Music in the blood (Part 2)

This is the continuation of a previous post which began, "I've often heard, as I'm sure you have, that black people have 'music in their blood.' The idea is that they sing more often, sing better, listen to music more often, and jive better. The inevitable question arises, they do these things more often, and better, than who? If it is indeed the case, how and why is it so? And while we're at it, exactly what kind of music are we talking about? Does the saying hold true with reference to both hard-metal rock and hip-hop?" 

Naturally, the environment becomes a communal and family-inspired teacher. The United States Census Bureau tells us that there are 211,460,626 Americans of European origin and 34,658,190 Americans of African origin. A rough round-up yields 212 million European-Americans and 35 million African-Americans, or one black person for every six white people. But look at most general music charts of any period, and the ratio turns on its head. There are about 6 black artists to 1 white artist. Remain convinced with me, however, that what these statistics teach us is only that black people "do" more music than their white counterparts. The same is true for basketball, which African-Americans have in their blood, too. On the other hand, who couldn't say as much for ice-skating, or golf, or cricket, or classical music, all of which are "done" more by white folks? We can go ahead and coin it: white people have skiing in their blood. Given what we've been saying, nothing would be more normal. 

Another lesson we learn from this is that colour is more important than we dare admit. Our customs and mores   actually depend on colour, and there are few exceptions to the rule. At my alma mater, in America's deep south, each weekend party was dee-jayed by black students. They played dance music, funk and pre-modern rap material, as well as classic soul. One day some white students went to the Dean and complained that they wanted to dee-jay half the time, to play music that made them dance. The Dean acquiesced and and those students got to play rock. But one wonders why black students were the "logical" choice for dee-jays in the first place. I must add that they were also more natural, communicating with the throng and having a better feel for its mood (Everybody say ho! ho! All the ladies in the house say Oooow! Now somebody screeeeeam!). They sometimes reminded me of the African teaser-response style of singing.

They were more natural as dee-jays because it was something they'd done or seen done often. Practice makes perfect. They were in their element as much as anyone else doing what they control would be, as comfortable as inhabitants of the Appalachians square dancing. The varsity dee-jays happened to be black because in America colour tells us who we are. Central to that student confrontation was colour. In the long run, the kind of music one inherently prefers to dance to mattered but little.

Conventional wisdom holds that black folks originated many of the following, and there's no grounds to doubt that. For reasons that are slowly becoming evident as we advance, black people are, indeed, prolific when it comes to music. But so are white people, when life calls for it. Look at number four below to see what I mean. I've dug up a reference where possible, and of course these are in no particular order.   

   
1. Blues, Jazz and Gospel. "From blues music came great artists, such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Bessie Smith, and others. But the blues might never have been created if it had not been for the influence of hollers, calls, and the changes that occurred in the lives of blacks. The evolution of the blues provides insight into the changes that took place in the lives of African Americans after slavery ended [Source]."   
2. R&B, Rock & Roll, Reggae and others. Apparently the "first rock and roll record, Ike Turner's Rocket 88, [was] released" in 1951, three years after "John Lee Hooker [recorded] Boogie Chillen' for Modern Records, a single, which topped the R&B charts," and a year before Little Richard's first record was released [Source].       
3. Break-dancing, hip-hop, rap and their derivatives (eg beat-matching, turntablism, dee-jaying, and South Africa's own Kwaito). "The roots of hip-hop music are in West-African and African-American music. Discussion of the roots of hip-hop (and rap) must mention the contributions of griots The Last Poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, whose jazzy and poetic 'spiels' commented on 1960's culture. Hip-hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music [Source]."       
4. Country and Western Music. "Country music has its beginnings in music styles brought over by the first European settlers. In medieval times, storytelling was a tradition that allowed history to be recorded when few were able to read and write. When the first British settlers came to America, they brought this tradition with them, along with songs they had learned in Europe. The people who settled in the Appalachian mountains and the West did not have an easy life and their music gave them an outlet to express their hardships [Source]." 

Why were the above-mentioned black students the "logical" choice for dee-jays? The answer is simple. Because that's what they're good at, and everybody knows that. If you were shown a photo of a black dee-jay and another of a white dee-jay, you already think you know what kind of music they'd play, don't you? A university bash is an event where students get together to drink and dance and have fun. They want to hear "Now somebody screeeeam!" to the background of a warm, thumping guitar string, a mature rhythm, berserk dancing, the whole culture of dance and hip-hop and using music to do what a bash is all about in the first place: having a ball. I realise that a lot of this has to do with packaging. Many of us buy Coke® more for the prestige that goes with its image, it's renown, its packaging, than for its taste. In other words, Coke® sells more than Pepsi®. Yet in blind taste tests Pepsi® beats its opponent flat out. But if you remember, when the latter was working on its image of a new generation, the gap was narrower.

Comments

[Rethabile]

Try as I might, my comment to Laurence's post over at Commentary would not go through. I apologise for replying here. The post is Eskom & Racial Discrimination. (22/3/2006). Link: http://commentary.co.za/archives/2006/03/22/eskom-racial-discrimination/#comments

Laurence says: "The real question, of course, is why Eskom is awarding a position like "project engineering specialist" on the basis of race at all."
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You've answered your own question. There is no reason at all, and then there is, which is why it's a necessary evil.

Inwardly, I'm against AA because it presupposes that one person is weaker than another and needs a push, although I recognise that we need to "equate" riches across the South-African demographic rainbow.

AA is all the more wrong when one realises that it sometimes imitates the Apartheid practice whereby a job went to someone because they were white, or coloured.

[Bryan Wilhite]

Consider the possibility that "we" do all in the same excellent, dominating and attractive manner that we do basketball and music.

Over the years we have been pushed into these 'niche markets' by forces that have little to do with the laws of physics.

Until the proper imperial scientists develop the technology to put glass ceilings and other "special effects" on the basketball court we will excel at basketball because it is still governed by the correct universal laws.

Until the proper imperial scientists develop the technology to change time and distort the sense of rhythm we will have African domination in the creativity of music. Of course new young musicians in Africa are starting to use computers and missionary hymns to fit in with the New World order. So the music is threatened... The beat is no longer that important in Hip Hop and "white" DJs are starting to look relevant to young Africans...

Africans openly preferring to seek out other Africans will always be seen as hostile and in most cases anti-social. Most African young people cannot withstand such social stigmas most likely because their African family support system is weakened leaving them to depend on 'external validation' for comfort. No matter how much material wealth these young people have they are utterly impoverished.

Miles Davis in spite of the fact that he often played with white muscians will be remembered as the "dark prince" who could tell by ear when white people were trying to play jazz---and this will be seen in the context of violence---some cartoon persona---instead of something else...

Try something simple: the people who have spent more time working at the craft are the people we should learn from... When I need to learn how to build a weapon of mass destruction, I do not go to Africa for such a thing... We all know what we need to value and incarnate for such "technical superiority"...

[Rethabile]

"No matter how much material wealth these young people have they are utterly impoverished."
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Right on the nose. I agree with you.

"Consider the possibility that "we" do all in the same excellent, dominating and attractive manner that we do basketball and music."
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We (black people, I suppose) cannot. We can only do so if we've grown up doing the activity in question over the decades and, often, over centuries.

[Bryan Wilhite]

Correction: I should have written, Consider the possibility that "we" WOULD do all in the same excellent, dominating and attractive manner that we do basketball and music.

I appreacite you pointing this out to me...

[maya]

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