funk
Funk! Funk became popular around the 1960’s and 70’s, and it includes elements from other genres of music like jazz and R&B. Similar to disco, funk was usually accompanied by guitars, drums, and synthesizers. James Brown was one of the most popular funk artists. Nicknamed the “Godfather of Soul,” he became known for songs such […]
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma, or Tyler, the Creator, is a well-known rapper, songwriter, producer, and more. He has used music, fashion, and even television to make his mark on the mainstream industry. FashionAside from just selling his own merchandise at concerts, Tyler has his own clothing line.Click Here Previous Next Odd Future Tyler, […]
techno
Techno, a form of electronic music similar to disco, began in Detroit, Michigan in the 80’s. The group credited with the start of this genre is the Belleville Three: three black high school students who wanted to make music that took elements from different genres. Their names were Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, and Derrick May. […]
disco
Disco emerged around the 1970’s, originating in New York. This vibrant music found it’s beginnings in clubs and soon was a prominent part of the show, Soul Train. Disco soon became more than just music, and evolved into a cultural statement, including dance, hairstyles, and fashion. Donna Summer Queen of Disco, winner of five Grammys, […]
Marian Anderson
The article, “Lift Every Voice: Marian Anderson, Florence B. Price And The Sound Of Black Sisterhood,” highlights the fact that Marian Anderson is a great example of a powerful black woman. After being denied a desegregated concert space in 1939, Anderson performed at Howard University on Resurrection Sunday. The concert ended with a rendition of […]
black musical theater
Black Musical Theater has its roots in minstrel shows, going back even as early as the 1840s. Some black slaves were promised freedom if they performed in these shows. For others, this was the only way to get exposure. Soon, black people began holding their own minstrel shows. Brooker and Clayton’s Georgia Minstrels the first […]
gospel
Gospel is a genre of music that came as a result of jubilee quartets around the 1930’s. It emerged from big cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles, and quickly became a popular way for religious folks to worship. It shares similar qualities with jubilee quartets, sometimes including a call and response […]
jazz
Louis Armstrong trumpet player born and raised in New Orleans, LA, pioneer of swing and early jazz Miles Davis played the trumpet, extremely popular/successful Bebop Jazz artist Duke Ellington a pianist who is said to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time Jazz became popular between the 1930s and 1940s, but started […]
negro spirituals
Negro spirituals were songs that slaves sang amongst themselves, both for entertainment purposes and to deliver messages discreetly. These messages were usually hopeful; the word “freedom” was very popular in this genre of music. Many spirituals had call and response elements, in which one person would sing and others would respond with the next line, […]
ragtime
Previous Next Ragtime was the popular music genre that is said to have started around 1896 and reached it’s height in 1920. It included a style of playing music called syncopation, which is purposely playing a second rhythm slightly off the beat of the first rhythm. In the early 1900’s, a dance called the Cake […]
jubilee quartets
Jubilee Quartets were vocal a cappella groups consisting of at least four black men, each one having a different tone of voice than the other. The four different tones included first tenor, second tenor, baritone, and bass. Different types of quartets included: University Jubilee Quartets (ex. Fisk Jubilee Singers) sang to represent colleges/universities Minstrel Jubilee […]
Blues
Blues m blues blues 1930-1940 12 bar blues 1946-1969 iNFLUENTIAl blues musicians bessie smith known as “Empress of the Blues,” first seen in minstrel shows, her music usually consisted of strong themes, such as feminism, independence, and politics B.B. King “King of Blues,” inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 Lead Belly […]
Folk Article Review
I read “Folk: The Beginning” by Alexis Moreland on blackmusicscholar.com. It only took me a few minutes to read it, which was kind of disappointing. It had some good information, but it seemed like it was shorter than some of the other articles on the site. It just kind of threw random facts at me, […]
