The emergence of the Black Pop Culture - Research Paper Example

The emergence of the black pop culture Introduction Over the years, people of the black descent have been viewed as the inferior race as compared to the other races for instance the Europeans. Apparently, this has been the case the early times in history. On that note, this is attributed to the fact that there have been numerous strides in development in the European nations as compared to the African continent. These disparities are as a result of the fact that European states experienced industrial revolution way before many African states even acquired independence. Consequently, this ideology that the people of black descent are inferior, has contributed to massive racism in the world and discrimination on the basis of race. In fact as a result of racial discrimination in the world, the ideology of Black Nationalism has been championed among the people of the black descent. On that note, nationalism can be defined as a sense of sense of belonging to a particular state or nation for that matter. Therefore, in this context, Black Nationalism can be defined as the sense of belonging to a state inhibited by people of the black race. As a result of the adoption of this ideology among people of black skin in the world, it has fostered the growth of the black pop culture and rapidly transformed the music industry. On a similar theme, in this paper we are going to highlight and comprehensively study the emergence of the black pop culture in African states and in states with people of the black descent. On that note we are going to highlight the factors that have contributed to the growth and spread of the black pop culture. First and foremost, the adoption of the Black Nationalism ideology has played a major role in the emergence and thriving of the black pop culture. Apparently, this ideology is mandated with task of ensuring that African states are fully independent in all aspects; politically socially. Furthermore, the Black Nationalism aims to withdraw states of people with black descent from the white society. Moreover, the ideology champions the participation of black people in the political affairs of their nation. On the other hand, the ideology also created a forum in which the black rap industry has mushroomed. Apparently, this can be seen by comparing the music industry of the golden age to the current contemporary one. Notably, in the American society, the African American people are usually faced with numerous social challenges that have hindered the growth of the black pop culture. However, the embracing of this ideology is mandated to create a sense of belonging through the promotion of self-determination and consequently self-governance. Apparently, the rap and music industry during the golden age; early 90’s was used as a tool to advocate and champion for the adoption of Black Nationalism. Therefore, it is worth noting that the pop industry played a huge role in the emancipation of the people on the topic of Black Nationalism thus contributing to the success of the ideology among the people of the black descent. On the other hand, the origin of Black Nationalism goes back in to thee pre-colonial period in the 19th century. Apparently, this age was characterised by the harsh oppressive nature in terms of the treatment of the black people. In fact it is worth noting that majority of the slaves were mostly people of black descent. Therefore, as a result of this harsh treatment for instance forced labour, poor working conditions and the vast racial discrimination, the emergence of the black nationality. Notably, the pop industry during this time was characterised by strong themes such as war, there was no diversity in the music industry and the music industry of this age was based on old traditional technology for instance drum sets.. Moreover, during the pre-colonial period, nationalism entailed people under foreign rule in all aspects of their life for instance politically, socially and economically and they aspire for freedom from this rule and this played a major role in influencing the hip hop industry at the time. On the contrary, the hip hop industry has undergone tremendous revolution since this time, for instance, the current contemporary industry. Is more diverse on the basis of theme and genre for example, rock, and hip hop among others and themes may vary from love songs to party rock songs as opposed to the old age music industry which drew there themes from racism and oppression that was prevalent at the time. Evidently, Black Nationalism has played an important role in the development of the black pop culture for instance; people of the African descent in the state of America have been able to acquire the right to manage their own affairs for instance increase the budgetary allocation towards the music industry which has consequently led to the growth of the entertainment industry. On a similar theme, it is evident that the current music industry has grown as a result of availability of resources; funds to facilitate the change. On that note, this has served to increase the number of individuals venturing into this industry and thus its growth. Moreover, it is evident that since the early 90’s, the number of albums being released has significantly increased. This is attributed to the fact that new innovations in the sector have facilitated the production of new brands and of high quality as compared to the ancient ones. Thus, it is worth noting that as a result of the success of the Black Nationalism ideology has contributed immensely in the growth pop culture. Evidently, another factor that has contributed to the growth and spread of the black pop culture is the employing of the pan Africanism ideology. On that note, pan Africanism is a form of nationalism but they differ on the geographical area in which it is on an international platform while nationalism is based on a national platform. However, the two ideologies are in line with the basic principle of the rap industry. Moreover, the rap industry was mandated with the task of addressing the strife of the African American people. In addition to that, it also served to provide a forum in which the culture of the black people could be expressed thus also providing a decisive insight into the world of the people of the black descent. Furthermore, pan Africanism with the aid of rap has also serves to unite the people of black descent all over the world through creation of a forum in which black people can air their views regarding the development of this race. Through the organisation of such forums black people have been able to formulate policies that are essential in the development of their state for instance; pan Africanism played an important role in the struggle for independence in South Africa where the white people were ruling up to the early 1990’s. On that note, the rap industry during this time and age was founded on the principle of emancipating the black people thus themes of rap songs were based on the idea of pan Africanism which championed the ideology of self-determination among the African American people as opposed to the variety of ideas passed on by the rap in the current world. On the contrary, it is clear that the ancient rap industry was shallow in terms of the themes covered in the songs produced. On that note, it is worth noting that the hip hop industry at the time helps in the championing of the pan African ideology which was critical in the quest to fight for independence among African states thus enabling them attain their independence and consequently, aid in the separation process from the colonial masters through cutting of ties such as trade with the western state. This has led to the development of trade between African states and as a result the black people as a whole. The existence of a complex tradition among people of the black descent has played a major role in the spread and growth of the black pop culture in the black fraternity. On that note, black people are diverse in terms of culture for instance there are some black Muslims and the same time black Christians. thus the need to unite this highly diverse community. On the same note, since the black rap industry of the time was mandated with the task of ensuring unity through the creation of a forum in which they could express the shared grievances, it played a major role in the uniting of this very diverse group. However, the rap industry of the current age has grown into addressing other issues affecting the society for instance drug abuse among other issues. Notably, the rap ancient rap industry shares this similarity with the current rap age; however, they vary on the specific issue relayed since the grievances are not similar. Furthermore, ancient rappers championed the theme of pan Africanism which has in turn contributed to the creation of good ties between African states through the formation of organisation for that matter. For instance the international friends Abyssinia founded in the year 1935 with the aim of creating friendly ties between black states. On that note, this organisation was mandated with the task of promotion of the themes and principles of the pan African ideology. On a similar theme, through the sharing of the strife and hardships faced by other black member states in this forum, other states have been able to incorporate some of the success mechanism into their political organisations thus facilitating the growth and development of the African member states. Moreover, through the sharing of failures in this forum; international friends Abyssinia member states have been able to learn from those failures and as a result facilitate growth of the black race. In simple terms, it is worth noting that the ancient rappers wrote songs based on the occurrences in the society as opposed to modern rappers who write songs drawing there basis on lust and money. Not only does the black nationalism and the incorporation of the pan African ideology contribute to the rise and thriving of the black pop culture, the existence of good and well educated leaders also a major contributing factor. For instance, Marcus Garvey who believed that in order for the prosperity of the black people it was essential to separate from the other races such as the white people as opposed to the notion of being incorporated into other races. On that note, Marcus championed for the formation of the universal Negros improvement association which was mandated with the task of boosting the life of the African people through the addressing of the grievances of this people. Notably, during this time the people of the black descent were often viewed as inferior thus usually worked as slaves with forced labour and under poor working conditions. Marcus Garvey encouraged the educating of the black people in order to improve their living standards. On a similar theme, he attributed the unfair treatment from the other races to the fact that people of the black descent were poorly educated thus naive and therefore was prone to oppression since they were not aware of their rights. In addition to that, Marcus intended to use education as a tool to create awareness among the black people on ways in which they can attain their independence without the need of using war or military conquest for that matter. On that note, he also viewed education as the key for the success of the black people in business. Moreover, he championed the ideology that through the separation of the black people from the other races, people of the black descent will be able to notice their abilities and capabilities, subsequently use them to develop their states. Notably, Malcolm x was also another significant leader among the black people. Apparently, he became a member of the nation of Islam which was purposed to protect the right of black Muslims in the United States. However, due to the lack of recognition of the philosophy of Black Nationalism in the organisation, he opted out since he viewed the organization as being biased on the championing and addressing the strife of the black people in the state. Therefore, it follows that he adopted the notion of Black Nationalism that entailed not only protecting the right of black Muslims in the United States but also served to address the strife of the whole African American community as a whole. Evidently, Malcolm had a huge political influence in the state, first of all being the position of national representative and the minister new york mosque, he was able to address the issues affecting the people of the black descent for instance the issue of racial discrimination that was rampant ta the time. On the same note, he was able to use his position in the government to champion policies that served to improve the lives of the African American society as a whole. On the contrary, the existence of such leaders also influenced rappers and the rap fraternity as a whole. On that note, many rappers viewed these leaders as role models thus composed songs that were mandated to address some of their contributions in a bid to enable white people to learn from them. This served to acknowledge their contributions while at the same time encouraging the black people to uphold some of their ideologies. As a result of this, rap has significantly played a role in the struggle for independence. However, such songs in the current age are used to preserve the history of the black people. In conclusion, it is evident that the root cause for the spread of the black pop culture is the appreciation and incorporation of the idea of Black Nationalism globally. On that note, black leaders sort to establish ways of addressing the various grievances of the black people for instance forced labour, racial discrimination. In addition to that, it is clear that these leaders adopted the music industry specifically the hip hop industry as a tool to address there strife while at the same time educating the black people. This has been achieved through the formulation of songs that championed the ideology of black nationalism and consequently, policies and laws were formulated by the this leaders in authoritative position for instance Malcolm was able to play a big role in the integration of African Americans into the American society, through the advocating for black education as a way to fight the poverty situation among the black people. Furthermore, in a bid to ensure that rights and interests of the black people were followed, he acted as a representative of the African American people in the government. To this end, it is evident that the rap industry has immensely grown over the years for instance in terms of diversity and in the idea being relayed. On that note, ancient rap was based on the strife of the black people and was more opinionated as compared to the current rap which is majorly for entertainment purposes as opposed to the educating and emancipating the people. References Nama, Adilifu. Super black: American pop culture and black superheroes. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2011. Print. Spearman, Joah, and Louis Harrison. Real role models: successful African Americans beyond pop culture. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010. Print. Block, Ray. What About Disillusionment? Exploring the Pathways to Black Nationalism. Political Behavior. 33.1 (2011): p27-51. Calihman, Matthew. Black Power beyond Black Nationalism: John A. Williams, Cultural Pluralism, and the Popular Front. MELUS. 34.1 (2009): p139-162. 24p. Cardon, Lauren S. from Black Nationalism to the Ethnic Revival: "Meridian's" Lynne Rabinowitz. MELUS. 36.3 (2011): p159-185 Leonard, Keith D. Love in the Black Arts Movement: The Other American Exceptionalism. Callaloo. 36.3 (2013): p618-624. Read More