Years following the end of the slavery epidemic in America, the music genre, Blues, began to boom. African Americans, no longer enslaved, took on a new form of oppression through segregation. In addition to that, most blacks did not know any other skills other than physical labor and worked as sharecroppers, receiving low pay and unfair treatment. This hardship created a group of musicians who portrayed their struggle through their songs. Originating in the South, Blues musicians usually sang in first person and expressed personal feelings. As this art form began to thrive, it reached an audience in New York City and took off from there.