Music

Much of the music of the African diaspora was refined and developed during the period of slavery. Slaves did not have easy access to instruments, so vocal work took on new significance. Through chants and work songs people of African decent preserved elements of their African heritage while inventing new genres of music. The culmination of this great sublimation of musical energy in to vocal work can be seen in genres as disparate as Gospel Music and Hip-Hop.

The music of the African diaspora makes frequent use of ostinato, a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch. (Logan 193-215) The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody. The banjo is a direct decedent of the Akonting created by the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. Hence, the melodic traditions of the African diaspora are probably most alive in Blues and Jazz.

Early forms of African-Caribbean music in Jamaica was Junkanoo, (a type of folk music now more closely associated with The Bahamas), the quadrille (a European dance) and work songs were the primary forms of Jamaican music at the beginning of the 20th century. These were synthesized into mento music, which spread across the island. In the 20th century influences from the United States were fused to create the uniquely Jamaican forms dancehall and ska. Subsequent styles include reggae, rocksteady and raggamuffin. (Logan 193-215)

As is the case throughout the Caribbean, Lesser Antillean musical cultures are largely based on the music of African slaves brought by European traders and colonizers. The African musical elements are a hybrid of instruments and styles from numerous West African tribes, while the European slaveholders added their own musics into the mix, as did immigrants from India.

Though Afro-American culture was specific ...