African American Country Artist Essay

African American Country Artist Essay

Similar to Bailey and Pride, Darius Rucker, the third African American country singer to perform onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, did not enter the country music industry to make a pathway for other African Americans. Instead, Rucker had a passion for the guitar–strumming,

"honky tonk" melody, which he decided to pursue after his involvement with the rock band, Hootie and the Blowfish. Rucker said in an interview with the New York Times, "Hate mail's been a part of my life; that's just the way it is. There's still people who don't want me to be singing country music, but I never want to let anybody tell me what I can do", which portrays Rucker's pride for his culture and how he does not let racial obscenities interfere with his music (Petrusich). African American artists are forced to battle through this hate mail and criticism in order to get their faces revealed in the country spotlight. If an artist lacks determination and vigor, it is hard for them to keep performing in front of audiences that are familiar with watching and listening to white country performers. Ultimately, many African Americans steer away from the country genre because they do not want to get discriminated against for not fitting the typical stereotype associated with being a country artist. All three artists embody the traits of what it means to be a true Negro artist. In Langston Hughes's short ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Two of these collaboration hits are Jason Aldean's remix of his hit song, "Dirt Road Anthem", featuring Ludacris and Florida Georgia Line's single, "Cruise", which features the performer, Nelly. In the collaborations, however, African Americans are still depicted as rappers. This portrayal raises the questions, "Is the country genre becoming more accepting of black performers? Or is it revealing the stereotype that African–Americans can only be associated with the rap

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