Black Music in the 1980s

Isabel Hernandez AMCS 273

How 80s music impacted society ➔ By the 1980s, problems such as Poverty, crime, drugs, and violence in

urban living had risen and was a threat to African-American life

➔ The 1980s was the beginning of several new music genres including: Hip Hop, New Wave and Hair Metal, all of which have influenced music today

➔ Pop music was able to exceed societal barriers of race, ethnicity, and class.

1980’s Black Music Genres ➔ Pop

◆ As the 1970s disco genre began to fade, Pop music was a defining musical genre in the 1980s and became the general mainstream market

◆ Pop music artists in the 80s set a standard for what pop music should be

➔ Hip-Hop ◆ Hip-hop was popular within mainstream music◆ Also known as “Golden age hip hop” during the mid-1980s to early-1990s◆ At first, Hip hop music had a hard time breaking into the mainstream due

to MTV refusing to show music videos of black artists

➔ Rap◆ Rap is a way that artists can express who they are and their identity. Rap

was an important element in the African American culture, and it was used to communicate their ideas and beliefs.

1980’s Black Music Genres Cont. ➔ New Wave

◆ This genre began in the 1970s, however wasn’t popular until the mid-1980s◆ Tied to punk rock, synthesizers, other electronic instruments, and eventually became tied

to pop music

➔ Funk ◆ This genre mixes rhythm and blues music with soul music. Funk bands use many rhythm

instruments, such as electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, and keyboard instruments, mainly synthesizers and electronic organs

Popular Black music artists in the 80s➔ Michael Jackson

◆ Became known as “the king of pop”◆ To this day, remains as one of the most influential pop artists

➔ Prince◆ Prince is remembered as one of the influential artists in the history of pop

music◆ the music he created blended funk with pop, rock, R&B, soul, hip hop,

disco and jazz

➔ Whitney Houston ◆ She changed the culture of television with her music, and molded the pop

music of today with her image and her voice◆ She was one of the first African-Americans to appear on the cover of

Seventeen Magazine, and one of the first black musicians to be featured on MTV.

The start of MTV➔ 1980s was the beginning of technological advancements

made by the music industry➔ The creation of MTV and the reappearance of the boom

box reshaped the music era and became significant for many young people

➔ Early MTV refused to play black videos on its network until successful artists such as Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson began to rise

Music influencing 80’s fashion➔ Popular music artists influenced fashion through their music

videos◆ New Wave bands and artists impacted fashion with their unique clothing

and hairstyles that the youth culture would adopt◆ Michael Jackson embraced a slimmer silhouette, shorter pants,

bright-colored socks and, most importantly, sequins. This is also around the time when some of Michael's most recognizable pieces of clothing found their way into pop-culture history.

◆ Hip hop fashion complemented the expressions of hip hop music & culture.

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iconcollective.edu/hip-hop-history/.

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www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/07/12/mtv-black-musicians-grandmixer-dxt/.

The People History -- Steve Pearson. “Music Played in the 1980's Popular Music From the 80s.” The People History,

www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html.

Vena, Jocelyn. “Michael Jackson's Style Legacy, From Military Jackets To One Glove.” MTV News, 26 June 2009,

www.mtv.com/news/1614819/michael-jacksons-style-legacy-from-military-jackets-to-one-glove/#:~:text=