A Revolution of Music

            Music has a revolutionary impact on shaping the minds of individuals who view music as a marker of identifying within a class, group or race. For example, many African Americans mimic the lifestyles of hip-hop stars and gangtas that are portrayed through music. Many European Americans listen to pop and rock music and mimic the personas of pop and rock legends by their hairstyles, piercing and apparel. Throughout history many classes of people have used music as a form of revolution. African Americans used music as a form of empowerment and a source of identifying blackness, unity and strength. Many European Americans used music like many African Americans as a source of reconnecting with their lineage and discourse to the United States of America. Presently, music has helped shape the fundamentals of identity for many classes of people and has been used as a vehicle to speak out against injustice. Singers like Erkau Badu once said that her music is a revolution towards Humanism and not Feminism. She claimed that she wanted to be treated as a human among the many races existing within the United States. Janelle Monae in her song Q.U.E.E.N was offended when the media claimed that she was a lesbian because of her track, which she used as a revolutionary tool to reshape the minds of both men and women who viewed her actions as male because she wore pants or danced in public. Both women are revolutionary beings within African American music because they empower the thought of being both female and black. They represent a natural black woman instead of a commercialized black woman who has been brainwashed by European ideology that claims that black hair must be straightened, or black skin must be lightened in order to be heard. Moreover, since the abolition of slavery, music has assisted in bringing about change tremendously, whereas it was a way for slaves to communicate amongst one another, it has presently become a vehicle for change against the injustice faced by many classes, groups and races.