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History of the Blues; Connection Between the Art and Modern Conscious Hip Hop

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History of the Blues; Connection Between the Art and Modern Conscious Hip Hop
Blues and Conscious Hip Hop Connection Conscious Hip-hop is the modern form of the blues. Both genres of music express the hardships of the African American people in their respective time periods or explain the culture surrounding the artist and/or their community. Through their lyrics, the artists from the two genres are able to spread the culture and experiences of the black race. Elements of the blues are rooted in African culture. The blues is one of the most influential styles of music, especially music of the early twentieth century. During its peak, the blues seemed to take on the role as the voice of the black population. Artist like Ma Rainey, Robert Johnson, and others alike were some of the great blues musicians. Although each artist sings about something different, they implant an emotion as well as spread the tribulations expressed in the song. In today’s world, conscious hip-hop has become the new blues. Although there are many musical alterations, conscious hip-hop currently serves the purpose that the blues once served for the African American community. This style of music speaks about the new hardships experienced by the community, and portrays it in a way that can be felt by anybody who has had the same, or similar, experiences.
Blues
Ma Rainey is considered the mother of the blues. She was known for her musical gifts, such as a wonderful bluesy tone. She was one of the pioneers of the blues as she was one of the first people, woman or man, to achieve notoriety and fame from this line of work. In Ma Rainey’s song, “Trust No Man”, she is lending advice to other women about the amount of trust that should be given to their male counter part. This song is one of the many problems experienced not only by black women, but women everywhere. Though it is not directly stated, the woman is in a relationship where her husband or boyfriend is constantly cheating on her, or at the very least, has experience with cheating men.


Cited: Erbentraut, Joseph. "Lupe Fiasco 'Jonylah Forever: ' Chicago Rapper Dedicates New Track To Jonylah Watkins (AUDIO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 07 June 2013. Welna, David. "The Story Of 'I 'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man '" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. "The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time | Rolling Stone." Rollingstone.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. "Johann Sebastian Bach Quotes." Johann Sebastian Bach Quotes (Author of The Well-Tempered Clavier). N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. I was able to make a bib for the ones up top, but I was not able to make one for the ones listed below. http://rapgenius.com/Lupe-fiasco-bitch-bad-lyrics http://www.broonzy.com/ http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1072420&m=18816233 http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/martinscorsesebestoftheblues/imyourhoochiecoochieman.htm
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