Efforts of African Americans to Rejuvenate African Musical Roots - Research Paper Example

Efforts of African Americans to Rejuvenate African Musical Roots The African American’s culture has been through many transformations. The culture belongs to people who moved from Africa to serve as slaves in America in the Dark Age when slavery was rampant. These Africans had African musical roots and an established African culture. Moving into America exposed them to a new setting. The new setting consisted of a mixture of culture and races. The mixed culture presented a combination of musical cultures that highly influenced their original music (Banfield 66).

The African Americans faced racism and its saddening effects during slavery. Even years after slavery, racism has been rampant in America. During the slavery period, Africans were an inferior minority group (Brown 24). These Africans did not preserve their African musical culture and absorbed new aspects from the other cultures. The black American music experience fused with aspects from other cultures became different from the original music. During slavery, Africans lacked the freedom to play their music.

African music has unique rhythms and beats of drums. The drums were an abomination during slavery among the whites. Only Caribbeans and Latinos allowed Africans living among them to drum. African music is expressive and the black Americans embarked on new genres of music. These new genres were jazz, blues, and later rock and roll. African slaves had the freedom to perform their usual rituals. The song and dance in these rituals had erotic aspects that they expressed in the new genres. Blues had an African aspect and were expressional songs that helped African Americans express the emotions of their experiences and hope for the future (Brown 25).

African American music that evolved was rich in west-African aspects and other European aspects. The African Americans in that era were slowly losing the African musical roots as they adopted musical aspects from other cultures and formed uniquely black-American music. The prevailing conditions affected the African image negatively. African Americans have taken many years to heal from the pain and effects of slavery. These people are facing the challenge of retracing the African roots and culture.

The current generation of black Americans comprises of descendants of a generation that understood the African culture experience. The new generation has been rebuilding its African image. They have lacked an identity as Africans for a long time and racism has tainted their attitude towards the African ethnicity. The scenario in African music has been changing rapidly. African American music has risen from the minority type of music to dominate America. Although African Americans have been facing challenges in developing their unique music, they have proved relentless and have constantly applied the African energy and creativity to music.

The current African American genres have been integrating different African aspects (Graham 70). The subject of the music sends messages to the white population. The African American music may not purely relate to African traditional music but it has many similarities with the modern African music. African music characteristically involves the performer and the crowd as well. In addition, African music is incomplete without expressive and vigorous body movement. Current rock, hip-hop, and rap present the African characteristics.

Current music evolving from Jamaica is a true celebration of African roots. These genres are reggae, funk, and modern jazz and hip-hop (Conyers 235). The music reflects on black religion and culture. The music presents the African aspects that African Americans have been keeping deep inside for a long time. It is worth noting that rejuvenating African roots in music for African Americans is not easy. These people have been through a long journey. They lacked the freedom to express themselves freely in music for a long time during slavery.

Most of the original African aspects of music did fade away over the time. Musical aspects from other cultures replaced some of their own. Most of them depict African aspects in their music but since they still live in a mixed culture; their music must fetch a wide market across all cultures. Anthropology studies reveal that the African American music has made an impression among the whites. African Americans have integrated African aspects to white music enriching it into a unique blend of music.

African Americans have come up with a different African experience. The effect of the new genres has gone global (Banfield 90). These genres are exotic and full of creativity and originality. They have transformed the American popular music by adding the African taste of music in beats, lyrics, and dance. Their music has multicultural roots but the African beats, energy, and exoticism dominate the other aspects. The current black American music comes at a time when the people are accepting themselves as proudly of African origin.

However, their experience is different because they are Africans living in a land of mixed race. The African Americans have not lost everything in terms of their musical culture. Their past compelled them to lose aspects of the African music heritage. However, these people have been making remarkable efforts in integrating African aspects into American music. They can express themselves the African way in America (Conyers 234). Their performance, lyrics, creativity, and subjects of music reflect the rich African way of expression.

The intense expression is purely an African trait. Work Cited Banfield, Wiliam. Cultural codes: makings of a Black music philosophy : an interpretive history from spirituals to hip hop. Maryland: Scarecrow press, 2010. Print. Banfield, William. Black notes: essays of a musician writing in a post-album age. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2004. Print. Brown, Leornard. John Coltrane and Black America's Quest for Freedom: Spirituality and the Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Graham, Maryemma.

Cambridge Companion to the African American Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.