Black Lives Matter: The Musical?

Given that the so-called modern music is predominantly influenced by African American culture, should the music industry lend a voice to the Black Lives Matter cause?

By: Ringo Bones

From a musicologists’ perspective, modern popular music is largely influenced by black American or African-American culture. I mean when was the last time a hit song had forgone that signature singing back-and-forth between the tonic and the suspended fourth – i.e. the Pentatonic Blues Scale? Fortunately, our contemporary online digital music streaming providers immediately took notice and avoided from being on the wrong side of history by launching Blackout Tuesday.

Blackout Tuesday was a collective action to protest racism and police brutality in conjunction with the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The action was originally organized within the music industry in response to excessive police action that led to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breona Taylor. It took place on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Streaming services taking part were encouraged to abstain from releasing music and other business operations. Some outlets used blacked out, silent or minimal programming for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time officer Derek Chauvin compressed Floyd’s neck resulting in death.

Given that Black Lives Matter protests have since gone global, maybe musicians everywhere should do their part to tell everyone that racism is still alive and well in this day and age. Not just in Trump’s America, but also in the rest of the world. Country music band Lady Antebellum recently changed their name to Lady A in the wake of the protests of the killing of George Floyd and ongoing Black Lives Matter Protests. Although if you ask me, the name change is somewhat reminiscent to the 11^th Hour urgency of one of their biggest hits Need You Now. It’s a quarter after one but the famed country music band should have changed its moniker back during the June 2013 Paula Deen racism row.