As slavery settled into the entrenched “peculiar institution” in the South, slaves used music to ease the drudgery of their lives, and sometimes to send messages. Christianization brought the onset of Spirituals, and Gospel music is still very important to the African-American community.

Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts of escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery. Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054).

DINSMORE DOCUMENTATION, CLASSICS ON AMERICAN SLAVERY. Fearing that black literacy would prove a threat to the slave system — which relied on slaves’ dependence on masters — whites in many colonies instituted laws forbidding slaves to learn to read or write and making it a crime for others to teach them.

As it was illegal in most slave states to teach slaves to read or write, songs were used to communicate messages and directions about when, where, and how to escape, and warned of dangers and obstacles along the route.

As Africanized Christianity took hold of the slave population during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, spirituals, a type of religious song typically sung in a call and response form with a leader improvising a line of text and a chorus of singers providing a solid refrain in unison, served as a way to …

“Every genre that is born from America has Black roots associated with it, from rock ‘n’ roll to blues to disco,” Madden said. “The fingerprints of Black creators are all over what makes American music so unique.”

Black music exists not because of some innate biological traits that accompany skin pigmentation and somehow express themselves musically, but instead because of the material conditions that such pigmentation has been associated with in America over the centuries: slavery, segregation, and so forth.

It is possible because rap draws from the whole repertoire of black cultural forms. It is a grass-roots music, that, despite its profitability in world markets, is still deeply entrenched in the urban black vernacular. Like ethnic food, rap music is most true when made by those whose culture it is extracted from.

According to a poll published by the Pew Research Center in 2008, more than 70 percent of Americans believed that rap had an overall negative impact on society. Some rap and hip-hop songs do indeed glamorize destructive behavior like substance abuse and violence.

Other highly popular genres included pop and rock music, whereas just 1.1 percent of all music sold in the U.S. in 2018 was jazz….Share of total music album consumption* in the United States in 2018, by genre.

pop music

Without further ado, let’s get to it.

1. Eminem. Album Sales (49.1m), №1 Albums (9), №1 Hits (5), №1 Rap Songs (4)
2. Jay-Z. Album Sales (30.6m), №1 Albums (11), №1 Hits (4), №1 Rap Songs (13)
3. Drake. Album Sales (12.1m), №1 Albums (7), №1 Hits (6), №1 Rap Songs (26)
4. Nelly.
5. Kanye West.
6. 50 Cent.
7. Ludacris.
8. Lil Wayne.

Luke Bryan’s tour was the most successful tour in North America in 2016 based on ticket sales as almost 1.43 million tickets were sold for his shows….Favorite music genres among consumers in the United States as of July 2018, by age group.

For men, the most important period for forming musical taste is between the ages of 13 to 16. Men were, on average, aged 14 when their favorite song was released. For women, the most important period is between 11 and 14, with 13 being the most likely age for when their favorite song came out.

Top 40, Adult Contemporary, Country, and Rock radio are the leading formats among Millennial radio listeners. These stations are playing music from today’s biggest selling acts including Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Luke Bryan, and Coldplay.

In addition to facilitating quickly falling asleep and improving sleep quality, playing music before bed can improve sleep efficiency, which means more time that you are in bed is actually spent sleeping. Improved sleep efficiency equals more consistent rest and less waking up during the night.