The+African+Connection

Activity 1.2: The African Connection **Introduction **: African music has influenced most profoundly the popular music of today from “mambo to hip-hop and rock to reggae” (Bakan, 2007, p.188). More than twenty- five percent of the world’s population resides in Africa, while millions with African roots live in the United States, Brazil, the Caribbean, and many European centers. African slaves, transported from Western Africa to the Americas, brought with them rich musical traditions that intermingled with European musical practices to form the roots of “ragtime, blues, jazz, rhythm-and-blues, soul, rock-and-roll, rap, hip-hop, salsa, Cuban //son//, Puerto Rican //bomba//, Trinidadian steel band, Jamaican reggae, Brazilian samba, and scores of other musical genres” (Bakan, 2007, p.189). 

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 *  Using the map above, locate the countries that make up the Subsuharan region in Western Africa. African slaves were transported from these regions. Make a list of the countries and post them in your classroom.
 * Using the map below, trace the slave trade routes to locate countries that have a large African population. Why do you think African musical traditions have had such a profound influence on popular music?

As a continent, Africa has endured forced migration through the slave trade, colonization by foreign powers, struggles for freedom and civil rights, political and economic instability, as well as health pandemics such as AIDS. These struggles have been accompanied by a resurrection of traditional dance, music, and ceremony. At the same time, these traditional musical forms have been affected by international elements. Likewise, popular musical forms around the world are being infused with African instruments, rhythms, and harmonies.