Influence of African American Vernacular Tradition in Musical Movements

 Isaiah Broussard

Dr Jaleesa Harris

ENGL2016

30 November 2025

Influence of African American Vernacular Tradition in Musical Movements

Despite popular media downplaying, African Americans have had a massive impact on music as we know it today. From the days of Jim Crow to K-pop, we’ve always played some part in influencing musical trends. As I hope to prove, at first, this phenomenon started as the portrayal of anti-Black stereotypes and blatant cultural thievery. As time passed, artists could eventually collaborate with Black creatives, rather than stealing from them. 


“Zip Coon” from the minstrel show Ole Zip Coon (1834)- This song is known to most as “the ice cream truck song,” but it actually comes from an almost 200-year-old minstrel show. The show is about a freed Black man who dresses in high-class clothing and speaks with big words, clearly mocking the freed Black folks of the time. Minstrel shows mocked African American mannerisms and were extremely popular in the 19th and early 18th centuries, launching many careers and playing a pivotal role in jumpstarting the film and music industry. Some even regard the minstrel show as the first original American art form.


“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard (1956)- One of Rock & Roll's genre-defining songs, which my great-grandmother also swears he stole from her. As I’m told, she had a friend named Rudy whom she wrote the song about; from there, I have no idea how he’d get the song. However, we do know that it made him a star.


“Hound Dog” originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton, sung by Elvis Presley (1956)- Perhaps the most popular example is that of Elvis Presley, who’s gotten his lashings in recent years for ripping off African Americans. My grandparents would tell you any day of the week that he got the basis of his style from The Church Of God In Christ, as the church was the origin of our unique musical styles. Due to this influence, and the sanitizing of Black music for a white audience, he rocketed to stardom.


“I Feel Love” by Donna Summer (1977)- This song is credited with pioneering techno music, and the influence the song has over the genre is very audible. However, Donna Summer was THE Queen of Disco and directly influenced just about every artist for thirty or so years after her debut. With every song, she changed the face of music.


“Thriller” by Michael Jackson (1982)- My parents always told us about how the entire world was waiting on the edge of its seat to watch the Thriller music video! In truth, everything about Michael influenced music, but Thriller has had such an impact that it makes the most sense for me to list it. To this day, Michael Jackson has a multitude of impostors and still serves as a musical guide to artists like Bruno Mars. (Also, please trust that I won’t make you sit through the whole Thriller music video.)

“Out On A Limb” by Teena Marie (1984)- Non Black artists in Black spaces isn’t always negative because to some people, collaboration always beats exploitation. Teena Marie wasn’t about sanitizing Black music for white audiences, or poking fun at Blackness; she had a wonderful voice and wanted to sing the music that spoke to her.


“The Lover In Me” by Sheena Easton (1988)- Produced and written by two of the most prolific Black producers of the 80s, LA Reid and Babyface, you can hear the influence of African American culture in the song. The album is radically different from Sheena’s past works. The songs are fast-paced, the beats hit hard, and the lyrics are clearly meant to be sung in AAVE. Or as I like to say, Ebonics.


“Rhythm Nation” from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)- I could do an entire report on Janet, her multitude of daughters, and their subsequent impact on music across the world. Rhythm Nation as a body of work deserves its flowers, but “Rhythm Nation” the song set the tone for this era-defining album. The entire album is about bringing light to the issues plaguing the 80s, which Black people had been talking about forever. This album is a direct result of the Black Power Movement; the costumes are slightly reminiscent of the militaristic attire the Black Panther Party wore.


“I’m Every Woman” by Whitney Houston (1992)- Originally sung but Chaka Khan, Whitney completely revives the song with her timeless voice and a revamped beat. It’s very hard to pick a singular Whitney Houston song to pinpoint as influential to a musical movement because she’s inspired literally everyone. One artist who I can confidently say is similar to Whitney Houston is Deborah Cox, and George Michael. When producing certain sounds, they all have a distinct ring to their voices. My theory is in their jaw placement and the usage of teeth to sing.


“Just the Two of Us (with Caron Wheeler)” by Toshinobu Kubota (1996)- Caron Wheeler was the lead woman in the group Soul2Soul, who sang “Back to Life”, and Toshinobu Kubota is a sixty-three-year-old Japanese artist who’s released music since the 80s. He’s directly inspired by Black musicians like Michael Jackson, Sly Stone, and Marvin Gaye. Post WWII, many African Americans moved to Japan, and with open trade, so did our music. As a result, there are many collaborative efforts, such as this song.


“In My Room” by Utada Hikaru (1999)- Born and raised in New York City, Utada had no choice but to be around our music 24/7, and they fell in love. Her first album is almost entirely R&B, and she cites Mary J Blige as a major inspiration.


“Little Things You Do” by DOUBLE (1999)- An R&B sister duo that was heavily influenced by African American music, they had a direct role in pioneering the Japanese R&B genre. To essentially take something from one place and drop it into another requires a large amount of effort, but what I love about them is their dedication to paying homage to the originators of their genre. At that time, Japanese companies hardly wanted to hire Black producers, writers, or dancers; at the most, we could be heard but not seen. After the death of her older sister, Sachiko, Takako kept the stage name Double, and at her peak, she gained power over who could dance or write for her. Black writers, talented Black dancers, and features with Black artists. 


“Motherland” by Crystal Kay Williams (2004)- While she is Blasian, Miss Williams is half Korean, which doesn’t alleviate any racial pressure from her at all because of the violent history Japan has with Korea. However, her voice couldn’t be ignored by her oppressors. She was born to a bass-playing African American father and a former professional singer Korean mother. She is a musical daughter of Janet Jackson, and also claims Diana Ross, Alicia Keys, Brandy, Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, and Bobby Brown as inspirations. She is yet another leading lady of Japanese R&B, starting her career at just 13.


It would be impossible for me to detail the ways that African American Vernacular influences music, however, it’s safe to say that our voices have touched every corner of the globe. With my writing, I seek to prove George Schuyler and anyone like him wrong! He’s rushing to show how similar our music is to that of white southerners, and like with a child, I can’t be mad at him because he only sees what he knows. He hasn’t seen the practices of whites before Black emancipation, better yet, why did he specifically name Appalachians? Many Appalachians are mixed to some degree, so naturally, beams of Blackness still shine through. In fact, white southern culture is almost all derived from Black culture to some degree because it was our mothers raising their children, and still doing so. Hokum indeed!



Here's a link to a YouTube playlist with all songs loaded in order.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDbfJDTiuJw&list=PLdm8Z3J0eSkABWLvWkGrzyQ9L4pGzbYV3

Work Cited

Schuyler, George. “The Harlem Renaissance: George Schuyler Argues against 'Black 

Art.'” The Negro-Art Hokum, 16 June 1926, historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5129/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.

“The Lover in Me.” Discogs, 2 Dec. 2025, www.discogs.com/release/2707539-Sheena-Easton-

The-Lover-In-Me?srsltid=AfmBOopM7fF3ZzKxXuMfk95FRRN-MLmJh7IcGB1-euo08HntXyMcEDkV. Accessed 2 Dec. 2025.

‌Hughes, Franklin . “Old Zip Coon/Turkey in the Straw.” Jim Crow Museum, 2018. Jim Crow 

Museum , jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2018/may.htm. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Negro in Harlem

Image
  Kamden Moore Dr. Harris ENGL 2016 11/30/2025 New Negro in Harlem My project was focused on the new negro movement in the north during the Harlem Renaissance. I decided to portray the reborn image of the negro as opposed to the inferior and disenfranchised image. This is shown with a black person painting over a mural of the “old negro” in the heart of Harlem. Symbols of unity, music, power, and intelligence are shown, and this further emphasizes the reformation. Hopefully the piece will inspire those who sees it, as shown with the kids looking at it, but will the next generation be able to break away from the old norms? While this movement is expected to be supported by other blacks, you have some that are stuck in the old ways. For example, George Schulyer said “Aside from his color, which ranges from very dark brown to pink, your American Negro is just plain American.” (Negro Art Hokum). While yes, the negro is American, you can’t ignore the difference in their experience com...
Read more

War on Drugs- visual

Image
  Dani Wiggins Dr. Harris English 2016 1 December 2025 War on Drugs This collage is meant to represent the War on Drugs, specifically the systemic racism Black communities and Black individuals faced as a consequence. Although Richard Nixon never stated the phrase “war on drugs” explicitly, his statement from a press conference held in 1971, “America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse” led the media to popularize the term. The entirety of this speech is included as a transcript in the background of the collage, along with a news headline titled “Nixon’s war on drug addicts” and a photo of Nixon taken during the speech. The speech signified the beginning of the War on Drugs that catapulted the domino effect of systemic racism faced by Black communities, even to this present day. Two of the major issues Black people face with the law is racial disparity in sentencing and incarceration rates. At the center of the collage stands a vibrant image of an incarcera...
Read more

Mixtape “A soundtrack of Black Belonging and Independence”

  Brendan McKinley African American Literature  Mixtape Project (2) Theme: The emergence of belonging and independence across African American history Mixtape “A soundtrack of Black Belonging and Independence”  Mixtape Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4rRItdwZEUfVq85IBxlq8c?si=DLF2hT8AS8izdAmO0ehCWQ Introduction:  From the early arguments for freedom in Delany and Douglass to discussions about education and uplift, the Harlem Renaissance, civil rights activism, and cotemporary intersectional voices, this mixtape covers the development of Black literature that we have studied. Every song I selected illustrates a stage in the process of establishing your identity, feeling like you belong, and becoming independent. The later songs are by well-known musicians who are boldly claiming space in the modern world, while some of the earlier songs capture the hopes and hardships of those who were denied freedom. I chose these songs by considering how the readings’ themes...
Read more