Question to the African-Americans on this forum regarding music......

[Steelmaker]

I have been curious about this and wanted to know, are there any Afro-Americans on this forum who listen to music genres that are not typically associated with your culture? What I mean to say is, I know many white people who love to listen to the black dominated genres of music such as rap, r&b, soul, etc. However I never seem to come across any blacks who embrace the white dominated genres of music such as rock, country, heavy metal, alternative, etc. I just wanted to sort of gauge the music tastes of the black forum members here and find out, if there are indeed some of you out there who do enjoy any of the more white dominated genres of music. And if not, why do you think that is?? I mean no disprespect to anyone here and my intentions are NOT to start debates or race wars here. I'm genuinely interested in what you think. Please, let your voices be heard.

[BStecke]

I'm not black, but there's a black guy who goes to karaoke night at one of the local bars here who jams out on some country songs. It is kind of weird at first, because like you said, it's not uncommon for white people to listen to rap, r&b, etc. Strange dichotomy.

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I have been curious about this and wanted to know, are there any Afro-Americans on this forum who listen to music genres that are not typically associated with your culture? What I mean to say is, I know many white people who love to listen to the black dominated genres of music such as rap, r&b, soul, etc. However I never seem to come across any blacks who embrace the white dominated genres of music such as rock, country, heavy metal, alternative, etc. I just wanted to sort of gauge the music tastes of the black forum members here and find out, if there are indeed some of you out there who do enjoy any of the more white dominated genres of music. And if not, why do you think that is?? I mean no disprespect to anyone here and my intentions are NOT to start debates or race wars here. I'm genuinely interested in what you think. Please, let your voices be heard.

As I have gotten older I listen to a lot of different genres of music now. My MP3 player still mostly consists of R&B and hiphop but I also have U2, Radiohead, The Beatles, The Police, Daft Punk. I even have a lot of songs from the Rolling Stone Magazines top 500 songs of all time list that came out a few years ago. I am pretty open to most types of music these days.

[Johnny Vinyl]

It's a really interesting question actually and one that could be expanded on as well. I have many southern European and Eastern European friends who listen to music they identify with. It's not really an uncommon occurrance, and in fact, I think it should be embraced.

I think if a person, regardless of their racial heritage, limits themselves to only listen to music from their own comfort zone, then I think we have a person who is not open-minded to other cultures. That would be a shame as there is so much great music out there.

I think if you're a person who truly enjoys music you can embrace almost every genre of wonderful sounds that great artists from all corners of the world produce.

John

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by John72953

It's a really interesting question actually and one that could be expanded on as well. I have many southern European and Eastern European friends who listen to music they identify with. It's not really an uncommon occurrance, and in fact, I think it should be embraced.

I think if a person, regardless of their racial heritage, limits themselves to only listen to music from their own comfort zone, then I think we have a person who is not open-minded to other cultures. That would be a shame as there is so much great music out there.

I think if you're a person who truly enjoys music you can embrace almost every genre of wonderful sounds that great artists from all corners of the world produce.

John

Of course this question could be posed to any ethnic group. The main reason I targeted African-Americans with this topic is because out of all the ethnic groups that I personally know someone from, they are the ones who seem the most closed off to genres of music that are typically dominated by white artists. Literally every single black person that I know, work with, are friends with, etc the only music they listen to is rap, hip hop, soul, r&b, etc. I personally know zero blacks who listen to rock, metal, alternative, new wave, country, etc. Yet I have several white friends who listen to the black dominated music genres. Same with the Latino and Asian people I know/work with. They listen to everything! I just find it interesting that the black people that I know seem to be the most "single-minded" when it comes to music tastes.

I've just always been curious if this is unique to the AA's that I personally know or if it is a true microcosim that accurately represents that culture as a whole. If so, why is that?

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Of course this question could be posed to any ethnic group. The main reason I targeted African-Americans with this topic is because out of all the ethnic groups that I personally know someone from, they are the ones who seem the most closed off to genres of music that are typically dominated by white artists. Literally every single black person that I know, work with, are friends with, etc the only music they listen to is rap, hip hop, soul, r&b, etc. I personally know zero blacks who listen to rock, metal, alternative, new wave, country, etc. Yet I have several white friends who listen to the black dominated music genres. Same with the Latino and Asian people I know/work with. They listen to everything! I just find it interesting that the black people that I know seem to be the most "single-minded" when it comes to music tastes.

I've just always been curious if this is unique to the AA's that I personally know or if it is a true microcosim that accurately represents that culture as a whole. If so, why is that?

That's sort of surprising but then again it's not. I know as a black man I used to be this same way but as I have gotten older I have learned to appreciate different genres of music.At the same time, we tend to like music that we can dance to or "feel". Rock, country, alternative etc usually doesn't fit that example.

[Sagacious Koreo]

I'm an Asian-American, but the same concept sort of applies regardless if you're African American or not. I used to listen to nothing but RnB and Rap/HipHop in my junior high/high school days. As time went on my tastes expanded into anything imaginable. I open to almost any genre of music. I just love the art of music in and of itself in all its forms.

[CZAR]

Outside of rap/r&b/oldies which are obviously related to my culture I do love old 80's pop rock type stuff such as Huey lewis & the News, Billy Joel, John Cougar Mellencamp, Phil Collins etc.....U know that 80's culture music. There are also songs here and there outside of rap/r&b that I like for instance Apologize "One Republic" etc......If I hear a song from whatever genre and it sounds good then Im all for it. I dont however like any country really except for Shania Twains old song "Still the One" if that is even considered country. Got Em!!

[Clark Kent]

I think ethnic stereotypes and preferences for music tastes were much more prevalent before music became heavily fractured on an individual basis. The advent of the iPod culture has given everyone much more individualized playlists that are only applicable to them. Yes, there are still broad trends, but on average the diversity of music each person listens to has increased exponentially in the past decade. Among older people, you can still see some of the tribalism that existed among individual preferences.

[awongshing]

I'm black. I listen to all types of music. I've been listening to way less hip hop over recent years. Right now I guess alternative / indie dominates my Ipod. Mostly English alternative/pop. I also listen to older stuff like The Cure and Joy Division/New Order. I'll listen to anything I like.