Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae Amaia Calhoun Artist Post Music has been a significant part of Corinne Bailey Rae’s life since the beginning. Hailing from Leeds, England, she played classical violin and then electric guitar as a teenager. Inspired by ‘90s rock groups such as L7 and Veruca Salt, she along with a few others subsequently started […]
Mumble Rap Group Presentation
Mumble Rap Group Presentation Amaia Calhoun Link to Mumble Rap Group Presentation: https://blackmusicscholar.com/mumble-rap/
Record Row: Who Knew?
Record Row: Who Knew? Amaia Calhoun Ten blocks of Michigan Avenue between Roosevelt and Cermak…in the 1950s to early 1970s these 10 blocks on the South Side of Chicago provided a venue for talented African American musicians to create, produce, perform and distribute music to a broad audience. It was also a place for these […]
Funk Music Makes You Move to the Beat!
Funk Music Makes You Move to the Beat! Amaia Calhoun I wonder what was James Brown’s idea of being “on the good foot?”. He is credited with being the Godfather of Soul and a pioneer of funk music. His music and performance style have been sampled and imitated by countless artists and musicians he worked […]
The Universal Appeal of the Motown Sound
The Universal Appeal of the Motown Sound Amaia Calhoun Motown, more than any other record label in history was able to create a sound that appealed to all of America and beyond. Prior to the founding of Motown, African American artists had limited exposure and acceptance by white audiences. Berry Gordy’s Motown was able to […]
The Blues, Both Encouraging and Depressing
The Blues, Both Encouraging and Depressing Amaia Calhoun Work songs, field hollers, slave songs and spirituals of black people from Texas, Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta are the foundation of the Blues. This rural musical artform captured the suffering, anguish and hopes of 300+ years of slavery and tenant farming. Both the music (instrumentation) and the […]
Disco: A Clear Derivation of Funk
Disco: A Clear Derivation of Funk Amaia Calhoun Disco music is yet another example of a musical genre largely influenced by African American culture and ultimately, chosen by majority society for their entertainment. Historian Bryan Ward suggests that disco was “a time and place of leisure where an alternative, exciting, exotic and passionate lifestyle could […]
Hip-Hop: More Than Just a Musical Genre
Hip-Hop: More Than Just a Musical Genre Amaia Calhoun “Cultural knowledge is never objective” As humans, we hold pre-conceived notions based on our past experiences which influence the lens or perspective in which we look through. As a result, objectivity is rare in the world despite public opinion. This was true at the height of […]
Concert Report
Concert Report Amaia Calhoun I attended the Atlanta Ballet’s Heart/Beat: Gospel, Brubeck & Rhythms of the City on “AUC Night,” Friday, February 7, 2020, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The opening night concert lasted about two hours. I enjoyed all three acts of the performance and how each one offered a different experience. […]
Music Videos at the Turn of the Century
Music Videos at the Turn of the Century Amaia Calhoun 2000s post Music videos in the 2000s underwent many changes. At the beginning of the decade, many big-name directors from the 1990s started directing less videos as they were moving into other spaces within the industry. Additionally, MTV downplayed their coverage of music videos compared […]
Black Music: A Continued Form of Resistance
Black Music: A Continued Form of Resistance Amaia Calhoun 2010s post African American music and artists made many strides in the 2010s in the genres of rap, R&B, neo soul and pop, just to name a few. One major trend in black music of this decade is the increasing number of albums and singles protesting […]
