Music and Identity in American Popular Music Essay

Music is one of the most elements of life, which makes it worth living. Apart from entertaining and offering a soothing atmosphere, music plays a role in shaping the identity of individuals and groups. American popular music, also known as Pop music, has gained relevance in American society (Campbell, 2012). Its popularity is attributable to the fact that it shapes the cultural identity of a large segment of American society. This discourse, therefore, focuses on the relationship between music and identity in American pop music by looking at some common examples where individuals use pop music to shape and express their identities.

American pop music is common among people who identify themselves with a particular race. African Americans, for instance, have been at the forefront of using music to identify with their black skin color. Through music, they have passed several messages that recognize African Americans as people who deserve all rights just like any other American. They use pop music to castigate racial segregations against blacks living in the United States of America (God, 2017). Besides, the artists use these songs to instill hope among blacks for a better future. An example of the American pop music that identifies with the black race is 'Is it because I'm black' by Syl Johnson. In this song, Johnson castigates the oppression of the blacks by the white majority. He asks blacks to unite through their identity, which is African America culture.

Through American popular music, people and groups have been able to identify with specific movements in American society. The most recent is the Black Lives Matter Movement, which seeks to condemn and abolish the indiscriminate killings of African Americans by the police (Orejuela & Shonekan, 2018). For a long time, the police have targeted blacks through arrests and shootings. This trend led to the emergence of the movement. Several artists have come up with popular music, which identifies these artists and their fans with the Black Lives Matter Movement. For instance, Spiritual by Jay Z is one of the familiar songs associated with the movement. In this song, he addresses the brutal police officers to stop shooting blacks. Apart from Jay Z's Spiritual Song, Freedom by Beyonce featuring Kendrick Lamar is an epitome of how popular music identifies people with movements in the United States. Through this song, the two artists condemn police brutality against blacks across the United States. How Many by Miguel is another song that identifies his fans with the Black Lives Matter Movement. The song laments at the massive number of black lives that have been flattened by the police bullets. Through these songs, individuals who subscribe to the above movement use them in rallies and also in their daily lives to pass the message that seeks to end brutality against the blacks.

Through pop music, many Americans identify with a particular fashion. American Popular music has several elements ranging from the beats, the vocals to the costumes or attires. In most cases, musicians have their choice of dressing, which they would want to be associated with whenever performing on stage (Meizel, 2011). Due to the artist's popularity, their fans would want to identify with them by embracing their dress code. Ultimately, the dress code becomes a fashion that identifies with the artists' popular music. For example, Michael Jackson's red leather jacket, which he always wore when performing songs like Thriller, The way you make me feel, and They don't care about Us influenced his fans to identify with his fashion. Consequently, most of his music enthusiasts dressed like Michael Jackson. This identity has a ripple effect on the clothes industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no doubt that music plays a critical role in the identity of particular individuals or groups. In music, people identify with particular events or cultural settings. For instance, African Americans used music to identify with their abhorrence of racism. Through music, people identified with the Black Lives Matter Movement. The fashion identity is also attributable to music whereby society members associate with the dress codes of their favorite musicians. Essentially, there is no doubt that American pop music has played a crucial role in shaping the identity of persons and groups within the United States.

References

Campbell, M. (2012). Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

God, C. T. (2017). Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Meizel, K. (2011). Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in American Idol. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Orejuela, F., & Shonekan, S. (2018). Black Lives Matter and Music: Protest, Intervention, Reflection. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.