Black artists have dominated the American music industry and pop culture for decades in specific genres. However, each time an artist tries to branch out into other genres they hardly get the support they deserve.
Historically, black artists have been among the founding players in many of the music genres developed in the early 20th century, including country, blues and jazz. That said, many modern black artists are still primarily in Rap and R&B.
The popularity of Rap and R&B within the black community has been present since the 80s and has grown globally. It has been to the point that it may have accidentally overshadowed any other genre within the Black community.
Unsurprisingly, the popularity of these genres has caused American music companies to push black artists to stay within the confines of rap and R&B.
These genres will always be important to the Black community, but time and time again, people inside and outside the community forget that black people aren’t a monolith.
People from any racial and socioeconomic background should be able to have successful careers in music genres outside of rap and R&B. Beyond representation, this would provide more opportunities for POC artists to enter the industry without having to conform to what’s popular.
