Edited by Andrew Ma and Sophie Tipper
Cover Photo Designed by Rodz
My playlist consists of a diverse range of songs spanning various genres. From mainstream artists like Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, Frank Ocean, and Solange to more local southern-hip-hop and jazz musicians, each song comes together to create a delicious melting pot of genres that fulfill all of my musical cravings. In an attempt to learn more about my favorite artists, I spent hours watching insightful interviews—new and old, reading various articles, and soaking up information from musical analysis podcasts.
Shockingly, I discovered that many of the artists now praised for their genre-bending songs were once ridiculed for making what many saw as “white people music.” This sent me down a rabbit hole in which I discovered the history of genres and how they impact the recognition musicians receive from mainstream media.
Before the emergence of solidified genres, different forms of media (music, films, etc.) were separated by race. The styles that we now acknowledge as Rap and R&B were associated with Black records, while Country and Classical music dominated white records. Even as American society progressed and media began to integrate, genres still maintained their “racialized expectations”.
The existence of these racialized expectations often caused tension amongst consumers and musicians, particularly within the Black community. Artists such as Whitney Houston, who diverged from the typical R&B sound of her decade to produce pop music, were ridiculed and labeled as “not black enough.” The idea of a Black musician incorporating “white” genres into a song was considered taboo amongst Black consumers of that period, and those who did were shunned and labeled as traitors. However, as time went on, and Black consumers became increasingly aware of their cultural ties to the origins of various genres, they became more accepting.
Redefining What Belongs
Though Black artists were eager to diversify their music, white audiences were not as willing to accept this transition, and many artists struggled to break free from the confines of the “urban” category. Grammy-winning artist Tyler, the Creator expressed frustration about his hit project, Igor, being awarded Best Rap Album of the Year, despite its genre-defying inclusion of various musical styles. As he puts it, whenever Black musicians “do anything that’s genre-bending, they (award shows) always put it in the rap or urban category.”
In a more recent example, musical superstar Beyoncé faced backlash from upset music consumers after her 2024 studio album, Cowboy Carter, was awarded Best Country Album at the Grammys. Following the incident, the Grammys announced that “the existing Best Country Album Category has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album, and a new category, Best Traditional Country Album, has been added.” The separation of these awards implies that Beyoncé’s album was not produced in accordance with country music tradition. But what exactly is country music tradition? Professor Alexander Carpenter explains that country music “is historically associated with the expression of a certain imaginary vision of American rurality that promotes normative and exclusionary narratives of the white middle class, via a pantheon of superstars that is almost exclusively white.” Therefore, knowing the history of the racial boundaries associated with music genres, one has to wonder if Cowboy Carter is missing an essential musical element, or if Beyoncé simply did not meet the genre’s racial requirements.
Reluctance to confront the racism ingrained in an art form that brings joy is not uncommon, as this would require uncovering and unlearning hidden forms of prejudice within oneself, which can be a very difficult and uncomfortable journey. However, to create a more inclusive music industry, both artists and consumers must reconsider the way they view genres. We must confront the inherent racial biases that often lead us to categorize songs as simply white or Black people music, that encourage us to shame our own artists for not being “Black enough”, and that mandate we deny an artist entry into a space for not meeting the racial requirements. Inspired by an interview between iconic filmmakers Jordan Peele and Ryan Coogler, I no longer view genres as a form of strict categorization for music. Hip-Hop, Jazz, Blues, and Country are all different styles that artists can seamlessly blend into one song to create something new and genre-bending. We should all “look at the word genre as, let’s see how many genres we can do.”
Leave a Reply