Funk Research Paper

Music is a simple part within everyone’s lives; whether you’re young or old, black or white, music has a place within your heart. Music is a diverse world within itself, including many different genres like jazz, pop, rock, classical, etc. Jazz is the only music genre that Americans themselves invented. African American culture is where this music started, though. A very influential African American character in our history is Buddy Bolden.

Jazz, an American music form, whose roots lay in African expression, made history. Such greats are remembered today from the Jazz age and among them are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. The talented George Gershwin, Cole Porter and many others brought the influence of jazz to the concert halls and to Broadway. Bessie Smith familiarized Americans with the Blues sound recording.

expanding, sharing it’s enthusiasm throughout the world. The evolution of jazz aroused the curiosity of the nation. As Blacks received their freedom, they were able to

Throughout the history of this country, the music of African-Americans has remained a strong influence upon our society and culture. Beginning with the music carried over from Africa with the slaves, up until now, with the new styles created by urban youth today, African-Americans have retained certain elements within their music which makes it unique from any other musical form. Some of the musical forms which were created from, and/or were strongly influenced by afro-centric musical characteristics are: Hymnals, Gospel, Spirituals, Ragtime, the blues, and R&B. While many of these musical forms are still popular today amongst Blacks and Non-Blacks, jazz and hip-hop are arguably the two most widespread and

It is well known that racism was very present in the early days of Rock n Roll, but its direct long-term effect on music is significant. The attitude surrounding black music as an industry would change after slavery in segregated America. The very sounds being produced were heavily influenced by slave life. Along with this, music gained a new level of personal emotion due to the catharsis of the oppressed. Due to slavery, segregation, and racism in America during the early years of Rock n Roll, a large shift in the culture of the music industry, musical structure, and content occured.

African Americans had a major role in the development of popular entertainment in America. Following the Civil War, black Americans, developed a new style of music called ragtime which eventually evolved into what we now know as Jazz. In developing Jazz, African Americans contributed knowledge of the dance and folk music of people across Africa. Together, these musical forms had a major influence on the development of music within the United States and around the world during the 20th century. Early jazz and blues recordings were made in the 1920’s and the early part of the 20th century saw a constant rise in their popularity.

The 1950s and 1960s was a turbulent time of social change. During this era, the Civil Rights movement came to prominence as African Americans protested for equal rights, and challenged racial discrimination. These acts of civil disobedience and both nonviolent and violent protests brought to the forefront all of the inequalities that African Americans still faced. As all of this was going on, music was playing an important role in the movement and race relations. Specifically, jazz, a musical genre that in many way parallels the struggle of the Civil Rights movement.

American history was radically changed when President Abraham Lincoln gave the very famous Emancipation Proclamation. This lead to the freedom of millions of African Americans who sought the same liberty and equality that was promised to everyone under the United States constitution. These liberties, of course, were not achieved right away. During the Reconstruction era, which is the decade right after the Civil War, many of the recently freed slaves did not have money, property, or credit. They could not buy the necessary things to enjoy their freedom, which lead to sharecropping, a glorified form of slavery. Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner lets a tenant use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land (Sharecropping).. Added on to this, facilities were segregated to prevent the black man from enjoying the same things as the white man due to Jim Crow laws which were enacted after the Reconstruction era. The struggle for equality and rights continued during the Gilded Age (1873-1900), the Progressive Era (1900-1920s), the Great Depression (1930s), WWII (1939-1945), the beginning of the Cold War (1947), up until the Civil Rights movement (1954-1968). At this point in history, African Americans fought for their rights and changed the course of American history. Music was a very important tool used by African Americans that helped achieve this. Ever since the slavery times, music was a big part of their culture

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.

Funk music was known for dancing, costumes, and personalities (Pearson). Also in the 1970’s, there were many artist of each type of music. In disco the most famous

As the popularity of black artist started to build, especially in America, new variations of gospel and R&B developed; forming soul and funk. Were in the past, black musicians were ignored by the record companies, because they were not part of the music business model.

African American music is divided into many subgroups that led to another style, which allowed empowerment. Such styles as spiritual, blues, jazz, r&b, and hip hop created an incredible history.

American Music is a melting pot of different cultures, emotions, experiences, and therefore genres. It is incredible to see how as music evolves and changes with the time, so does The United States. We are a mixed bag as a country, accepting all different cultures and backgrounds. This has led to many breakthroughs and innovations in music throughout history. We are all influenced by our experiences in life and this is no different in the evolution of music in American History. The Blues was created from African American Slave songs, with lyrics that narrate the hardships of the human experience at the time. These rhythms and forms carried over and eventually created what is now Rock and Roll. Over the next five weeks, we will explore and discover five key genres and artists who are known to specialize in that genre as a way to reconnect with our history and explore the possibilities for innovation in music in the future.

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.

In the late 1960s, a genre of music by the name of Funk arose from a mixture of Jazz, Soul, Rhythm and Blues. Funk provided thousands of nightclubbers with funky chords and electric rhythms to dance to. Over the span of its popularity, Funk evolved and developed various subgenres, such as Funk rock, Boogie, Electro funk, Funk metal and the notorious, Gangsta-Funk. Gangsta-Funk or G-Funk for short, is a subgenre of Hip Hop invented in the early 90s on the mean streets of Los Angeles, California. The central pioneers of G-Funk can be argued, but to keep it short, Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg deserve more than half of the credit for helping to develop this fable style of music. A product of the streets of Long Beach, California, Snoop Dogg was taken under Dr.Dre's wing and with his guidance dropped