We’re moving into a new era in music, or so it seems. The culture of black music is expanding in a new direction once again with artists such as Santigold who reference more than just R&B, Soul, or Hip Hop. These forms still have their influence, but now there’s suddenly room for New Wave, and Alternative Rock. What it means to do “black music” is no longer fixed or clear. But what if the black female voice shifts away from its roots? What then? Is it good, bad, or neither? What’s genuinely black? Does it matter anymore. We have a biracial president. Hip Hop is influencing kids all over the world not just in places black people live. And Hip Hop is adaptable to any culture.
I’m drawn Santigold not only because I like her music. She’s of my generation. A generation of black listeners who are willing to admit to liking “white music.” She even gives a nod to the Pixies in her video of “Lights Out.” I thought I was the only black person in the world who even knew they ever existed.
The examples of white artists influenced by black culture haven’t stopped coming. From the beginnings of slavery white musicians have borrowed heavily from black culture. Black music has been at the heart of music in America and inspiration for white musicians abroad. But the borrowing comes with some backlash. Black British soul singer Estelle complained that white British singers such as Duffy and Adele were getting far more attention from the British music industry simply for being white. White kids grow up listening to a couple of Aretha Franklin records and suddenly they’re great soul singers? Maybe, maybe not. There has to be more than just a desire to imitate. There has to be a genuine respect and understanding for the culture and the ability to make something new out of it. Otherwise we might as well go back to the days of the minstrel. Adele may not be a soul singer, but if the British press is so ignorant of what soul sounds like than perhaps Estelle has reason to complain. Or the confusion may be the price paid of the blurring and borrowing that allows for more creativity.
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