When I lived in Germany in the 90s, I was somewhat bemused to learn the term ‘Black Music’. This basically referred to any and all music performed by African-American artists. The term was used on posters, in advertisements, and in clubs. A ‘Black Music’ party or CD could include everything from Janet Jackson to Naughty By Nature, all part of the same genre due to the skin color of the performers. Coming from a nice liberal east-coast college, I was more than a little shocked by the terminology. Would you put Handel and Rammstein in the same musical category?
Today I don’t see or hear the term ‘Black Music’ around Munich much. But the show MTV Urban? It’s all about the Black Music.
So PC has finally come to Germany?
I got taken aback by “Black Music” when I first saw it. I still see it around; the Müller Drogerie still calls the CDs black music. I’ve seen some club posters for “Black Nights” as well.
Germany, and Germans, have never dealt with racial depictions, and they’re completely blind to it.
I don’t think ‘Black Music’ is malicious, just a little tactless. If you want to see something uglier, take a look at Sarotti Chocolate.
I noticed that the recent inaugural Swiss Music Awards had categories for Best Swiss “urban” album & Best foreign “urban” album (won by Alicia Keys). I guess “urban” music is considered more PC than “black” music these days.
I guess it’s just another term to add to my PC confusion; still working on saying Asian instead of Oriental.
Well, as a Black woman, I find the term “Black Music” tactless and stereotypical. In my opinion, Black is not a category of music. I hear that term every day on the radio and I am still shocked every time I hear it. Germany needs to catch up with the rest of the world.
By the way, my blog name and URL has changed:)
How are Gospel, reggae, and didgeridoo music classified?
Urban!?