You can also be white and not like r&b music, I know many people who love rock and hate rap and r&b that doesn’t make them racist, it’s just a style of music they don’t enjoy. Like how I don’t enjoy classical music. That doesn’t make me a horrible person it’s a preference over a form of sound waves.
This sentiment is always funny to me and this is not an attack on you as I am just noting that the history of rock and roll framed as a white genre is an interesting one.
Black Americans also pioneered Rock and Roll. People can/will debate this and the general history for those who aren't into reading about popular of modern music has done a pretty good job of erasing how instrumental Black Americans were in almost all forms of modern music to America and a lot of the threads of musical arrangement followed from 'negro spirituals' sung by slaves and their descendants. And also how these slaves bought over the kora/ngoni an instrument similar to guitar from West Africa during the slave trade.
A lot of racist people have often said that black people only contribute to 'culture building' through music and dance while also historically deriding jazz, rap, hip hop, etc. as 'noise' that caters to 'low cultured' people.
Many rock legends like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles apparently had managers/promoters going to black clubs and listening to the songs and poaching them. The Rolling Stones early in their career acknowledged and looked up to a lot of Black American artists as mentors/performed with them and most notably had a good relationship with Chuck Berry. And music was even more segerated back then (say hello to 'Race records' the name of a very old record label that marketed ragtime, jazz, blues, and soul music sung by black people). And music sung by these Black Artists was simply known as "race music" and eventually Latin music was put under this label.
Elvis is called the king of rock and roll but Little Richard was right to call this "a matter of opinion" depending on who you talk to. People called him bitter and hateful. But it is a well-known fact that record executives listened to the music of Black American's like Big Mama Thorton and Chuck Berry and thought something good was there and just how much more marketable and 'better' it would be coming from a white face. And again since the record labels were segregated there was very little chance back then of black musicians wanting to work with them either. But for some reason if black people point this well-documented history out, it is often dismissed as being politically correct and rewriting history to coddle because "everyone is inspired by someone". And while that is true and art is and will always be a cultural exchange, this was blatant and purposeful and done very much with race in mind and who is considered at the bottom vs. who is considered at the top in the collective consciousness and memory.
So when people say 'take race out of it' or 'stop making everything about race', it is like arrogance and a slap in the face. Race plays into so many decisions, past and present, and especially in a country that may have ended slavery and segregation but then especially with ending slavery then doubled down on these narratives with laws (redlining, etc), prohibiting access to valued resources in every part of life from the reconstruction period onward for many Black people. Music historically was one of the only avenues for many black Americans feeling the strains of racist laws and policies prohibiting them from equal chances and opportunities as a way to carve out a chance at a better living. Music conservatories for Classical music were more accepting of black applicants but would still not allow for them to be a part of professional orchestras so they had to make their own and hire their own composers. But again, pointing out the long/complex/ and racialized development towards modern music would just be making everything "about race" to some again.
People also forget that many White Americans both in the general public and those in charge of social policies/laws initially hated Elvis when he first arrived on the scene for singing music that was considered black and making his voice sound black/ shaking his hips sexually like a hypersexual black person. They felt his music was evil and Satanic because it was blurring the lines of contact between the different sexes and more importantly racial boundaries which would lead to that dangerous 'miscengation'. They felt he opened up the road towards civil rights with his behavior.
it’s such a interesting and sad topic but I think what Jesy is doing is in another league and I cannot rationalise with it .
, but I watched the video and it made me feel ..uncomfortable.
How long until he's out partying with Jesy?
and I can still see the tag of when we use to talk and I’d tag her in photos etc.
