The Rise of Black British Culture from Black British Music like Reggae, Jazz, Ska to the Black British Education in Britain, seen in “Some Kind of Black” by Diran Adebayo The Black British culture is somewhat similar to that of the culture of blacks in America; however some things are more influential and seen differently in Britain than America. Black British Music is seen as very influential not only for Black British culture however for Britain music as a whole. The mixture of pop, ska, and punk had a huge impact on not only blacks in Britain however whites also.
Another aspect of the Black British culture is the rise of the black culture in politics, labor, and education. Like America, blacks in the postwar Britain were discrimination against and were not welcomed with open arms; however Black British held onto their culture and earned their place in society. Black British music is very influential in Britain to most individuals in society. Through “Some Kind of Black” written by Diran Adebayo, the reader can see the influence of music in characters. Reggae, Hip Hop, and Jungle music are three types of Black British music that are very influential in Britain.
Black British music contains music from performers like George Bridgetower to Billy Waters, who was more of a street performer. Black British music is developed by various influences; especially Caribbean influences, it also has been influenced by Black American styles of music like rap. Like most music, Black British music has many influences however it has its own distinctive identity and represents Black British as a whole. Reggae is one very influential type of Black British music. It was developed in Jamaica around the late 1960s and contains different styles of music like ska and rocksteady.
Groups like ‘Black Roots’ were very influential in the eighties and nineties. Reggae contains various instruments from the drums and other percussions, to bass, guitars, keyboards, horns, vocals, ect. Reggae is still very popular today all around the world. Hip Hop is also a very influential factor in the Black British culture, however it represented a new generation of blacks in Britain. This type of music was seen in “Some Kind of Black’ as moving on from the generation of new immigrants to actually being born in Britain. Hip Hop started in the 1970s and became very popular in the 1980s.
Most of the hip hop music in Britain was created by men and was seen as very masculine and tough. This type of music definitely impacted the perception on blacks and developed various stereotypes for the Black British society. It portrayed the criminal, gangster blacks in society, which gave society a very harsh and negative outlook on men. Also a lot of this music was concentrated on sex, or drugs. During the post war Britain era, many women were seen as objects or sex symbols and a lot of this music contained this perception of women so it definitely influenced the view of women at the time.
A lot of the rappers, or individuals who were involved with hip hop were always seen with a lot of women, so the individuals who saw them as idols, were impacted by this type of behavior, which didn’t help the view of women. With the influences of music, and blacks defining their own blackness identity throughout Britain, the Black British culture has made a lot of progress in society as a whole. Like America, Black British was portrayed as invisible, criminals, and also accompanied lower positions in the labor market.
However, today Black British are occupying better paid jobs, political positions, and incorporation their own identity and culture within the British society. Black British has various aspects of their culture however music is one I find very interesting and very influential to the blacks in Britain. Today, a lot of the Black British music is seen in America, also during the past this type of music impacted individuals in America, so not only is Black British culture influencing Britain, and Europe it also influences America and other countries around the world.