R&B Music Impacted by Race and Ethnicity
Introduction
Race, ethnicity, and culture define our society in every aspect and influence perception and behavior. They distinguish people based on physical appearance, beliefs, and conduct. The influence of the three elements is exhibited in music through the different genres that have emerged. The history of mankind comprises music and the significant role it continues to play in society. Music is a part of human expression that people use for various purposes, including entertainment (Welch 1). It is a form of art present in most cultures, where its use varies depending on the period and the function. The use of music has changed from being a form of expression and entertainment to other uses like being a therapeutic remedy being applied in different areas of medicine (Stegemann et al. 1). Its role in capturing history and important events is vital to every generation. More importantly, music is vital in capturing changes in society, representing the uniqueness of cultures, and being a medium of entertainment.
In America, music is an integral representation of the people and their diversity. The United States is predominantly a migrant nation, and its diversity increases with time. People from various parts of the world moved to America with their culture and experienced significant events that defined the current society. The history of the country has had significant impacts on communities, with minorities experiencing adversities in most cases. Racism and other forms of discrimination influence every aspect of the lives of blacks. The experiences of minority communities like African Americans have helped to shape the development of music. The culture, race, and ethnicity of blacks have influenced the emergence of jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. Despite having origins among African-Americans, non-blacks now sing R&B and its evolved forms, showing the diversity in music and its unique representation of people.
Literature Review
Music is a valuable element of life that facilitates various roles and activities in man’s life. Music is one of the most valued features in every culture, playing several roles and pervading all aspects of life (Killin 1). Every culture in the world uses music for one or more reasons. History shows that people have used music to communicate, capture and preserve historical events and entertain. Its uses continue to increase from one generation to the next as the current generation now relies on music for medical purposes (Stegemann et al. 1). The value of music in man’s life is responsible for its evolution through different periods, exhibiting advancements in composition and instruments that were used to create the art. Killin states that music is ancient, highlighting its transient nature that allows humans to continue exploring and applying it in different aspects of life (1). The value of music will remain vital to all cultures as art facilitates continuous use and application in every element of society.
Music is a representation and identity of social groups, which allows individuals to exhibit their uniqueness and problems. Music is a form of art that people use to capture stories and experiences to be shared with others (Margulis et al. 1). Social groups have used music to represent their uniqueness and become their identity. African Americans have had unique music genres that indicate their culture. Blues, hip-hop, and jazz are music forms that continue to highlight the culture and stories of blacks in America. The creation of genres has always been centered on African American culture. Jazz emerged in black communities in New Orleans (Boxill-Clark 21). It was a fusion of blues and swing, which were both created by the group. The transition of music and the emergence of new genres in the community continues to exhibit the same traits, whereby musicians use them to tell stories, share experiences, and become unique representations of their communities. The uniqueness of the African American culture is primarily exhibited through their music, which remains a distinct element of the community whose experiences continue to shape their identity.
Music is created as a response to specific social conditions. The history of America indicates a long history of racial and social discrimination against minority communities. African Americans, whose lineage lies in slavery, continue to be subjected to various forms of oppression due to their race (Weiler 2). The history of blacks in the country is rich in elements that show their culture captured and shared through music. The foundation of blues is in slave songs, whose lyrics were derived from different traditional spirituals aiming to communicate and express feelings to others. The songs also reflected the work of enslaved people and helped to increase their work efficiency. More significantly, blues were created in response to the social conditions of African Americans during the period. The melodies helped them to capture their hard-working conditions and express themselves. It also helped with entertainment through the emergence of a music genre that could be shared among them, given that they came from different cultures and regions. Therefore, music is created to respond to social conditions, as evidenced by African Americans and their unique music that captures and expresses their experiences.
Music is created in a specific place, with the features of that location having an impact on its development. Music developed by African Americans is characteristic of the country, with social and cultural conditions affecting music creation (Donaldson 875). The United States was a new experience for blacks who were brought as enslaved people. Their stay in the country was also subjected to several changes that led to evolutions in society. The creation of music in the country by blacks exhibits their experiences in some way. Blues were first created to express the experiences and feelings of enslaved people. The genre became more popular during the mid-19th century. It evolved into rhythm and blues (R&B) in the 20th century and later led to the emergence of rock and roll (Weiler 4). Musicians have exhibited the place, culture, and social conditions in each transition. Blues captured place through the instruments that were used in its creation. More musical instruments were included in developing the songs in each evolution. The culture and social situations of African Americans are also captured in every era, proving that music is created in a specific place and location’s characteristics affect development.
Music transcends natural and constructed boundaries as an oral and aural cultural form. Music is present in every community and critical to sharing information and entertainment. Music creation is subject to cultural and racial beliefs and practices whereby musicians exhibit their backgrounds and cultures. While music creation is integrated into culture, race, and ethnicity, it manages to overcome the boundaries between various social groups. Society is divided by social and cultural barriers that are the reason for some of the major issues facing communities today. However, music has managed to overcome such barriers to become accepted by most members of society by being shared by different groups (Boxill-Clark 27). For example, R&B is a music genre that is listened to by everyone and now has non-black musicians composing and recording songs. These trends indicate the transcendence nature of music that overcomes barriers.
The counterargument to the thesis is that music is promiscuous, failing to respect the role of race, ethnicity, and culture in its development. The long-standing argument on music creation has been that music is created by people who identify with specific races, cultures, and ethnicity. These factors play a role in creating songs listened to by community members and others when the music becomes accepted by others in different cultures. However, modern music does not conform to these restrictions as the current society is very diverse, and the classification of most things is based on the context of multi (Kasinitz & Martiniello 857). Population in most western nations becomes more diverse with time, and the increase in diversity leads to race, ethnicity, and culture changes. It is normal to find individuals who identify with more than one race and ethnicity. Demographic changes influenced culture and music creation, making it essential to embrace the diversity and the experiences of people across society, resisting factors that can cause divisions and barriers (Morrison 818). The role of race and ethnicity is no longer evident in music genres like pop as both creators and the audience comes from different backgrounds, which tries to dispute the factors that influence music development.
Results
The outcome of the literary analysis reveals that the development of music is strongly related to the race, ethnicity, and culture of creators. Most of the articles showed that music genres emerge from the practices of specific groups, which transcends to others. The analysis also revealed that music is an integral element of African American culture, representing some unique aspects of their history. The correlation between blacks and genres like blues, jazz, and hip-hop shows the role of culture and race in the development of music. The adoption of music genres by musicians outside the community is a revelation of the level of diversity in the United States and the transient nature of music.
Discussion
The paper analyzed the role of race, ethnicity, and experience in developing R&B music. The impacts of African American culture are assessed as the music genre became shared by non-blacks, and its evolution facilitated the emergence of new genres. The review proved that music is ancient and vital to every living culture. Killin documents the existence of music as early as 40,000 years ago (4). The history of music predates the presence of blacks in America, which implies that the art form is one of the most valuable elements in man’s history.
The value of music in the African American community is evidenced through the history of R&B. The culture of blacks in America plays a critical role in the history of the United States, with its influence evidenced in all American mainstream music (Boxill-Clark 1). R&B is a product of the African American cultural journey, from the slavery period to current experiences. The lyrical style and distinct rhythm that began in the music expressions of blacks during the slavery period created one of the most valuable music genres in history. R&B became a valuable form of music to the community and gave it a unique representation. Its development reflected the black culture through the instruments used and the lyrics and rhythms musicians were keen to follow to give it the distinctness that separated it from other American music genres. The value of R&B is evidenced by the millions of blacks and non-blacks who have enjoyed the music in all its form.
The literature also reveals that music gives social groups an identity and represents their culture to others. Every culture has some form of music that it uses for various roles. The creation of the music is unique to the culture, with variations being evidenced in instruments, lyrics, and rhythm. Most people worldwide will immediately identify music from their culture and resonate with what it represents. The use of music within cultures is also unique and contributes to the differences among people, especially in America (Sonnet 45). Every social group has beliefs and values that become integrated and expressed into the music they create.
The creation of rhythm and blues by early African American musicians helped to share their culture and experiences during the period. R&B emerged from enslaved blacks who relied on music to express themselves. They used music to show their pain and experiences, integrating African musical traditions, spirituals, and work songs. The hard-working conditions and subjection to various forms of inhuman conditions created the longing, loss, and desire characteristic of the music genre. Music gave people a way to capture their daily experiences. The African musical traditions were captured into songs that reflect the role of culture in developing music and the impacts it had several years later.
The creation of music is a response to specific social conditions. Like man, music has evolved to be used for different purposes. Killin indicates that music has been present throughout man’s history. With each age of evolution, music evolved through better instruments, lyrics, and rhythms. The evolutions have also been essential in responding to the conditions that various social groups have experienced. Music allows people to express themselves in different ways, despite the emergence of uncertainties in the classification of modern music genres (Venrooij et al. 1). As a form of expression, music has been used for centuries to capture the events various groups have experienced, their beliefs, values, and feelings about specific issues.
The creation of R&B is a result of the response to the social situation of African Americans during the slavery period. Blacks made up the majority of the workforce in plantations. Their activities were limited to what their owners allowed, which made interactions difficult and restricted. They created music to express their feelings about their situations and sometimes motivate themselves during work (Weiler 2). Music creation during the period was based on African traditions and adopted trends like rhythm. Factors like mistreatment, oppression and other forms of poor treatment were expressed in the songs. These songs later became R&B through the combination of several elements that characterized early music in the community. They later became popular across America due to their ability to capture audiences by expressing desire, longing, and loss. In the early years, the songs captured their loss and longing to be free or return to their homes. The expressions would evolve into modern love songs that showed desire and longing, making the genre appealing to listeners. Therefore, the creation of R&B was in response to the experiences of African Americans.
Music is created by people from different cultures and represents the areas in which they were developed. The world has several races and ethnicities, each with unique values, beliefs, and behavior. Each of these factors represents people who are mainly located in one part of the world. Immigration of people across the world has not changed the representation of people and their culture in locations since most indigenous people are usually located in locations they call homes. With the movement of people, culture has changed, and people have assimilated new behaviour and values. The influence of location is evidenced in the creation of music worldwide. The creation of music has been characterized by the culture and location of people, whereby African music is created by Africans and represents them. It is also created by people who have immigrated to new locations. However, music that is created in new locations is usually influenced by new cultures.
R&B was created in America, with the culture and the people of the location affecting music development. The music created in the United States throughout history exhibits the characteristic of the location and social and cultural factors affecting the creation of music (Donaldson 875). Blacks were subjected to a new experience when they were brought to America from Africa for work. The society that they got in America was different from where they came from, and the changes were usually overwhelming for most of them. Music creation during the period was a representation of the region they were in. Music helped to express their feelings as enslaved people who were subjected to inhuman conditions from the moment they were captured. R&B evolved from blues which was one of the first music genres blacks created during their stay (Weiler 4). African Americans showed how music is subject to location as R&B emerged from blues.
Music has been subject to music to changes, with old genres laying the foundation for new genres, and each evolution exhibits place, social conditions, and culture. The evolution of black music is evident through R&B, which helps to show place, culture, and social conditions. The evolution of blues to R&B came was accompanied by advancements in rhythm and instruments. The music also moved from capturing the experiences of blacks alone to those of a large society as its audience grew. However, the transitions from one genre to the next do not leave behind the role of culture, place, and social situations in music development.
The literature shows that race, ethnicity, and culture are subject to change, and music also exhibits similar traits. The race and ethnicity of people have been changing throughout history. More races and ethnicities are emerging due to immigration and new generations of mixed races and ethnicities. Culture is also subjected to changes as population diversity increases in society. The impacts of these changes are felt in music, which is subject to creation by people who have specific traits. R&B has been subject to such changes. The origins of R&B were blues, which provided the foundation for the music genre. R&B also evolved into Rock and Roll, which was later taken up by non-whites, and efforts were made to erase traces of black culture.
Music is an oral and aural cultural form that overcomes natural and constructed boundaries. People are separated by natural and constructed boundaries, which are the reason for the distinct differences between communities. In America, there are significant differences between Caucasians and members of minority communities. These differences are responsible for most of the challenges that blacks and members of other minority communities experience (Case 11-12). However, music manages to overcome the factors that create barriers between people to be accepted by all members of communities despite their racial, ethnic, or social differences (Boxill-Clark 27). R&B is a good example of how music transcends the boundaries that exist between people from different backgrounds.
The evolution of R&B has been founded on African American culture, but its popularity overcomes the barriers between blacks and other communities. African musical traditions are evident in the creation of R&B music. The genre that was originally dominated by blacks in music composition and performance has experienced a lot of changes that defy social barriers. R&B became popular among blacks and non-blacks for several years when the genre was predominantly African American. However, several changes have occurred over time, and other communities have created music in the genre. R&B can be sung by anyone who composes the music in the genre. The music also evolved into rock and roll, which became very popular among whites. The popularity of black music led to efforts to erase traces of black origins to make it predominantly white (Ewell 13). These examples highlight the transcendent nature of music since music can now be sung by anyone, and everyone listens to genres of their choice.
Conclusion
Music is a critical element in man’s history and society due to the role it plays in capturing experiences and representing the culture of its creators. African Americans are unique creators of music through the various music genres they have introduced over the years. They had used music to express themselves since the slavery period when the foundations for blues were laid. The group has relied on music to capture their history and culture by adding unique features to identify them. The evolution of genres like blues and hip-hop is also a critical indicator of the transient nature of music and the level of diversity in American society. R&B is a good example of the role of race, ethnicity, and culture. Like man, music has been subject to evolution, and its application has expanded with time. R&B is the product of blues, an earlier genre by African Americans. The music is distinct in its use of rhythm and the African American way of expressing their feelings and experiences. The growth in popularity of R&B shows how well it has been accepted since audiences across America and the world listen to it. The same is evidenced in its creation as non-blacks are also involved in creating R&B. Changes in population demographics may discredit the role of race, culture, and ethnicity in music creation, but it is essential that the origins of music and factors that influenced creators are acknowledged.
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