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Roy Lara
Dr. Kate Gale
English 111
8 September 2014
Afro-American Music: From Bebop to Rap
Music is vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of
form, harmony, and expression of emotion (Oxford Dictionary). Music can also be used to
portray a message to its projected audience, whether the message is received or not is entirely up
to the audience. It also has the power to bring a group of people together and create an imagined
community in such that they are all one because of the music that they affiliate themselves with.
Nevertheless, in the Cornel West Reader, by Cornel West, he explores the timeline of AfroAmerican Music: from Bebop to Rap with three main points. First, as the United States rose to
be a world power they were able to focus more and in turn, spend more on native cultural norms
such as music. Second, vast and technical innovations in mass media and communications
facilitated immediate and massive influence of certain forms and styles upon others as well as
facilitating growth of music genres. Third, and most important, Afro-American music is first
and foremost, though not exclusively or universally, a countercultural practice with deep roots in
modes of religious transcendence and political opposition (474). Throughout his essay, he
presents a plethora of examples on how each era of Afro-American music has been influenced by
each other and what they exactly did for the Afro-American music genre as a whole.
After the United States success of World War II they had a surplus of money because of
their new becoming of a world power. With that money the United States was able to focus more
on their own cultural norms, such as music. This surplus of money created so much more
opportunities in the music area because it was able to expedite the growth of jobs in the music
industry for African Americans during that time. The music industry first became alive with the
popular American genre, especially imitated and co-opted Afro-American music, bebop. The

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bebop musicians such as Charlie Parker, Theolonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others
were the first jazz musicians to popularize their own form American mainstream music. It was
obvious that after the excessive amount of money from becoming a world power it was a lot
easier for money to be made and for the Afro-American forms of music to be noticed and
produced by artist. It also shows that with the increased amount of money the African
Americans were granted more upward mobility in an industry dominated by predominately
whites.
The cultural norms of the United States were not just about the genres of music that the
African Americans were coming out in but was also about the backstory of their music as well.
Generally speaking, Afro-American popular music constitutes a crucial dimension of the
background practices-the ways of life and struggle-of Afro-American culture (474). Most
music that is being produced by Afro-Americans now, and even decades ago, has always been
similar in that they are all preaching to their audience about what their life is like and how they
handle life situations. Since the beginning of their music culture it is more often noticed that
they have had rhythmic freedom in place of social freedom, linguistic wealth instead of
pecuniary wealth (474). In short, they have felt that although they might not have without their
social freedom and physical wealth of money they have been able to persevere with what they
did have, their music. After World War II the United States focused more on their own native
cultural forms and styles such as Afro-American music. The first mark in Afro-American history
comes after Second World War with Bebop Jazz. This genre of jazz is a reaction to the white
dominated genre, swing jazz, in ways such as vocalizing certain instruments to voice their
moods about Afro-America after the war. It was present that they are using their music to
express their feelings without having a direct attack on the social norms of white America. The
main style of Afro-American music is one that portrays their lifestyle whether it is something to

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boast and show off or something that people should be ashamed of, but no matter which of the
two were being presented they made sure that it was known on how they live.
Along with the surplus of wealth, the United States also had some major technological
advancements which helped in the production of the music and also created a new style of music.
With all of the technological innovations coming to the forefront of America, mainly black
entrepreneurial activity in mass communications, it was evident that a black market could
support a black recording industry as well (476). With a black recording label out it would be an
enormous leap forward in Afro-American music because it would be easier for them to get
signed and they wouldnt have to be scared to sell out to the white man and change their musical
style so it could be more popular amongst white America. With a black recording industry AfroAmerica was also able to spread their music out into different genres and actually create a
subgenre of funk, which was later known as technofunk. Before technofunk was a similar fast
funk music that grasped center stage from mellow soul music in the mid seventies (478). With
fast funk giving birth to this distinctive expression of postmodern black popular music it
invigorated the new politicized black middle class and a stable working class fresh out of the
blues-ridden ghettos (479). With these progressions from all the newly released technology,
not only was Afro-American music was reborn again, African Americans in the music business,
too, were all moving up, economically, because there was plenty of room for improvement.
The one thing that might not be so palpable, but is definitely there, in Afro-American
music is where it originates, gospel. Although the starting point of Afro-American music is not
gospel songs the original work songs definitely have it in there. In the work songs they talk
about how hard they have been working all day in the sun and then they throw in some hints of
gospel in there by singing or praying in the song to their supreme being because that is the reason
they are still surviving. For the longest time in Afro-American music, all the way up into the

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1950s, gospel was the main staple of Afro-American music. Although other genres have outrun
the longevity of gospel there is no doubt that even in Rap music there is still some hints of
gospel. Although Rap music as a whole challenges the idea that somebody cares there is till
music that also challenges that challenge such as the compositions of Tupac Shakur.
Rap music is mainly about showing the hatred, mainly, that Afro-America has against the
rest of America, which is always out to get them. Most rap music seems to be out of touch from
their musical roots, but not all. Tupac Shakur was a rapper who was not so ghetto and was in
touch with some real musical style and lyrics as well. As the genre is presented, it supposed to
be out of touch with its roots where there is no one who cares but in his music he challenges the
idea in a way that if no one will help then we have to step up together and change. In his track
Changes, released after his death in 1998, he makes it notable that they might not be getting help
but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other, start making changes, start
seeing me as a brother and not two distant strangers In those three short lines he is making a
good statement about his people but he is also reaching back in time to the roots of AfroAmerican music where they are finding a common ground for hope and are seeing things on the
brighter side to try and get out of the predicaments that they are in.
Conclusion