African-American music
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African-American music is a broad term covering a diverse range of musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their culture. Its origins lie in musical forms that developed as a result
The Banjo Lesson by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1893
Enslaved Africans picking cotton in the United States, 1840
Congo Square African Drum 1819 Latrobe
Slave dance to banjo, 1780s
Rhythm and blues
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Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies
Louis Jordan in New York City, c. July 1946
Big Joe Turner was a key figure in early R&B, blending blues and rock.
Dizzy Gillespie was instrumental in blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz.
Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley beat" is a clave-based motif.