Spenser's Musical Thoughts

  What is Soul Music, and Where Did it Come From?           The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame defines soul music as “music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying”. After all my research and listening, this definition is near perfect in my opinion. Soul music derives from African-American gospel music with a strong influence of Rhythm and Blues. Many of the most important soul musicians actually began as gospel musicians who moved into secular music and carried their gospel background with them. Sam Cooke started his career in a gospel group before making secular music, which inspired many other artists including Reverend Al Green. Green is a great example of the connection between soul and gospel music because at the height of his career he transitioned from secular music to a life fully dedicated to being a pastor and singing gospel. He did make...

          Gender norms are something I notice mostly within genres. Both who sings what genre, and who listens. The easiest example is that in hip hop, men are the dominant artists, and when a female rapper comes around I feel like girls listen to her a lot more than men do. For a long time usually if a female was in a rap song she sang the chorus and bridge but never rapped, like in Nas’ If I Ruled the World where a well respected female rapper (Lauryn Hill) sings but doesn't rap. I know that most of the time when I get in my male friends' cars I usually don’t hear Nicki Minaj, but it’s more common in a female friend's car. While on the subject, Nicki Minaj is a great example of somebody who has pushed and broken these gender norms within hip hop. On the 2010 Kanye West song Monster, Nicki delivered one of the coolest (and a personal favorite of mine) verses of all time. She has a fast flow, great word play, imagery, and even switches between voices. This ...