African American Musicians of the 1980s

How the politics of the decade influenced their music

Presenter: Sharon Jones

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Fall

Faculty Mentor: Sandra Moore

Department: American Multicultural Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=17nuzuLRJOm-yttEAFj5UdHTZlmT9r7pP

Abstract:
The 1980s were a tumultuous time period for African Americans in the United States. The rise of conservatism gave way to various policies that directly affected the lives of those in the black community. The Ronald Reagan Administration’s fiscal policy, furthering of the War on Drugs, and as a result, mass incarceration, and the inaction to the AIDS epidemic all disproportionately affected those in urban areas who were primarily black. These policies caused African American musicians to use their frustrations to write politically charged lyrics. Artists such as Prince, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and N.W.A. wrote notable songs inspired by the experiences of African Americans at the time. Their lyrics were full of direct references to the AIDS epidemic, poverty within urban communities, the War on Drugs, over-policing, and police brutality which was rampant within black communities. The ability for music to serve as a vehicle for the frustrations of the oppressed is not a new phenomenon, so those musicians mentioned above used their experiences as source material. Black musicians used music to their advantage in the 1980s in regards to the political climate at the time. Their lyrics were representative of the experiences of African Americans in the 1980s and even today.