Go watch the 2017 Christmas commercial, basically any commercial, and then go to Sprites official website and see the by far most common demographic.
Sprite Christmas commercial 2017
Sprite cans from June 2017 featuring rap lyrics
Sprite commerical featuring LeBron James and Lil Uzi Vert
I would like to know if there is any particular artist or genre that is popular
I just watched the documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World and highly recommend it! I read about it in a comment on this sub, so thanks to whoever originally mentioned it.
I learned so much from it and thought it was really well made. The music, the interviews, the footage; so much great stuff.
Despite being a relatively small and once persecuted minority, black Americans (and, to a lesser extent, other descendants of Africans brought to other parts of the New World as slaves) have, if not outright dominated, at least had a powerful formative influence over virtually all genres of popular music. This includes not only the music of the U.S. but of most of the world.
Blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, country (which largely evolved out of the blues), rap, reggae, disco, and techno (which largely evolved out of disco), to name a few, all owe their existence to black cultural roots. In fact, the only major genre I can think of that cannot be traced back to African-American culture is classical music. These genres are not only popular in the U.S. but virtually everywhere.
Even before the 20th century, white audiences in the U.S. greatly enjoyed minstrel shows with white performers in blackface presenting African-American songs, or songs inspired by that tradition.
Of course, all of these genres have been co-opted and enriched by non-black performers and audiences, too, but it is interesting that all of these popular trends seemed to emerge first from black culture. How did this come about?
As someone who has indoctrinated relatives I can see how easily the psychological affects can take hold of any individual which means there is no exception for African Americans. But, it's still wild to me that there hasn't been more of a resistance, or atheistic revolution.
I understand that a minority of African Americans adopted Islam (Malcolm X) to restore the culture that had been taken from them, and it is also my understanding that black Israelites claim Islam is their religion and/or they are the lost tribe of Israel, but regardless, Christianity has been the dominant religion among African Americans
We know that Europeans believed it was their duty to save barbaric peoples by converting them to Christianity, but this is from the European side. I want to know from the African American side.
I would assume that when enslaved African Americans were kept captive on the properties of slave owners the only reading material they had access to was the bible. Since the captors believed in Christianity, they probably spoke religiously to the enslaved often, which would be one way of African Americans internalizing Christianity.
But also, the slave owners used the enslaved to teach their youth. Likely, the bible as the preferred material, allowing African Americans to have access to these stories. Since people love literature, and given the bible was the (most likely) the only source given to African American communities a commonality and culture is formed. Even illiterate people can pass down biblical stories, though word of mouth so it becomes something to latch on to.
These incidences would exponentially increase the amount of "believers" in clusters of African American communities making it the dominate religion for them, with any resistance in the future not able to penetrate the culture because A.The profound effects of religion on the mind; B. The ongoing racism and destruction of humanistic endeavors among African American communities; C. Americans as a whole believing in Christianity.
Please, help me get my facts straight! Also, I've read a few black atheists with this very same question, and this has been puzzling to my wife (not American or black).
The banjo was a primary instrument in American popular music from the very beginning of what could be called uniquely American popular music, that is to say the minstrel shows which began in the 1830s through to the first part of the jazz era, big bands, in the late 1920s and 1930s. Around this time the 4 string banjo began to be replaced by the archtop guitar in big bands, because they were louder, because 6 strings accommodated the increasingly complex harmony that was developing in jazz back then and because on a guitar you can strum out chords while also playing the melody or soloing on the first two strings. That said, the 4 string banjo was an iteration of the traditional 5 string banjo, and the 5 string banjo remained a part of mainstream music into the era of early rock and roll. Around that time though, the banjo basically disappeared from every genre of music aside from bluegrass, and later the film Deliverance permanently “ruined” the banjo for many people by associating it with inbred redneck freaks. I play guitar and bass as well but banjo is the instrument that I consider my primary music maker and I love it with all of my heart, and I don’t play bluegrass at all; I’ve long wondered why the banjo is so unpopular. Why do you think?
I’m also curious about UK movies. I’m able to easily find information about South African movies produced in South Africa but I can’t find a lot of information about non-South African movies that played in South Africa.
I found it interesting that there’s plenty of information available about non-South African TV shows that played in South Africa:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_television_series
African American musicians have used music as a way make their voice heard and spread the message of the ongoing civil rights movement. One of the most notable groups to do this was Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A.), a hip-hop group that consisted of five members: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella.
So, a lot of music genres in America have their roots in African American culture, but one I don't think gets talked about enough is American classical. Both Antonin Dvorak and George Gershwin in particular are known for being leading figures in the genre, with Dvorak basing his Ninth "New World" Symphony heavily on spirituals (in addition to Native American, Western European, and Czech folk influences), and Gershwin using jazz influences in his famous "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Porgy and Bess" (which is probably a discussion in itself, considering the controversy surrounding it). There have been many African American composers in classical music, like William Grant Still, Florence Price, William Dawson, Julia Perry, and Julius Eastman, but it seems they've been mostly obscure, although there's a very high level of interest surrounding Price's music especially these days, with a biography on her being released as of last year, a new recording of her symphonies this year, and many performances of her works around the country. Still, it seems as if the most famous names in American classical music are white, even if they drew largely on black influences. Even though Dvorak was very progressive for his time and gave credit where it was due, I still don't think it's fair that he still largely dominates American concert programs.
My questions are-
1- Do you consider American classical music to be a black music genre, given its major roots in spirituals and jazz? Why or why not?
2- What are your thoughts on the accessibility of classical music? Do you think this is something that will change or stagnate?
3- For those of you who listen to or perform classical music, what have your experiences with the genre been like?
Thank you!
