Student Critique
In this BET article, rapper and Georgia native Gunna has partnered with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) to relieve low-income families within his hometown of South Fulton of some of their financial burdens. Through his and the organization’s plans, they will provide over two dozen families with monthly stipends. The structure of the article is succinct and the title immediately draws readers in to continue to engage with the post. Moreover, the author of the article, Tabie Germain, highlights the project’s goals, people who will contribute to its success, and ends by promoting Gunna’s previous initiatives to help his community. In essence, this article is well-written and straightforward.
In this post, the author first explains what a jubilee quartet is and when they first emerged, offering good background information for readers who may have previously been unaware of their cultural lineage like myself. They further explain that they are a style of Black gospel music and then characterize the various types of music that quartets sing. Furthermore, the author separates the post into three sections to make it easier to process and understand the information they are presenting. From this post, I learned that Jubilee Quartets have a deep and rich history, have contributed to the creation of both doo-wop and R&B, and continue to be a thriving form of expression within the Black community, something that I would not have ever known without this author creating this post.
This post highlights the many elements of hip-hop, its origins, how it connects to every listener in a multitude of ways, and its current stance in society. Although the article can be considered a type of ode to hip-hop, it falls short in its grammar and depth of the subject. Ultimately, this post provides a great anecdotal perspective on the cultural impacts of the ever-evolving genre but lacks the necessary complexity to effectively communicate all of the elements of hip-hop that make it such a powerful type of music.
This post discusses the importance and relevance of folk music and Negro spirituals to the history of Black people. It also talks about the involvement of Christian elements and enslaved people’s transformation of pain and servitude into music. I personally enjoyed that the author included the common themes featured in both types of songs as well as the addition of some well-known songs in these genres, like “Wade in the Water,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and “Down by the Riverside.” Ultimately, this post is effective and touching.
