Sub-Saharan Music
From the same article, I learned Hip-hop was brought into African culture to mimic American hip-hop but later adapted into what is known as "hiplife." Like the blues, the lyrics of hiplife express the issues like living in a post-apartheid society. Reggie Rockstone is a pioneer of this genre; born in London but moved to Africa in his early years. He wrote the song "11:11" to mock American hip-hop but also wrote songs like "Makaa Maka" about losing someone he loves to another. Around the same time, Bob Marley introduced Africa to reggae music. He performed to support Zimbabwean independence in the '80s. It wasn't hard for reggae to blend with African music because many things were already similar. The lyrics were about societal issues, the rhythm is steady and repetitive, and the music is catchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcPeNjq_7eE
I've noticed percussion playing an important role in the sound of African music. So, I did some research. I was interested in learning about the talking drum because of the mallet used to play it. In all my years as a percussionist (so maybe eight years), I have never seen a curved drumstick or mallet. I couldn't find much about the mallet, but I learned a lot about the drum itself. According to an educational page on softschools.com, the talking drum was derived from other drums such as the gangan in Yoruba and the doodo from Songhai. I learned the talking drum got its name from its ability to mimic sounds from human speech, specifically tone or emotion. Musicians used the instrument to convey messages from a long distance because the vibrations could travel further than that of the human voice.
“Music of Africa.” New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Music_of_Africa.
“Talking Drum Facts.” Soft Schools, Soft Schools, https://www.softschools.com/facts/music_instruments/talking_drum_facts/3013/.
Wow awesome Blog! I really enjoyed going through this and personally found the info about the concept of music in Africa fascinating because its not just sound but something more culturally there. The part of your blog about percussion was interesting and when I looked at the links they really helped me understand more and gave me a deeper meaning behind musical instruments specifically percussion in Africa.
ReplyDeleteThis was all great, Maddie! It was neat hearing about how Africa made a new kind of style out of American hip-hop. I was so glad you mentioned Bob Marley though! I debated including him in my blog too because reggae music is likely my favorite genre that comes from Africa. I grew up listening to Bob Marley and my family sings his songs all the time when we get together for dinner and such. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeletehey madi i really liked your blog specifically because of the ways you explained how africa has made their own form of hiphop. Which i think is something that their musical culture has done so well. Which is making their own sense of worldly music. Also hownyou included reggae music which is one of my favorite genres if music that also has an african background .
ReplyDeleteHey rad Mad! I was really excited to read about your research about the talking drum. I found it interesting that it came from two other instruments and am curious to learn more about them.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that hip-hop was brought into African culture to mimic American hip-hop. I thought it was pretty cool that the drumstick was curved and not straight. Also, I found it interesting that the talking drum was derived from other drums. Thank you for sharing!
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