AFRAM Blog #4

In Ludiwig Hurtado's article "Country Music Is Also Mexican Music", I realize that Latin influence on the American music scene could be the least visible form of influence. Unlike African flux of influence which defines popular hip-hop music, the Latin influence is kind of falling off the chart in the general public. For example, it seems nowadays people can recognize rapping quick yet can't tell a Latin percussion in the background. I believe this could be related to the way that the music industry is skewed toward stars, primarily on those could bring profits. Thus, Latino musical legacies such as its distinctive percussion, are barely recognized by today's popular scene. I wish people could be more educated about music and understand how the musicing we're hearing today won't exist without certain foundations. On top of this, it's surprising to see how many country music lovers blatantly ignore its origin. As Ludwig wrote: 

   "We take for granted that country music sounds white, looks white, and in many ways, is white. But country music’s origins are far from white, and the perceived whiteness of American country music was a deliberate construction by the recording industry during the Jim Crow era."

It seems to me that our education need and should teach more about the origin of music. People hear a different sound, music, and expression all the time and it's sad to me that the sonic expression and innovation of minority group are being stolen and branded as "White" music. Over the quarter, I feel like the trick of re-branding had been used so frequently and intentionally in recent American Music scene. I guess this could relate to how the mainstream media is controlled by white. They know that branding certain sound like "white" could gain the most profit and choose to do so.  As technology becomes widely available, I really hope this situation could get relieved and all the musicians, especially the minorities, get the credit they deserve. 

Dj Selection:

1. Pitbull Feat Fifth Harmony - Por Favor

This Fifth Harmony song has quite a lot of Latin Influence in its background percussion and vibe. It's pretty cool to see such song hits an award in the pop music scene. 

2. Shakira - Hips Don't Lie (Official Music Video) ft. Wyclef Jean

Shakira is also a popular artist with Latin origin. Her music has explicit Latin sound such as the percussion and the trumpet vibe and I appreciate it a lot.