African American Origins of Popular Music

My new class for the 2021-2022 school year, African American Origins of Popular Music, is an interactive exploration into the history of American music. Yes, our sound has countless origins from many different cultures in every area found on the globe. However, when we take an honest look at popular music, our melodies, lyric structure, storytelling, beats, and instrumentation, follow a similiar lineage that can be traced back through the decades to jazz, blues, and spirituals created by the slaves of the deep south.