Written by Antai
Next month is Black History Month in North America. I think it means promoting African-American culture and reducing racial discrimination simultaneously. And I have been blessed by ignorance and grew up without the influence of racism. I’m from China, and there has been no slavery that I know of in the recent one or two centuries. Also, decades ago, China was weak and bullied by powerful countries, with nothing to brag about. Anyway, my point is that I enjoy African-American culture much during my growth. Can people in North America feel the same joy as I have?
A big part of African-American culture is music. And I remember vividly in high school when my English teacher, Mr.Du, held an after-class interest group about Western music. He introduced many musicians, bands, and singers. Here are the ones I remember the most.
The first one is a composer and pianist, Scott Joplin. He composed the famous The Entertainer. You may be familiar with the name, but I guarantee you have heard it before because it has been used in countless shows, movies, and other videos.
Second, B.B. King. If you are unfamiliar with blues music and want to try it, I’ll give you the answer, B.B. King and his Gibson ES-335. As an electric guitar lover, I tried to learn his music but was unsuccessful. B.B. King didn’t use lots of fancy technics. However, the “feeling” of his music is unreproducible.
In 1956 a guy rolled over Beethoven; the name is Chuck Berry. And then the music world is rock and roll. Nicknamed the “Father of Rock and Roll,” he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958). – NBC News, Kalhan Rosenblatt (March 18, 2017) Rock and roll is my favourite music genre, and he inspires many young people in the music world.
Last but not least, the King of pop, Michael Jackson. He was a singer, songwriter, and dancer, the moonwalk, robot, and Beat It; everybody is familiar with these. I believe MJ doesn’t need my introduction; now, he is not a performer but a 20th-century icon, a spirit that motivates generation after generation. Of course, African-American culture is not just only music. There are many wait for us to find out.