Evolution of African American Music

Evolution of Music Music and literature have always helped shape civilization. People have always written and sang about the times. Socio-political conditions have always had strong effects on people. This is especially so with African Americans. African Americans have been through some rough times, dating back to when they were torn from their homeland of Africa to become slaves, all the way up until the present where African Americans are still somewhat oppressed in some areas. However, many African Americans found music and literature as an escape. These medias allowed them to express themselves and say what was in their hearts in minds without the fear of being blasted for it. While of course throughout history there have been some things that are controversial, music and literature have become the ultimate forms of expression. An original form of black music and literature truly began to arise when the blacks were oppressed into slavery. Many of them were uneducated, illiterate and weren’t allowed to communicate with others. However, they did have a great sense of oral tradition. African Americans found the oral tradition to be very functional, because it was the only way for them to communicate with each other. Means of communication included works songs, courting songs, folk tales, and riddles. These methods date back to Western African tribes, who spoke different languages and were not always able to verbally communicate, but one tribe would pick-up the music of another and adapt it to make it their own. This was the music that became the foundation of American music. We would never have any drums had it not been for the Africans. While many slaves were considered uneducated, they made up for it by being innovative. Eventually, the drums were taken away from the slaves because owners finally caught on to the communication patterns that the slaves used the drums for. However, that did not stop them. It was around this time when the work song truly