The Evolution of African-American Gospel Music in America

African American religious music is generally said to have originated from the time of slavery where Africans were brought to America to work on plantations. They were forced to adopt the language and religion of their masters, sing their songs, and in the process manifest their musical instincts in a body of songs known as the spirituals. Spirituals are often referred to as "sorrow songs" because many of them express the lamentations of Africans kidnapped …

…amp;gt;S. Craig Watkins. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1998. 314 pp This book talks about the inequities in power of the American society. S. Craig Watkins explores rap music and the hip hop culture. He further-on links it to "ghetto" films like Boys N the Hood and Menace II Society, to show a similarity in the way Rock music appeals to the white folks, and how Rap and Hip-hop appeals more to the black population.