AFRAM Blog Post #2

Jack Hamilton's introduction to racial imagination and racial denial-ism within the rock and roll era was compelling for me. I completely agree with Hamilton's statement in which he says "Recognizing white people as individuals while acknowledging nonwhite people only in relation to collectives is a hallmark of racism across all areas of culture: You could argue that the entire history of white supremacy rests upon it." Critics and historians only credit and discuss artists of color as an entire group with ties to some sort of oppression rather than as individuals with unique sounds. Meanwhile, artists such as Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers were regarded as legends with lavish autobiographies and rarely faced with any controversy or negative comments. I am frustrated that race was and is rarely discussed in rock and roll history. Furthermore, any discussion of race was met with outrage as witnessed with Lester Bangs' infamous cover story titled "The White Noise Supremacists". I hope the future generation is able to create space where the stories surrounding rock and roll include womxn and people of color. Daphne Brooks' article "The Right to Rock" was inspiring in her ability to imagine a time where we talk about rock like a black feminist critic. We must redefine how we talk and think about black women within the rock and roll industry, as well as any other field. Her call for a feminist popular critic is underrated and deserves credit for its progressive concept.

My two song choices:

1. Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce, Saint Jhn, and Wizkid feat. Blue Ivy Carter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_I1cYf_U58
2. Hot Girl Summer by Megan Thee Stallion feat. Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbcLcSY2au4


Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce and Hot Girl Summer by Megan Thee Stallion are two empowering songs created by successful black women within the music industry. I chose these songs as a platform how we choose to talk about black women performers, women of color performers, and overall performers of color in the future. These songs exude confidence and power. In every sense, they are resisting past and future oppression. They align with Brooks' perspective that we figure out how to discuss rock and roll within a black feminist frame.