I was talking to one of my best friends from high school, and she told me that she was annoyed with the students on the music committee for her community college graduation ceremony. She had suggested students walk across the stage to an inspirational Beatles song, Let It Be. My friend went to a school that was predominantly black in Maryland, so I immediately understood her peers’ reactions: “Who are they?!” “That song sounds stupid!”
Her story reminded me of growing up in a predominantly black area in Maryland and getting made fun of because I liked music that wasn’t “black”. I loved the Cranberries in middle school, and I got into rave, house and dance music before I was even old enough to go to an 18 and over DC club. I found myself making friends based on musical tastes; my close black friends started to fade into the distance once I befriended Asians, Hispanics, and Whites in school whose tastes in music, among other things, were more open. It became apparent to me that I was becoming “white” in my black schoolmates’ eyes.
I think its a pity when blacks limit themselves in their musical exploration. Ironically, most musical genres and songs out today are (or were) influenced by African Americans; our influence dates back to the early 19th century. I think expanding your taste in tunes–whether it be alternative, rock, country, etc.–is ultimately acknowledging how the contributions of our people have shaped the music industry. With that said, choose a genre you normally never listen to and find a billboard-topping artist. Preview their songs on Pandora.com… and who knows? Maybe you’ll discover some new music you never thought you’d like!
Here’s some of the artists I’m feeling now:
Cicada, album – Cicada (dance genre)
The Killers, album – Day and Age (alternative rock)
PortisHead featuring Moloko, song – Fun for Me (acid jazz)
Samantha James – song, Rise, album – Rise (dance)
Stereophonics, song – Maybe Tomorrow, album – You Gotta Go There to Come Back (alternative rock)
Here’s Samantha James’ Rise:
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January 6th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Yeah!
This is why there are too many lonely girls all pissed off and horny
“Y’all don’t want to hear me, you just want to dance”
January 9th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
thanks for reading Ulysses, although I’m not sure what your comment means!
January 20th, 2009 at 4:42 am
No! Thank you for posting that story
It’s so nice to read about women that enjoy things outside of the “normal” range of Blackness. It gives me hope for future generations
I thought this one was just forgotten totally.
It’s a line from Outkast’s “Hey Ya” http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/outkast/heyya.html
Well the fact that I am the first and only person to respond to this installment, says a great deal about mutual interests or the lack of.
I admit Ma Rainey, King Oliver, Nusrat Fati Ali Khan and Yusef Komunyakka may be a stretch for a lot of people, but no one should be expected to sacrifice a piece of themselves to conform to a cultural mold of a mate or a person.
At some point it stops being a matter of tastes and an issue of a closed heart and mind.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Hey Ulysses,
Again, thank you for your input and mentioning some great artists that many of this site’s readers may or may not know!
And although you are the only one to leave a comment, I hope that others at least read this post and came away having a new perspective and/or appreciation for so-called “non-black” music in general. Having an open mind is the most liberating experience of life!