In the Women Who Rock: Oral History Archives, their mission is driven by centering the role of women, specifically women of color, in the "creation of cultural scenes and social justice movements in the Americas and beyond". Their work centers around healing just as much as it is about justice. Women of color, particularly Black women, have been excluded from the music scene and often forced into the background as the industry centers White males. These women's stories have been marginalized, even dismissed, within history. WWR provides a safe space for women exploring popular music to have their voice heard and represented. Maureen Mahon provides a great example of one woman in particular whose voice was excluded from rock and roll history. In many popular music histories, Big Mama Thornton was "reduced to a symbol: the ripped-off African American music on whose unacknowledged shoulders subsequent generations of rock and rollers stand" (Mahon, 4). Thornton understood her art as trans-formative for herself and Black feminism as a whole. She shows up as an "unconventional, transgressive, and liberated form of Black femininity that rejects" expectations of how women should represent themselves within the music industry. Thornton's work is aggressive as much as it is healing. Her art is political.
Jhene Aiko's song, "Bed Peace", represents her showing up as an authentic Black woman unapologetically. Another song that represents Black confidence and Black self is None of Your Concern, by Jhene Aiko.
Youtube Links:
Bed Peace - Jhene Aiko
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jhene+aiko+bed+peace
None of Your Concern - Jhene Aiko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmeRjrz8KVw
No comments:
Post a Comment