, 2007) who agreed that the
origins of black music derived primarily from Africa but use of the term
“black music” would have been incorrect. Oliver stated that “there is no
entity that is ‘Black music’” and that there is no sole definition (Oliver,
1990, p.127) which McRobbie echoed this sentiment, saying “the older
ways of making sense of music by placing different styles into different
categories, or by talking about white or black music as thought they are
quite distinct, are equally inappropriate” (McRobbie, 1999, p.133). De
Lerma held a black music conference and surmised with his peers that
black music as a discipline within education was lacking and the term was
too restrictive, as there were elements of European music within the
Africans trends (De Lerma, 1970). There were also misconceptions within
the black music traditions. For example, claims that black music had
“emerged from transpositions of African drumming practices” were false,
according to historical records, where examples of drumming in North
America were rare and surviving material evidence was negligible
(Radano, 2003, p.101).
o Linked theory
I found a number of academic sources looking at the concept of the term
“black music” and associated genres. The most notable were David
Brackett’s What A Difference A Name Makes (2003) and Questions of
Genre in Black Popular Music (2005), Olly Wilson’s Black Music As An
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Art Form (1983) and Philip Tagg’s Open Letter about ‘Black Music’, ‘AfroAmerican Music’ and ‘European Music’ (1987). These helped form the
basis of my contextual research.

What went well
o Research on jazz, rhythm & blues and hip hop
The research found for jazz and rhythm & blues was extensive and very
informative. I was able to outline a basic history of jazz and discuss the
elements that were unique to the genre and black music. I also found
some interesting insights into rhythm and blues, particularly the mesh of
the blues with pop and country. Finding academic research for hip hop
music was difficult (explained in 14.3.3), however I counteracted this with
a prior knowledge of the subject.
o Survey
I was happy with the outcome of the black vocal style survey, where I
asked participants to identify what race they thought three singers were
just from the sound of their voices. The results were surprising in that
they were mostly incorrect in their guesses however the reason for their
answers did confirm a mini hypothesis I had; that people carry a
perception of what a black singer sounds like.

What did not go well
o Spectrum of black music
The problem with discussing black music in such detail was picking the
relevant information to make a good argument. Unfortunately, this
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process led to cutting out research that would have otherwise been
interesting and important. For example, the subject of other music
originating from Africa such as the music of Brazil and the Caribbean and
music of the Aboriginal people of Australia could have been labelled as
“black music”, but the depth of this material was too expansive. This
information not only includes historical influences on modern black
popular music but the current trends within these areas. For example,
funk music in Africa became a huge hit during the 60s and 70s, allowing
crossover success from artists like Manu Dibango (who was later
sampled by a number of musicians including Michael Jackson). Mixed
with Nigerian Yoruba music, highlife and jazz, afrobeat was born and still
remains popular today. The didgeridoo has been used within “world
music” as an example of ethnicity, particularly by acid jazz group
Jamiroquai during the 90s.
o Removed content
The information that was cut out from the dissertation (as explained
above) included research material on Caribbean, South American particularly Brazilian - and Aboriginal music. Black music from Britain was
also omitted, which has contributed a large part to the black music
tapestry. Because black music from these countries was not included in
the final thesis, the overall analysis may not have been a full
representation of black music as a subject. The dissertation was therefore
centred on the progression of black music in the United States. The
advantage of focussing on black music from the United States was that
the research was well documented, allowing for a better argument.
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Research on Elvis Presley’s perceived appropriation of black vocal styles
was omitted. While this would have been an interesting area to look at in
relation to what makes “black music” black, I felt it was outside the scope
of my research for the project. To counteract this, a survey was carried
out to analyse preconceptions of black vocal styles. A group of 10 people
were asked to listen to three vocal clips and determine the race of the
singer and state why. This was done to ascertain a theory that there was
a distinguishable quality to black vocals.
Information about black musicians in “non-black music” was also left out
for a similar reason. However, there was a brief paragraph within the
analysis section on Jimi Hendrix and Charley Pride, two major black
musicians in rock music and country music, respectively. The subjects of
Afrika Bambaataa and afrofuturism were discarded, as they did not add to
the arguments for or against the use of the term “black music”.
o Academic research on “newer” genres
Academic material on genres such as hip hop and the origins and history
of the term “urban music” were also quite scarce. I believe the reason for
the lack of academic research into “urban music” is due to its status as a
“radio format” rather than a literary definition. For example, information
found on who coined the phrase was relatively easy to obtain but there
was no reasoning as to why it was coined. The books I did use for hip
hop, however, did contain substantial information on the subject but I
would have liked to hear more scholarly opinions on its emergence and
links to other genres and the political climate of its eras. I also had trouble
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in gathering research for the influence on technology on black music. I
had prior knowledge of technology within hip hop but I required academic
research to support the text. Instead, I researched examples of hardware
and studio techniques and looked for black musicians involved in
innovation of these techniques.

What I would do differently
o Plan research and write earlier
Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to obtain certain online journals.
To improve, I would have planned my research earlier and more
efficiently to allow for these problems.
o Contact academics
I had originally planned to speak to academics within the subject of black
music to get some more up-to-date opinions on their works. However,
due to time constraints, this was not carried out.
o More musical analysis
To improve the critical analysis of the dissertation, I would add more
examples of theoretical black music characteristics, such as different
techniques, lyricism and style of play.
o More on white musicians in black music
One of the research questions was centred on white musicians in black
music, whether they could perform black music and if there were any
notable inclusions. Unfortunately, I could not include as many specific
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examples. This would have given a better answer for the research
question and would be a major improvement to consider.

Scope to extend
o Add the omitted information
As means of extending this thesis further, adding the omitted information
would be highly beneficial as well as discussions with more black music
scholars. I would speak with black musicians and get their opinions on
the term and how it affects their output. I would also try and obtain the
opinions of white musicians who were involved in playing or orchestrating
the genres mentioned in this dissertation to see how the term was
received from a non-black perspective. As I stated in my analysis, I would
discuss more black musicians in music perceived as “non-black” (ie.
country music, rock, metal, et al). I feel more examination into this area of
black music history might give more weight to the argument for or against
the term’s usage and may even open up a separate argument of how
music is perceived altogether. One particular area within this subject I
would have added to the research was the black influence in European
music, specifically classical music. For example, I had discovered a
French composer named Joseph Boulogne who had been nicknamed the
“black Mozart”. Looking at the subject of black music from a more
industry-oriented perspective would also be something to consider. This
may have given more clout to the question of whether the term should still
be used within that realm of music. I would also add the omitted research
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on Elvis Presley’s vocal style as this could act as a different perspective
to the black musicians within “non-black music”. It is widely known that
Elvis’ voice was unique and did not have the same sort of timbre of other
white musicians, especially within rock ‘n’ roll and pop of the 50s and 60s.
A discussion on the claimed appropriation of black music and his
subsequent success because of his so-called “black sounding voice”
would be very interesting.
o Rock music appropriation
The perceived appropriation of blues music by white musicians was
mentioned in the dissertation but the subsequent developments were not.
In his song Rock N Roll, Mos Def spoke about The Rolling Stones having
not come up with their style, attributing it to Chuck Berry (Mos Def, 1999).
Inversely, black musicians such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard made
significant moves within the rock ‘n’ roll genre which led to the
progression of rock music. Within rock, Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Lenny
Kravitz are some of the biggest black musicians to have made a name
within the genre, incorporating their own black music styles from R&B,
funk, blues and gospel music.
o Better survey
Extending the survey by adding more songs and obtaining more
participants may have given a better conclusion. Coupled with more
information on black vocal styles, this would add a further argument to the
question of “blackness” within black music. If there was a psychological
component within us to be able to identify a black voice without observing
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the singer, that could be a very important argument to consider. Looking
at the social aspects of this would also be worth mentioning, as outside
stimuli could trigger the assumption of a “black voice”.
o Deeper look into relevance in current media
During my research, I learned that the phrase “black music” was used a
lot more in European media than in the US media. An example of such
was in a German music shop that had a “black music” section. The term
was also the unique selling point for BBC radio station 1Xtra, where they
claimed to be the home of “new black music”. They attributed the use as
an “umbrella term commonly used in the music industry to describe forms
of music originating in what can be termed black culture” (BBC 1Xtra,
2013).
o Talk to musicians
An insight into the opinions of musicians, particularly those involved in
black music, would have been interesting. The only non-academic
opinions gathered for the dissertation were from the survey participants
so thoughts from musicians into whether they agreed with the term’s use
would add informative discourse. For example, Miles Davis often
described jazz as a “nigger” term and “a white man’s word” (Maher Jr.
and Dorr, 2009, p.90) and Max Roach denounced the word, claiming
black musicians had never created it and echoing Davis’ sentiments
stating it was created by white people of America (Roach, 1972). These
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kinds of perceptions would give a clear picture as to how the terms is
looked at from those directly involved.

Include audio examples
To coincide with more theoretical analysis, I would consider adding some
audio examples so the reader would get a better understanding of the
unique musical characteristics discussed.

Marking criteria
The following headings are to be observed for the marking criteria:

Ability to choose a dissertation topic relevant to the course and to
formulate a suitable research question
I believe the question to be fairly original, although the subject has been
visited before. The research question was relevant as it queried the
importance of “black music” in today’s music industry.

Ability to show understanding of its historical, theoretical and
critical context
I think I gave a lot of information on the historical context of black music,
particularly in regards to negro spirituals, ragtime and jazz. What could
have been improved was the theoretical and critical aspect, looking more
into the specific techniques that made black music “black”.

Ability to find, manage and integrate information from a variety of
sources
- 71 -
I used a variety of different research sources: online journal articles,
newspaper articles, literature, blogs, musical examples and interviews. As
explained in 14.3.3., there was a difficulty in finding relevant academic
material into “newer” genres such as hip hop and modern jazz which
meant I had to source blogs for appropriate research. Musical examples
were included to give a better understanding of the techniques explained
in the dissertation.

Ability to evaluate such sources critically
The sources were critiqued in an articulate way although the structure
could have been improved with more balanced analysis in each chapter.
The balance of primary and secondary material analysis could also have
been improved to incorporate more secondary material.

Ability to develop a clear, in depth and well sustained argument in
written form
I believe the argument was sustained and balanced to integrate both
sides of the subject, for and against the use of the term, giving valid
reasons for each. I also made sure to add my own thoughts on the source
material throughout.

Ability to use appropriate academic conventions
The overall presentation of the dissertation was to a very high standard,
conforming to academic conventions.
- 72 -
In summary, I believe the dissertation to have qualified for a B grade.
Significant rooms for improvement include theoretical analysis and better
use of secondary material.

Conclusion
Studying this subject has been a fascinating experience. From the
research undertaken, I uncovered many elements of black music that
have since been overshadowed by commercialism. The term “black
music” may no longer be appropriate within the industry and the media
but as a historical, cultural and academic ideal, it has helped to keep its
musical heritage alive. Units such as the Center of Black Music Research
in Chicago and the Black Music Research Unit in Westminster have been
integral parts of the academic process of black music. With each genre
researched, I am more attuned to where certain stylistic elements come
from and how they were initially perceived when they were first
introduced. This sort of information is not always readily accessible within
the media, which is why I discussed a different between black music in
academic circles and black music in the media. I was not fully aware of
the levels of racism within the music industry or the idea that white
executives made black musicians perform in a “black” or “white” way
based on their opinions of colour. The biggest problem I faced in writing
this dissertation was finding evidence to suggest “blackness” within black
music, without any white influence. I found fundamental elements to
support the argument of black music, such as the African instrumentation
that became the basis of stringed instruments like the banjo, the
storytelling griots and the specific pain that created the blues. However,
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the fusion of white influences was always part of the progression. To
conclude, the subject of black music has provided black people with a
chapter in their own history and the history of the United States. The term
may not be as prominent as it used to be but discussions of its purposes
in academia and the industry today show how powerful the term still is.
(2852 words)
- 74 -
15. Bibliography
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American Folk-Lore Society’, The Journal of American Folklore, 13(48)
[Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/533733 (Accessed: 5
February 2013).
Anderson, M. (2004) ‘The White Reception of Jazz in America, Maureen
Anderson’, African American Review, 38(1), pp.135-145
BBC 1Xtra. (2013) Help Available at:
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BBC News, (2011) The Beatles banned segregated audiences, contract
shows. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts14963752 (Accessed: 28 March 2013).
Berlin, E. A. (2002) Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History. New
England: iUniverse
Brackett, D. (2005) ‘Questions of Genre in Black Popular Music, David
Brackett’, Black Music Research Journal, 25(1/2), pp. 73-92
Bristow, T. (2012) ‘We want the funk: What is Afrofuturism to the situation
of digital arts in Africa?’, Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative
Research, 10(1), pp. 25-32
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Carmichael, J. (2001) Judy Carmichael’s Introduction to Stride Piano,
New York: Bedford Hills
Case, K. A. (2012) ‘Discovering the Privilege of Whiteness: White,
Women’s Reflections on Anti-racist Identity and Ally Behavior’, Journal of
Social Issues, 68(1), pp. 78—96
Cobb, W.J. (2007) To The Break Of Dawn A Freestyle on the Hip Hop
Aesthetic, New York: New York University Press
Courlande, H. (1991) Negro Folk Music U.S.A., New York: Dover
Publications
Daley, M. (2003) ‘“Why Do Whites Sing Black?”: The Blues, Whiteness,
and Early Histories of Rock’ Popular Music and Society, 26(2), pp.161167
Danberg Charters, A. R. (1961) ‘Negro Folk Elements in Classic
Ragtime’, Ethnomusicology, 5(3), pp.174-183
Davis, F. (2003) The History of the Blues, Cambridge: Da Capo Press
Davis, F. J. (2001) Who is black?: one nation's definition. University Park,
Pa.: Penn State Press
De Lerma, D. (1970) Black music in our culture. Kent: Kent State
University Press
De Lerma, D. (1975) ‘Black Music: A Bibliographic Essay’, In Library
Trends, 23(3), pp.517-532
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Déry, M. (1994) Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture, Durham:
Duke University Press
Ellison, M. (1989) Lyrical Protest - Black Music's struggle against
Discrimination. New York: Praeger
Ferris, Jr., W. R. (1970) ‘Racial Repertoires among Blues Performers’,
Ethnomusicology, 14(3), pp.439-449
Firth, S. (2007) Taking popular music seriously: selected essays.
Aldershot: Ashgate
Floyd Jr., S. A. (1995) The Power Of Black Music. New York: Oxford
University Press
Gioia, T. (1997) The History Of Jazz, New York: Oxford University Press
Gioia, T. (2008) Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi
Masters Who Revolutionized American Music, New York: W. W. Norton &
Company
Goffman, E., (2010) From the Blues to Hip Hop: How African American
Music Changed U.S. Culture and Moved the World Available at:
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aamusic/review.pdf (Accessed: 30
March 2013).
Jefferson, F., (2009) Starting Now, There Is No Such Thing as 'Black
Music'. [blog]. Available at: http://www.theroot.com/views/starting-nowthere-no-such-thing-black-music (Accessed: 3 April 2013).
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Jenkins, W. (2003) What’s Your Take Is Racism Still An Issue in Jazz?
Available at: http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/index.php?read=jenkins3
(Accessed: 4 April 2013)
Kopano, B.N. (2002) ‘Rap Music as an Extension of the Black Rhetorical
Tradition: “Keepin’ It Real”’, The Western Journal of Black Studies, 26(4),
pp.204-214
Lawrence, T. (2008) ‘Disco Madness: Walter Gibbons and the Legacy of
Turntablism and Remixology’, Journal of Popular Music Studies, 20(3),
pp.276-329
Lawrence, T. (2011) ‘Disco and the Queering of the Dance Floor',
Cultural Studies, 25(3), pp. 230-243
McRobbie, A. (1999) In the culture society: art, fashion, and popular
music. New York: Routledge
Mista Jam (2010) SUNDAY DEBATE #1: WOT DO WE CALL IT?. Mista
Jam. Available at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100113184414/http://www.mistajam.com/20
10/01/10/wot-do-we-call-it (Accessed: 5 February 2013).
Miyakawa, F. M. (2012) Hip hop. Available at:
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A22245
78 (Accessed: 2 April 2013).
Monson, I. (1995) ‘The Problem with White Hipness: Race, Gender, and
Cultural Conceptions in Jazz Historical Discourse’, Journal of the
American Musicological Society, 48(3), pp.396-422
- 78 -
Neal, M. A. (1997) ‘Sold out on soul: The corporate annexation of black
popular music’, Popular Music and Society, 21(3), pp. 117-135
O’Brien Chang, K. and Chen, W. (1998) Reggae Routes: The Story of
Jamaican Music Philadelphia: Temple University Press
Oliver, P. (1990) Black Music in Britain. Buckingham: Open University
Press
Powell, T. B. (1990) ‘Toni Morrison: The struggle to depict the black figure
on the white page’, Black American Literature Forum, 24(4), pp.747-760
Rudinow, J. (1994) ‘Race, Ethnicity, Expressive Authenticity: Can White
People Sing the Blues?’, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism,
52(1), pp.127-137
Small, C. (1998) Music of the Common Tongue: Survival and Celebration
in African American Music (Music Culture), Hanover: Wesleyan
Smith D. T. (1999) Black On Both Sides. Liverpool: Rawkus Records.
Smitherman, G. (1997) ‘The Chain Remain The Same”: Communicative
Practices in the Hip Hop Nation’, Journal of Black Studies, 28(1), pp.3-25
Stolle, R. (2011) Hidden History of Mississippi Blues, Charleston: The
History Press
Tagg, P. (1989) ‘Open Letter about ‘Black Music’, ‘Afro-American Music’
and ‘European Music’’, Popular Music, 8(3), pp.285-298
Trotter, J. M. (1878) Music and Some Highly Musical People. 1878,
Boston: Lee and Shepard
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United States Census Bureau (2010) The Black Population: 2010.
Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-06.pdf
(Accessed: 10 February 2013).
University of Delaware (2004) Urban Contemporary/Black. Available at:
http://www.udel.edu/nero/Radio/readings/urban.html (Accessed: 5
February 2013).
UPI News (2010) Census Bureau defends 'negro' addition. Available at:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/06/Census-Bureau-defendsnegro-addition/UPI-70241262798663/ (Accessed: 10 February 2013).
von Hornbostel, E. M. (1928) ‘African Negro Music’, Africa, 1(1), pp.30-62
Wilson, O. (1983) ‘Black Music as an Art Form’, Black Music Research
Journal, 3, pp.1-22
Wright, R. A. (1974) ‘Profile Of Motown, The Nation’s Biggest Black
Business’, Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal, 14 July, [Online].
Available at:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZegeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n8wEAAA
AIBAJ&pg=927%2C4462833 (Accessed: 30 March 2013).
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16. Appendices
- 81 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: James Brenkley 17-4-2013
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 82 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Generally music of ‘black-origin’. Eg music from Africa or that arose from
the first Africans in America – Blues, Soul
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Sounds like jazz.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
The vocalist is most likely black American. No idea as to the musicians. A
sound more traditionally associated with black artists.
- 83 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
A nice soulful track with a disco edge to it. Reminds me of Minnie
Riperton or Rose Royce.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Suspect the female vocalist is black American. No idea as to the
musicians (no doubt a session or house band). The production was slick
but no idea as to the producer’s race.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Hillbilly red-neck bluegrass or similar.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
- 84 -
I would assume the singer was white American but would not be
surprised if he was black. The fact that he’s singing about North Carolina
lends me to believe the band are probably white. This style of music is
not ordinarily associated with black artists.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Not really. I accept the term music of black origin but this can encompass
everything from Jazz to Techno.
Thank your for your time.
- 85 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: ___DAVID WALLER,
16/04/13____________________
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 86 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
That's a hard question. I guess what I think of are certain genres that
originated from black American culture – blues, jazz, soul and funk, r&b,
hip-hop. But also things like drum and bass in the UK.
That said, the Rolling Stones are probably black music. Are they? They're
white, but it's black music. Or maybe it isn't. Confusing term. Funny, isn't
it – I wouldn't think of indigenous African music as 'black music'. I'd think
of that as African music. 'Black music' I'd associate with western cultures.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Somewhere between jazz and a Sinatra'd jazz. Dinner jazz. People
having a meal in a swanky restaurant to this.
- 87 -
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Well it's jazz, so it's black music. But I reckon they're white. But I don't
really know why. Something in the tone or accent of the singer. Seems
polished and a bit sanitised. I may well be wrong.
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Summer time. Again, sanitised funk. Smooth. Not something I'm racing to
listen to again. It's on the BeeGees end of the funk spectrum. It thinks it
has the answers but it doesn't. Not sure what that means. Not gritty
enough for my tastes.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Like track one, this is black music. As in, it's funk, so its origins are
in black music. But whether this rendition of it is by black people I
don't know. I don't know. Hard to say. I'm guessing it's blacker than
track one, but I have no idea why I'd say that. Is the bass player
black? What a ridiculous guess. It's groove-based, it's funk, it's
dancey, it's celebratory. It's in your gut. It's black music, but not
sure if it's watered down. I'm leaning towards black, although could
be white people playing black music.
- 88 -
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Sentimental. Texas. Summer. Road trips. Country. Fiddles. Very
white music. Trucks. Trailers. Sunsets. Combine harvesters.
Denim shorts and people leaving you.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
This is very white music. It has fiddles in it. If this is performed by
black people that'd be very interesting. The cultural co-opting
tends not to travel that way.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Man, that's a tough question. I'm a white person who's found himself
involved in performing black music (hip-hop). I tend not to think in those
terms when we're doing it – our entire band is white, aside from George,
on samples, who's mixed-race, and I've never really thought about it. So
in some senses there's no need to use that term, as it's not accurate to
describe what we do as 'black music', in the sense that these days you
could have a fully white band and white audience. But to remove that
term perhaps dismisses the history – I'd always want what we're doing to
feel part of a lineage that stretches back to its origins, not something
that's packaged and sold as removed (as Rolling Stones is from old
blues). I'd see it more as a natural continuation driven by passion. (And in
hip-hop's case, in direct keeping with the ethos of influential pioneers like
Afrika Bambaataa).
I have no idea, to be honest. Anything used to sell something in a
dishonest way isn't good. But also we shouldn't claim something without
respecting where it's come from. Words like this are odd anyway – the
key thing is that people of all races should be able to come and
collaborate and enjoy the music together. That's paramount. Any
marketing term, if that's what we mean when we say 'music industry' ,
- 89 -
that need to package and pigeonhole music into understandable
categories, really is missing the point anyway.
Very hard question. I don't know.
Thank your for your time.
- 90 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for research purposes and only by
the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: Janina Reed 4/13/13_______________________
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Music created by black people
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds
like, in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical
observations.
Bluesey, intended to evoke emotionl.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track1.mp3", what race do you
think the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable)
I would guess the singer to be white. Based on the pronunciation of the words “hello” and “her”
- 91 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds
like in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It sounds like classic R&B. It’s soulful.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track2.mp3", what race do you
think the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I would guess the woman to be black. The way the words are articulated immediately takes my
mind to that of a black woman.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds
like, in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical
observations.
Sounds like classic American country music. It has that twang.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track3.mp3", what race do you
think the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I would guess the singer to be white simply because I associate country music with white people.
His voice is actually not easy to identify with a race, however, I just don’t associate country
music with black people, EVER.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music industry today and why?
No, I don’t. Calling music “black” just upholds stereotypes. I think it stems from a time when
black people were expected to make a certain type of music. I think the case is still the same
today but that doesn’t make it appropriate. People should be allowed to express themselves
musically in any way they choose without a record label swaying them to sound a particular way.
Thank your for your time
- 92 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for research purposes and only by
the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: Lucia 16/04/2013
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Black music is music that was created and formulated primarily by black people. This constitutes
Rock, Jazz, Independent… most forms of contemporary music.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds like,
in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It sounds like Jazz music. Swing. It incorporated piano and brass instruments, along with a strong
percussive segment.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track1.mp3", what race do you think
the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly the
producer (if applicable).
White vocalist, black and white musicians. White producer. The voice sounded like Sinatra. I
couldn’t guess about the musicians, so took an even spread given my knowledge of jazz music. I
picked a white producer, because I think it’s a white vocalist.
- 93 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds like
in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It’s a romantic song. Elements of pop and soul.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track2.mp3", what race do you think
the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly the
producer (if applicable).
Black vocalist. White musicians. Black producer. The voice sounded like Dionne Warwick who
is a black artist, to me. A lot of those easily listening 70s and 80s sould records feature white
musicians. No idea why I chose a black producer, possibly because I believe It was a black artist.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you. Describe what it sounds like,
in your opinion. You can talk about the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
A country song, incorporating elements of rock and folk which litter north American country
music.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from "track3.mp3", what race do you think
the performer(s) were and why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly the
producer (if applicable).
White vocalist. White and Black musicians. White producer. Although black people are the
authors of this genre of music, in my opinion, I feel that white people have appropriated country
music and it rare to see a black country vocalist. Although black and white musicians are equally
as likely to perform on the record. A white producer, because most country producers are white.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music industry today and why?
I think black people are responsible for nearly all contemporary music. Therefore black music
can be seen as a very restrictive way of looking at certain genres of music. It seems ludicrous to
me that the term “black music” is given to only certain genres of music in contemporary culture,
when black people are responsible for rock and country which we mostly wrongly label “white”.
Ultimately, I think it is up to black people to decide whether they think black music is too
narrow/ racist a term, and up to other races to respect that.
Thank your for your time.
- 94 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: Kyriacos Nicolaou, 27/04/13
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 95 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Tough to not be even remotely inaccurate when describing such terms,
but in general I define black music as any genre (subgenres are usually
included as well, but depending on the level of change and ‘evolution’, I
might cease to associate the term ‘black music’ with some of them) that
was created or conceived by people of African descent (whether in
America, or Jamaica, or anywhere else).
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
I’m not especially good at discerning between certain genres, but I’d
describe it as the blues, but with perhaps a more jazz-like musical
background. Although it’s not your traditional ‘she broke my heart’ song, it
sounds contemplative and regretful.
- 96 -
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I can’t really make such a guess without falling into the trap of
shoehorning music into stereotypes, but I’ll give it a try nonetheless. The
singer sounds Caucasian – but barely though. His voice sounds a bit
weathered by years of singing and/or smoking, which makes it a bit
bassier (spelling?), which is sometimes a pointer towards a black singer,
but I think he’s white.
As far as the musicians, they can be anything really.
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
This track sounds like 70s/80s pop music, but more on the old R’n’B tip.
It’s an uptempo love song. Pleasant, but not particularly stirring.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Again, it’s impossible to guess the race of the musicians. The singer
sounds black. Going by voice, and the added vocal sounds to fill vocal
gaps, or to set the actual vocal part up. Can’t guess the producer either.
Even if I knew the song and label, it’d still be hard to guess. Not
knowledgeable on producers beyond the big names (Q.Jones, etc.)
- 97 -
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Sounds like country music with maybe some small elements of folk in it
(melody of the harmonica?).
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I’d quickly jump to scream ‘white!’, and in fact it is a genre I
associate with white Americans, but there’s something in the voice
that has me thinking that the singer might be black. Maybe the
ease and smoothness in his enunciation, I don’t know. White
country singers tend to put emphasis in their ‘Rs’, which I didn’t
really found here. The musicians must be white, though! haha
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Not sure if it must be used, and unsure as to whether I’m qualified to
speak on this to be honest. Black music can be very broad, and it doesn’t
really describe a genre, thus its descriptive qualities are somewhat weak
in music terms. So if it’s descriptively weak, it may be a bit useless when
trying to describe a song or album. However, it may have a use when
speaking about the genre’s history, or the artist’s influences in general.
Not sure if this is a valid distinction. I’ve seen the term used both
defensively (e.g. this is our music, and such and such artist isn’t doing it
justice, etc.), and offensively (e.g. this is black music and it shouldn’t be
allowed in such and such context). Personally I don’t associate anything
negative with the term. The first thing that it invokes inside me when used
is jazz/blues/rock’n’roll/soul, and that’s definitely a good thing.
- 98 -
Thank your for your time.
- 99 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: _Jevon James (13/04/2013)
•
What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
•
What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
•
What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 100 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
•
In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Music that is created by a black person or directly inspired by black
culture.
•
Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
A jazz song, soulful and somewhat melancholic. Tells a story with the
lyrics.
•
If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Singer sounds both black and white, hard to distinguish. The timbre of the
voice is quite deep and that often makes me think of a black singer. The
- 101 -
tremolo/trill effect with the voice also makes me think of a black voice. But
I still think the singer is white, so white.
As for the band, the music sounds like it's from an earlier time, so I would
presume that they are black, since it is jazz music.
•
Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Very soulful, funky. Optimistic music, sounds like it's from the 70s.
•
If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
The singer sounds like she is black, again deeper timbre on the voice,
husky characteristic of a black female singer of this genre.
•
Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
country music, often associated with the deep south of usa, "north
carolina" in the lyrics. "pray to god", christian music also maybe?
- 102 -
•
If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
White. I think country music is often associated with the south of usa,
where racism can still be found today. I think it would seem contradictory
of a black person to be playing or performing the music of a genre that
could represent a ignorant part of a white culture.
•
Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Whether people like it or not, everyone does stereotype to a certain
degree, it's a simpler way of lumping things into catagories. It's why
genres exist. I think the use of the term "black music" is just a form of
catagorising a lot of genres and musicians into a larger "genre". It is even
possible to have musicians who aren't black to be included with the term
"black music", as a lot of music directly influenced by black culture, is
performed by all races.
Thank your for your time.
- 103 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: ___Dan Finnerty 18.04.13
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 104 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
In a literal sense I would take it to mean any music made by
somebody who is black. I recognise that that is not what is meant in
everyday speech. When somebody says that I understand their
meaning to be music that has originated from the black community.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It sounds like something Portishead might have sampled on their
first album. It’s lounge jazz and really reminds me of crooners in
tuxedos. It’s melancholy and the singer is expressing the sadness
of missed opportunity…and a fair amount of desperation. He
seems to have taken it quite badly that he can’t have some sort of
interaction with every woman who smiles at him.
- 105 -
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
It’s impossible to tell.
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It sounds like the song that plays over the freeze frame at the end
of a 70’s movie as the hero walks off into the sunset…having got
the girl.
Stylistically I would say it’s 70s soul. It’s relatively happy.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
It’s impossible to tell.
- 106 -
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It’s country. It sounds American. It’s not particularly happy nor sad.
I would say it’s probably reflective.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
It’s impossible to tell.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
No. It’s an outdated concept. Music is music and musicians are
musicians.
Thank your for your time.
- 107 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: ___DAVID WALLER,
16/04/13____________________
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 108 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
That's a hard question. I guess what I think of are certain genres that
originated from black American culture – blues, jazz, soul and funk, r&b,
hip-hop. But also things like drum and bass in the UK.
That said, the Rolling Stones are probably black music. Are they? They're
white, but it's black music. Or maybe it isn't. Confusing term. Funny, isn't
it – I wouldn't think of indigenous African music as 'black music'. I'd think
of that as African music. 'Black music' I'd associate with western cultures.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Somewhere between jazz and a Sinatra'd jazz. Dinner jazz. People
having a meal in a swanky restaurant to this.
- 109 -
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Well it's jazz, so it's black music. But I reckon they're white. But I don't
really know why. Something in the tone or accent of the singer. Seems
polished and a bit sanitised. I may well be wrong.
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Summer time. Again, sanitised funk. Smooth. Not something I'm racing to
listen to again. It's on the BeeGees end of the funk spectrum. It thinks it
has the answers but it doesn't. Not sure what that means. Not gritty
enough for my tastes.
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Like track one, this is black music. As in, it's funk, so its origins are
in black music. But whether this rendition of it is by black people I
don't know. I don't know. Hard to say. I'm guessing it's blacker than
track one, but I have no idea why I'd say that. Is the bass player
black? What a ridiculous guess. It's groove-based, it's funk, it's
dancey, it's celebratory. It's in your gut. It's black music, but not
sure if it's watered down. I'm leaning towards black, although could
be white people playing black music.
- 110 -
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Sentimental. Texas. Summer. Road trips. Country. Fiddles. Very
white music. Trucks. Trailers. Sunsets. Combine harvesters.
Denim shorts and people leaving you.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
This is very white music. It has fiddles in it. If this is performed by
black people that'd be very interesting. The cultural co-opting
tends not to travel that way.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Man, that's a tough question. I'm a white person who's found himself
involved in performing black music (hip-hop). I tend not to think in those
terms when we're doing it – our entire band is white, aside from George,
on samples, who's mixed-race, and I've never really thought about it. So
in some senses there's no need to use that term, as it's not accurate to
describe what we do as 'black music', in the sense that these days you
could have a fully white band and white audience. But to remove that
term perhaps dismisses the history – I'd always want what we're doing to
feel part of a lineage that stretches back to its origins, not something
that's packaged and sold as removed (as Rolling Stones is from old
blues). I'd see it more as a natural continuation driven by passion. (And in
hip-hop's case, in direct keeping with the ethos of influential pioneers like
Afrika Bambaataa).
I have no idea, to be honest. Anything used to sell something in a
dishonest way isn't good. But also we shouldn't claim something without
respecting where it's come from. Words like this are odd anyway – the
key thing is that people of all races should be able to come and
collaborate and enjoy the music together. That's paramount. Any
marketing term, if that's what we mean when we say 'music industry' ,
- 111 -
that need to package and pigeonhole music into understandable
categories, really is missing the point anyway.
Very hard question. I don't know.
Thank your for your time.
- 112 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: __JAMES WYLLIE
27/04/13____________
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 113 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
I would immediately say that it is music made by black people, but I think
it’s just as much to do with a general feeling of the music or the culture it
has been derived from that was previously associated more with certain
ethnicities over others, such as rhythm and blues or rap music.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It feels like an old crooner singing to a crowd in a jazz club in the mid1900s. It’s quite relaxing and to me, the singer has a powerful voice, but
it’s also quite fragile with the way he trails off at the end of sentences.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I’d guess the singer was a middle-aged or older man of white ethnicity.
- 114 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It makes me think of disco or funk music from the 1970s
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
The singer sounds like a young woman and I would guess she was of
black ethnicity. Given the type of music and the elements combined to
create it, I would guess that the age and ethnicity of the producers of the
track would be similar.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It makes me think of American country music, with the string instruments
and the general ‘feeling’ of the music. It feels quite upbeat and positive,
and the fact that the singer mentions North Carolina and “the land of the
pines” it feels quite ‘patriotic’ and American.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Like the first track, I would guess that the singer is an older man,
probably of white ethnicity. However, there seems to have been some
sort of pitch correction or auto-tune on his voice, so it is hard to pin
down. I would also guess for this reason that the producers of the
music were a lot younger.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
To me, it seems like a very difficult thing to define, as in these times
anyone can make any sort of music and there is no need for reference to
race or ethnicity. While I can see where certain genres of music have
their roots in different ethnicities, nowadays people mix all sort of styles
together to create music and I feel it would be difficult to fully decide what
does and what does not fall under that category without judging it purely
on skin colour.
- 115 -
Thank your for your time.
- 116 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: __BuitumeloMushekwa 13/04/2013__
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 117 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Music from black origin, or that is sung by black people. The term really is
redundant because - I'm sure it only came about when people used to
have problems with race.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Its sounds like something you'd hear in a jazz bar between the 40s-60s,
not exactly soulful jazz, a little empty.. More atmospheric, than inspiring
jazz.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Its hard to say, but I think the performer is a white male, heavily
influenced by soul music, and he tried to recreate it. The production, the
same - also male. However, I'd say the band we're black.
- 118 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
This sounds very nearly motown-esque. Its bubbly, almost lounge singer
type music. It sounds like music, when in its hayday - it would have been
popular music
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable)
This is a woman singing, Its sounds almost mowtown-y.. so black
woman singing, probably, black women too. It sounds like a song
definitely trying to cater to white audience (or general public).
Producers, black men, maybe a white dude wrote the song.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
This sounds like the intro to a country themed tv show, or song. When I
close my eyes, I see wheat, cowboy boots, leather, guitars, harmonicas.
Its a jolly country, rather than the very sad ones about heartbreak.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
I think its a man singing, a white man, definitely has a goatee and is
wearing a cowboy hat. He performs in bars with a wooden, rustic feel to
them with his mixed gender band. There are like 3 guitars, all acoustic. a
harmonica player, and maybe a female on backing vocals.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
In a word, no. Its an odd term to be using in 2013 because that is not how
we differentiate between genres anymore. To be honest, black music,
could mean all music, seeing as most of the genres we listen to today, all
had their roots from black people. Although having heard people use the
term 'white' music, I can see where they are coming from, but still, a very
silly, irrelevant term to use.
- 119 -
Describing a genre, by the race of the people, YOU personally think listen
to it brings about stereotypes, e.g. because Giggs is seen as a 'black
music' artist his live shows have always been shut down by the police for
the high possibility of violence, yet, go to any thrash metal gig (a 'white
music' genre), where kids are moshing and ending up in hospital, that will
be seen differently if the other way round.
Thank your for your time.
- 120 -
Dissertation survey
With my signature, I consent to my answers being used solely for
research purposes and only by the University of Bedfordshire. (Underline
as appropriate)
I agree
I disagree
Please sign your name and date: Yvonne Davis 30/4/13
1. What is your gender? (Underline as appropriate)
Male
Female
Transgender
Other (please specify): _________________
Prefer not to say
2. What is your age range?
13-17
18-25
26-35
36-45
46+
3. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White European
White Other
Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
- 121 -
Black Other
Asian Indian
Asian Pakistani
Asian Other
Mixed White/Black British
Mixed White/Black Caribbean
Mixed White/Black African
Mixed White/Black Other
Mixed Asian
Mixed Other
Other
Prefer not to say
4. In your own opinion, what is "black music"?
Reggae, soul, hip hop. That’s how I see black music. That’s what I was
brought up with.
5. Listen to the clip of music called "track1.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
Sounds like jazz.
6. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track1.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Sounds like a white man singing jazz and the music that goes with it.
- 122 -
7. Listen to the clip of music called "track2.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
I don’t know what to call that. Soul music?
8. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track2.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
Black person singing soul music. The voice is distinctive of a black
person.
9. Listen to the clip of music called "track3.mp3" that was sent to you.
Describe what it sounds like, in your opinion. You can talk about
the mood of the clip as well as any musical observations.
It’s country music.
10. If you had to make a guess based solely on the music from
"track3.mp3", what race do you think the performer(s) were and
why? The performers include the singer, musicians and possibly
the producer (if applicable).
- 123 -
Sounds like a black man actually. It just has that distinctive black sound in
his voice even though it’s country music. I think it’s a couple of words he
said.
11. Do you think the term "black music" should be used in the music
industry today and why?
Yes, because there’s a distinctive sound to black music and black people
relate more, or better, to black music. Like reggae of music for instance,
more black people go for it than white people, especially if they’re
Caribbean.
Thank your for your time.
- 124 -