Blues People: Negro music in White America

Blues People:Negro Music in White America written by Amiri Baraka focuses on African Slaves living during the 17th and 18th centuries under social conditions in the US. Slaves were not allowed to practice their religion or any of their cultural practices because it was considered evil by white Americans. Due to this, Africans had to make a change in their cultural and religious practices which led to the development Afro-American music. Slaves could not worship God the way they use to and also had to change their labor works. For these reasons, they started singing chants/songs influenced by the American culture. Afro-American music was created by intertwining American and African Cultures. According to Baraka, African Music existed by improvising. An example of this is that they were forbidden from using drums, so they looked for oil drums to use instead. The rhythm in Afro-American music can be also seen in African use of drums for communicating. It was fascinating to the Whites of how Africans used percussion instruments. Rhythm and the meaning of the song were important aspects in the Africans lives. They changed their music in order for it to fit into their new religion of Christianity. Christianity to them was an emotional feeling and the way God should be praised is by happiness through singing and dancing.

One of the genres of music that Baraka focuses on is Blues. Blues is created from African and White Europeans interaction of cultures. Today many Black singers are singers of Blues and Hip Hop. African Americans had their own musical instruments such as the Banjo and Xylophone. The happiness of living a peaceful life forever in eternity meant more to them even though they had to endure the harshness of slavery. Many of the early Christian Negro church services expressed the important of music. Though some of the slave masters were happy that their slaves accepted the new religion, their were those who forbid the slaves speaking anything related to religion. Due to this, Africans had to change some of the words in the language and the formation of "slang" began. We know that slavery harmed Blacks artistic cultures, but that did not prevent their music from not existing. The church now became a center of life for many slaves. As a result, Blues became more influential in America and it may not have risen if Black slavery did not exist.