black sabbath
I've been listening to a lot of Sabbath lately, tending towards Dio-era, but also going back to Ozzy. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is my jam. But as I sang it to myself in the shower, I had a thought.
Black people are responsible for this.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Black people invented rock 'n' roll, after all. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, they were at the forefront, the vanguard. They took the blues and added kick to it. White artists came along, co-opted it, and then ran it like it was always theirs. That's how it's been ever since. Don't kid yourselves.
Now, Black Sabbath is largely considered to have invented heavy metal, and I can't argue against that. However, they did it by taking the blues, making it heavier, and grafting even darker themes onto that. Of course, the blues were a uniquely black innovation to start. Ergo...well, you get my point.
I'm not mad at that! They created a genre that has grown and evolved, and even splintered into various subgenres far apart from where metal began. If anything, I'm frankly disappointed and insulted that there have been so few black-fronted bands that have risen to claim the torch. Death (who were at the forefront of punk, lest we forget), Living Colour, Bad Brains...you can count the number of bands who've tried to reclaim heavy music on one hand.
It's like we've been programmed to stay in our lane, to stick to soul and hip-hop. This is why I'm kind of overjoyed to see a band like Unlocking the Truth coming in and carving out a space for other black kids to feel comfortable playing metal. This is why representation matters.
I just want us to come in and play rock music like we belong here, because we do.
American music, and even British music, doesn't exist without black music. Never forget.
Black people are responsible for this.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Black people invented rock 'n' roll, after all. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, they were at the forefront, the vanguard. They took the blues and added kick to it. White artists came along, co-opted it, and then ran it like it was always theirs. That's how it's been ever since. Don't kid yourselves.
Now, Black Sabbath is largely considered to have invented heavy metal, and I can't argue against that. However, they did it by taking the blues, making it heavier, and grafting even darker themes onto that. Of course, the blues were a uniquely black innovation to start. Ergo...well, you get my point.
I'm not mad at that! They created a genre that has grown and evolved, and even splintered into various subgenres far apart from where metal began. If anything, I'm frankly disappointed and insulted that there have been so few black-fronted bands that have risen to claim the torch. Death (who were at the forefront of punk, lest we forget), Living Colour, Bad Brains...you can count the number of bands who've tried to reclaim heavy music on one hand.
It's like we've been programmed to stay in our lane, to stick to soul and hip-hop. This is why I'm kind of overjoyed to see a band like Unlocking the Truth coming in and carving out a space for other black kids to feel comfortable playing metal. This is why representation matters.
I just want us to come in and play rock music like we belong here, because we do.
American music, and even British music, doesn't exist without black music. Never forget.