AFRAM 337 Blog Post #1

Although Rock and Roll has primarily been seen through the public as a male dominated genre, I believe that through the works of Memphis Minnie On the Icebox and Maylei Blackwell show that women can not only thrive in this environment but also succeed just as much as men. Memphis Minnie exemplifies what it means to be a strong and independent women rocker, taking the stage where others would be scared off. As described in this article, Memphis Minnie did not look like your typical rocker, but she loved playing the music and did not want her appearance or gender stop her from that. What she lacked in intimidation, she made up for with confidence and bold music, and her fans loved it – “…folks snap their fingers, women get up and move their bodies, men holler, ‘yes!’” (Hughes 3).

Similarly, Maylei Blackwell shows us that women have the right to enjoy music just as much as men, it just takes a little confidence and a lot of motivation. One of the most compelling parts in her interview to me was when Blackwell was describing her first few Rock concerts. Similar to Memphis Minnie, she wanted to experience music the way she wanted to and didn’t want any gender conformity to get in the way of that. Blackwell exclaims the boldness that sometimes had to take place, “…you could just like elbow someone if they were fucking with you, or just create our own little space” (Blackwell 8).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpNw7jYkbVc – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – I hate myself for loving you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqjLaOONheg – Alison Wonderland – EDC Las Vegas 2016 Full Set

I chose these two songs to represent this week’s readings to exemplify the importance of female artists in underrepresented groups, and the way that Memphis Minnie and people like Maylei Blackwell have paved the paths for these artists. In the first linked song, Joan Jett shows what a successful female rock artist can look like in the modern era, shown through her demeanor and confidence, you can tell that she took notes from previous female rockers and put her own 90’s style twist on it. The second “song” I have linked, takes a turn in the opposite direction of Rock music, but I believe is still very relevant in the discussion. Again, a primarily dominated male genre is EDM (electronic dance music), with one of the few female artists being Alison Wonderland. I like to compare her to Blackwell in that she doesn’t necessarily “fit the image” of this music and what people think of a modern Dj, but through her innovative style and confidence, she is extremely successful and is a breath of fresh air for women who wish to pursue electronic music.