Growing up in a black household, one would most certainly be familiar with the phrase “ you have to be twice as good to get half of what they have”. This is a proverb of black culture that has embedded itself into every corner of the black experience, especially the music industry. The United States and black Americans have had a tumultuous history, with entanglements that have withered into trauma lasting for generations. The very livelihood that blacks were able to retain from their homelands, the music, chants, dancing and entertaining has been whitewashed into a form more suitable for mass media. Icons such as Prince and Michael jackson, two iconic performers, represent much more than themselves or their music, but instead they symbolize …show more content…
In regards to the entertainment industry, there would be no Elvis Prezley or Beach Boys without the cultural appropriation and/or exploitation of black artists. Cultural appropriate manifests in many ways, but musically is one of the most easily observable. In Nelson George’s The Death of Rhythm & Blues the audience learns of the founding fathers of the genres that have dominated America for centuries. Old slave toons, work songs even have been commoditized and rebranded to fit white society. Instead of giving credit to the black artists who have paved the way for music creativity, white musicians have improperly gained the notoriety. To even fathom this concept, there must be a deep understanding of the preexisting power structures that have allowed this to happen. Going back to the chitlin circuit, “a network of clubs, theaters, and other venues where black entertainers were allowed to perform”. The chitlin circuit was a movment of incredible progress compared to the just prior period of minstrel performances The chitlin circuit not only allowed for black expression and ingenuity, but it also served as a platform for black economic growth. By developing this somewhat exclusive system, black performers and consumers alike were able to keep their money circulated within their own people. While these subtitles were crucial in developing musical …show more content…
During the “golden age” of black economic growth, nearly every industry soared with pioneers of their field. From Madame C.J Walker became the first black millionaire by selling her homemade hair products to Durham being labeled the “black wall street” black entrepreneurs flourished largely due to communal support. It's important to keep in mind by 1920 the percentage of the black population in America was 9.9% while there was an overwhelming majority of 89.7% whites. With these statistics it is clear to see why black industries could not self sustain with just black support. If a business had to choose between filing bankruptcy or “selling out” to the white markets or quite literally selling their business to whites, the choice was not hard to make. This mass sweep of black business would foreshadow the whitewashing of the music industry as