Say it Loud!

One of the things that I really like about being black, is that people have tendancies to think that you can sing and dance really well, or may be athletically inclined.  Sometimes this proves to be true and at other times it's nothing more than a stereotypical myth.  Here's a tidbit of information for you.  June is Black Music Month.  But imagine with me if you would, a world in which black artists were silenced.

It's odd to think that there would be no Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop, Spirituals, Gospel, Raggaeton and the list goes on and on.  I'm sure that my mom's world would have been so diiferent without Diana Ross, Sam Cook and countless others growing.  Tina Turner would have never asked us "What's love got to do with it?"  The Queen of Soul would have never demanded that we give her some R-E-S-P-E-C-T!  Marvin Gaye would have never asked us "What's going on?"  Of course, I could not leave out the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.

In my generation there were a plethora of musicians who shaped our culture, The King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  My "MJ" jackets are still packed away in my mama's attic.  Salt n' Pepa's Push it was the highlight of my Seventh Grade Dance.  Mary J. Blige, Boys II Men and countless other artists ushered me into the nineties and early adulthood.  

Growing up in Church, I would have never heard the songs that got me and my family through some tough times.  There would not have been The King of Gospel music, The Reverend James Cleveland, Keith Pringle and Dottie Peoples.  The Clark Sisters would have never told us that "You brought the sunshine.  Walter Hawkins would have never urged us to "Be Grateful"  Even in 2011, Maurette Brown Clark would never have assured us that "It ain't over."

So that brings me to feeling like I am really a thirty-something, when I hear titles like the First Lady of Crunk, The King of Crunk, King TIP and the list goes on.  I am grateful for Beyonce, Rhianna, R. Kelly, Ne-Yo, Janet Jackson, and Prince.  I find it hard to imagine my life without these musical influences.  It would have been different, perhaps that void would have been filled with something else.  Gregorian chants?  Celebrate and embrace black music in all its genres.  One voice, one people!

Peace,
Karsten