R & B Music Analysis

African American influence in music has been an ever present and controversial subject in American history. Stemming from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds, large portions of American music was introduced by, and credited to African Americans. Although in many cases, this music was used for entertainment by the masses or majority, contrary to popular belief, black music served a greater purpose than just recreation. Dating all the way back to the beginning of slavery in the U.S. during the 17th century, music has been used to make a statement and send a message. As African American music progressed over the years, there were common themes expressed as the genres evolved. It has been an open letter to the world, documenting and protesting the ongoing oppression faced by blacks in the United States, as well as an outlet for frustration. For many African Americans, the music gave them the only voice that couldn’t be silenced by their oppressors.

Thesis: To inform my audience on how effective R&B music can be on the mind and how much R&B music changes over time, I will explain when R&B music first started, what people feel when listening to R&B music, and how R&B music differentiates between artists.

Many black musicians used their music as a platform to express the struggles that their community experienced daily during the 1980’s and 90’s. It allowed them to represent their anger or sorrow without acting out violently while also spreading awareness to the listeners about their stories, ideas, struggles, deep emotions, and the messages behind their songs. Lyrics to songs can bring a lot of meaning to a person or society. Music is an art and showcases an individual’s spirit. Hip hop music has brought many messages forward, for example the song Expression by Salt n Pepa had lyrics that showed the public how to be yourself and how to let lose. On page 7 of “Understanding Black American Aspects in Hip Hop Cinema” it talks about how during slavery the slaves would make up songs that would lift the spirits of the people working. Some of these songs had messages about freedom and dreams that the slaves had. Considering most songs have an impact on people, the slaves would create a culture of music that was brought forward. Craig Werner talks about genres and their impacts on the black culture.

Through new technology including the ability to record music, the emergence of Tin Pan Alley, and the immigration boom, America soon developed a new sinful musical culture. 19th Century American Pop music, although tame in today’s standards, was considered to be morally corrupting and created a new naughtier America. In the transition from classical romantic ballads to the syncopated, “blackness” was pop like Ragtime music took quite a large evolution. From the dance halls for the working class, cabaret for the middle class, and high class refined dancing, the explosion of Ragtime music effected all types of Americans. Due to the immigration boom and the introduction of mobility and leisure time, class lines began to blur, causing the middle and working class to bump elbows more often than ever before. Often times, such incidences would occur in entertainment venues like Coney Island or even run of the mill vaudeville shows. Modern music was can be identified by its’ lascivious subject matter, which reflected the evolving ideals of Americans. One song that illustrated this is “I Love My Wife; But Oh, You Kid!”, which spoke of a man’s desire to cheat on his wife, highlighting the new sexually aware younger population. Although it’s tone and composition were similar to earlier, classic, love songs the subject matter and morals

Music has always been an influence in everyday life for every race and ethnicity since the beginning of time. As the human race evolved, so has the musical landscape. Music in the past was used to tell stories and express significant events, but todays musicians still portray everyday life in their music. Since the emergence of hip hop in the early seventies in New York, it allowed the voices of Blacks and Hispanics to express their daily struggles through music. That’s why hip hop plays a key part in many peoples’ everyday lives because it gives them a way to express how they feel and the circumstances they are in.

African American music has influenced every genre in the music industry today. From Jazz music all the way to Rap, it has cultivated different cultures throughout the world in a very unique way. African Americans have produced music, beginning with the transition through the transatlantic slave trade, to slavery in the “New World”, the Civil Rights era, and to the modern society of today, that enabled so many genres to actually even exist. Even though each time period focused on a specific issue during that time, it is evident the suffrage and the overall experience of Blacks molded artist of the past and those of today. The music produced in the past is very much so different from that of today, however, it is clearly shown that many present

Introduction Paragraph: Occasion: In the 20th century music was very prompt in daily life. During this era African-Americans were known for their jazz and new style of music. The new music became loved by many in the American culture and influenced what people thought. Music changed the American culture to have a better view on the African-American in the U.S. Thesis:

Nowadays, certain style of music are becoming more involve in our society than others. For instance, the R&B and Rap/hip pop are now getting the top on the Medias. We will try to explore those music’s gender. We will try to understand why and how they are what they are now?

“The music industry seems to allow very minimal Black cultural contribution to even do that, as opposed to the history of American music has told the same story over many times whereas African Americans creates a musical style or genre, only to later be replaced by white artists with more “mainstream” appeal. This trend can be seen in everything from Rock n Roll, Country music, Pop music to more recently Hip-Hop and RnB where white artists like Iggy Azalea, Macklemore, Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake dominates today’s Hip-Hop/R&B charts. White people may be able to participate in or appropriate “Black” styles, but they rarely innovate or enhance them, so the genre slowly withers away ( Clutch, 1).” This act all ties in with commercialization and the “Whites” using Hip Hop as a source of income to stay on top, and this goes back to back in the early eras when Euro- Americans came to the Americas and took control of everything driving the Native Indians, using Africans as slaves, and cultivating everyone to their

I remember the day my parents got married. I was pretty young then, but the most vivid thing I can remember is the music they had danced to. The main songs I remember them dancing to was “Let’s Get Married”, by Jagged Edge, and “I Wanna Know”, by Joe, it was my very first introduction to the magic that is R&B. Many things have changed in R&B since the nineteen-nineties. For one, the concept of singing groups died and solo singers took over or they simply left their groups to start solo careers. But nothing has changed as much as the content of R&B itself has changed over my lifetime. The three main changes I noticed in my lifetime take place in the 1900’s, 2000’s, and 2010’s.

“When I stop calling their music garbage I began to listen and find commonalities between the methods of their music and mine. To me the music share the same anger, frustration, fears, and romanticize yet critical observations of black and brown communities feel with drugs, guns, and violence.” Page 5 Absent of this description is the important role that sex plays in the music and communities of the six young girls in the study. The cost of selling sex is African-American females being viewed as sexual objects thus suffering from sexual harassment, rape, and sexual assault. page 47

Rhythm and blues, also known today as “R & B”, has been one of the most influential genres of music within the African American Culture, and has evolved over many decades in style and sound. Emerging in the late 1940's rhythm and blues, sometimes called jump blues, became dominant black popular music during and after WWII. Rhythm and blues artists often sung about love, relationships, life troubles, and sometimes focused on segregation and race struggles. Rhythm and blues helped embody what was unique about black American culture and validate it as something distinctive and valuable.

Do you ever wonder what is the meaning behind what you so proudly sing whenever you hear it? Music is an art form of culture which organizes sound with times It first came around in prehistoric times, however, as times passes, music is drastically changing. As a result, in the last decades music has experienced drastic changes in the themes they are talking about. These changes are due to the generations and what they are living, political and social actions of the time. For example, the decade of the 80s was the rise of hip-hop and rap music from a local phenomenon to a worldwide known genre of music. Previously, a crack cocaine epidemic had stroke major cities in the USA and it coincided with the rise of hip-hop in black communities as these

. During the 1980s, the way Americans perceived homosexuality, race, and violence was challenged. In response, Prince’s eccentric and extravagant music style and attire dismantled conventional gender barriers of what it meant to be masculine and feminine in American society. Therefore, his musical creations set an example by pushing the limits of authenticity and self-expression. Prince’s fearless dedication to breaking down conventional expectations of style, music, gender norms, and conformity can be seen in his vocals, instrument choice, and lyrics. In the late 1980s, Prince was a music icon who blended funk, soul, pop, and hip-hop and presented his work in an androgyny atmosphere to advocate for racial and gender equality. His musical creations and appearance had disrupted the societal confines that fenced in the minority groups and pushed the limits of what it meant to be a black man. Prince’s distinct attire, extravagant performances, and persona helped contribute to a new music era of funk-rock and challenged the taboo concepts of the 1980’s. Prince’s musical work impacted society by encouraging wildly free and creative behavior during a time where it was not acceptable to be who you were. In this paper, I will analyze the auditory significance of two of Prince’s songs: “If I was your girlfriend” (1987) and “I Would Die 4 U” (1984). Analysis for both songs were based on music videos and a scene from Prince’s film, Purple Rain. In addition to these songs, Prince’s

At the time of the editorial the audience Variety was attempting to appeal to was the white conservative reader. This group would be highly susceptible to concur with the article as it was presumably attacking R&B (music made by people of color for people of color)- a style of music in which was not made for them, which frightened them.