- Share This Post
- submit
- 0
-
Sparkle (0)
Laina Dawes also writes at Writing is Fighting and is the music editor for Suite101.com.
My boy Del Cowie attended a concert where the opening band for the ever-so-popular The Roots, J.Davey got booed from the audience. Bands getting booed is not a rarity, but in this case, I wonder if it was because the duo, who describes their music as "New Wave/ Soul & Funk" didn't sit well with a Hip-Hop audience. Black folks who choose to delve into music outside of Hip-Hop, R&B and other popular black-oriented genres of music have a hard time finding acceptance among their peers.
The reason why I bring this up is from another Roots show I attended, years ago. The opening band was a also an eclectic mix of genres, mixing rock and punk with a bit of R&B, and the crowd just stood there as the pretty and petite singer wailed like a madwoman. I loved it, the crowd didn't. I also attended a concert by my favourite band of all time, Judas Priest, and had people looking at me and my (black) friend like we had suddenly grown another head.
As a fan of metal and punk music, I don't have alot of friends who share my tastes. As a writer who writes about alternative music, it is common when talking to someone about what I like to focus on for them to be taken aback, expecting me to be a Hip-Hop fan,love Michael Jackson or be hitting the R&B clubs every weekend. But from my experiences interviewing black rock musicians and fans and from reading about the experiences of some legendary black rock groups, like Mother's Finest and the Family Chain, who had a hard time finding mainstream success, it's hard to break the stereotypes that surround race and music.
In Canada, where a large percentage of the black population has ties to the Carribean, Reggae, Calypso and Soca are popular. It signifies a cultural tie to 'back home,'and also, suggests how patriotic one is to their culture. I imagine, since I am not an American, that Hip-Hop,Blues, Jazz, Soul and R&B also serve as signifiers of African-American culture and the role one identifies themselves.
But the funny thing is, that while we are accustomed to white artists playing Rock n'Roll, it is a black-originated musical genre, yet black rockers, or anyone who plays musical genres outside of the black signifiers, has a hard time finding acceptance from their communities. "It's white music," I have heard, and it has been insinuated that if you are a fan, you are somehow "white-washed" or "hate your blackness."
So back to J. Davey. Check out their music on MySpace. It is original but it requires an open mind, not one that compartmentalizes what people "should" be listening to, or what people should play. It is about two people who are doing their own thing, showing individuality in a world where conformity is safe. Yet really, really boring.
