Advertisement

Accessibility links

British Broadcasting Corporation

Explore the BBC

1Xtra Home
on air now
Last updated: Wednesday 16 Apr 2008
1XTRA NEWS: THE REAL TALK OF THE STREETS
Sounds of slavery
Slave & Michael Jackson
When you hear Michael Jackson's Bad can you hear the African drums?
African slaves may have been ripped from their homelands over 200 years ago but their music travelled with them and it still shapes today's music.

From the 'call & response' heard in Lethal B's Bizzle Bizzle to James Brown cuts which can be traced back to ancient African community leaders who sang the news to villagers who would respond in unison.

1Xtra traces the roots of today's R&B, Hip Hop in the drums and chants of African slaves.
What tunes have you heard an African infleunce in? What genre of music reflects African sounds most? Can all music be traced back to Africa?
E-mail us using the form below and we'll publish a selection of the best comments here.


Your Name:
Have Your Say:
Your Email:
Your Telephone:
Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.


Explore the BBC

Advertisement

BBC © MMVIII

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.