African Music in the New World

Anthony Davis and the Avant-Garde

Anthony Davis is one of the most Avant-Garde jazz musicians to have ever performed largely in part due to his classical background

“Sudden Death” (1979), by Anthony Davis is most influenced by Davis’ musical context, specifically his roots in…

Konpa and Klass

When thinking about music, often times we think of other things that accompany it, such as singing, dancing, relaxing, or even studying. Konpa music, since the mid 1990s, was and is still known for being the popular dance music found in Haiti. This can be found due to the musicality of this specific…

The Story of Tango Music and Dance

The origin story of tango is shrouded in mystery because no one knows the exact origins of its development and there are multiple different theories that surround it. Tango music and dance was created over the course of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and was…

Article about the rapper “Common”

Common uses singer, John Legend and his chorus people in the song as musical artistry. He uses the voice and harmony between John Legend and his chorus people as their voice expresses the hope and the goal of the people that are applied in the song about their future…

The evolution of Reggae

The coming of an indigenous Jamaican music for the masses was inevitable.this celebratory combination of nationalism and commercialism had another powerful element. Africa. Religion, in the form of Pocomania, and the drum music traditions of Burru and Kumina survived transportation to…

Rights & Music

History books don’t really tell the story for music as if it doesn’t or didn’t have an impact on society in the present and past. James Brown made it his responsibly give African Americans across the nation a voice through his music. The era in which Brown decided to play a role in brought life to the…

Routes of Reggae

Africa, slaves, Jamaica, Rastafarianism, and oppression of black people all play a large role in reggae. From the Spanish bringing slaves from Africa to Jamaica, to the start of the Rastafarian cult on the streets of Trench Town, and to the black power movement in Jamaica, singers like Bob Marley…

Calypso Music, Party Songs or Deeper Meaning?

Calypso music is a style of music that originated on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the mid-17th century. This style of music, which become more popular in the rest of the world in the 1950’s, uses an upbeat tempo with many traditional island…

Disco and American Culture

Disco, beat-driven style of popular music that was the preeminent form of music in the 1970s. Its name was derived from discotheque, the name for the type of dance-oriented nightclub that first appeared in the 1960s.