We are living in very interesting times. People are fearful of what seems to be an airborne dis-ease, failing education systems and we don’t trust one another. The news stays on replay to reinforce the fact that those who aren’t willing to fall in line to give up freedom of choice are the enemy. We are existing through events that will be talked about in one hundred years as historical occurrences. However, what I find most interesting is the lack of music to address the state of the World.
If we could journey back in time, we would find that there have always been crises that seemed to depict daunting circumstances. There’s been a great deal of pandemics, genocide and for descendants of Africans, nothing compares to almost 500 years of enslavement. I can say with assurance that anyone living through those times didn’t expect to have great grandchildren or great-great grandchildren who would tell the tale for them.
Though circumstances were awful, each horrific experience birthed a new sound. The pandemic of the 1721 was Smallpox, with it came classical music. The 1800’s brought about the American Civil War and the 13th amendment of 1865’s supposed abolishment of slavery. These events ushered in ragtime music and fashion. In the early 1900’s, World War I, The Great Depression and the unfortunate bombing of Black Wall Street in 1920 was a time infused with New Orleans Jazz, Country and Folk Blues Music.
In comes the mid 1900’s which brought more Wars and attempted progress of freed slaves to stop being Niggers, to become Colored people, from Colored people to Black and Proud folk and from Black and Proud folk to African-Americans. It was a period protest music from The Beetles, Rock and Roll had Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar on stage, James Brown doing everything on the one in high heels and Rhythm and Blues gave way to freedom cries of Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone.
The early 80’s which is when I was born, so, I will no longer use hundreds because it feels awkward when young people ask me if I was born in the 1900’s and I have to say yes but, I digress. During the early 80’s famine left millions in Ethiopia dead which lead Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to write “We Are The World”, bringing artist together to raise money for Africa and poverty amongst African Americans would be the catalyst to create a movement known as Hip-Hop.
Hip-Hop sampled loops of jazz, blues and even disco records. Words recited on those rhythms cleverly disguised a spiritual practice of speaking things into existence. This became a pathway for African Americans to remove their families from the ghetto and live a better life.
Over the next twenty plus years, music, especially music of from those of the Diaspora would make a major shift and not for the better. Hip-Hop began to project misogyny and ignorance, love songs/baby making music is almost non-existent and very few are willing to create art to address the issues of the times.
Every now and then, I turn on the radio to find out what captures the attention of the masses but, I can only keep it on for five minutes. There is absolutely no soul or story to what’s being played, granted, with all the technology available now you don’t have to listen to the radio, yet many people still do. Is this the New World Order? Does this rhythmic, mush mash of stuff they are pushing to us as music reflect the times? We are no longer allowed to have an opinion, be different or even intelligent for that matter.
I don’t agree that what I hear lately is an articulation of the experience we are living in or at least I hope not. Riddle me this, in one hundred years, when they listen to the music of today, what will it tell them about what we lived through? I can guarantee that it won’t be a soundtrack that I would want to listen to.
–by Yashi BIN
Yashi BIN is 3x published Author and CEO/Founder of online Life Coaching Service, YashisWorld, LLC. She has spent the last five years under the tutelage of Master Teachers in Holistic Counseling and Wellness such as Wyoma, creator of African Healing Dance and Dr. Dawud Abdur-Rhaaman, Founder of Michigan Institute of Natural Health. As a Life Coach, Yashi uses guidance of the Tarot, personal experience and spiritual gifts such as clairvoyance, clairaudience and mediumship to assist clients with everything from finding/and or creating their dream job to attracting the love they deserve. To get in touch with Yashi visit – https://www.yashisworld.com/
