45 Riots Presents: Black Music Rocks!

What is rock music - what defines it? Is it a style, a specific instrumentation, the soundtrack to an era, a feeling? Is it all of the above? How was it birthed into our history? Where is it headed? Defining a music genre, especially one so full of sub-genres and spin-offs, can be subjectively daunting. I can only tell you what rock music is for me and that is attitude. More than the lyrics or the electric guitars or tales from the road, it’s the edge and raw emotion that is unleashed uninhibitedly every time an instrument is picked up, the lights are turned on, and the volume is turned up. There are so many musical ingredients that are mixed together to form what we broadly refer to as rock music; within this simmering pot you can find the early African-American influences of Gospel spirituals, jazz, jump blues, boogie-woogie, and rhythm and blues. Through the years rock has both touched and been touched by fusion jazz, blues, country, folk music, funk, soul, hip-hop, and so much more. Black Music Rocks!, a new concert series presented by NYC band, entertainment company, and indie record label 45 Riots, celebrates the invaluable yet oft-overlooked contributions of black musicians in the world of rock ’n roll. From the Gospel-infused jump blues of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jackie Brenston, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry in the ‘40s and ‘50s, to the classic soul and funk artists of the ‘60s and '70s like Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers, and the Temptations - just to name a few - who infused the rock sound and grit into their music and also reflected the angst of the Vietnam era in their lyrics, iconic rock legends like Jimi Hendrix with his rhythm section of jazz musicians creating a very unique sound that was known as “psychedelic rock,” pioneering jazz artists like Miles Davis who drew from the funk and rock music popular at the time to create a new modern style of electric jazz-fusion, renowned pop-rock concert stars like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Tina Turner, Seal, and Lenny Kravitz, hard rock bands like Thin Lizzy, Mother’s Finest, Bad Brains, and Fishbone who could easily morph song-to-song from unabashed punk rock to super heavy funk to danceable reggae and ska, to blues and R&B-infused artists like Gary Clark Jr., Judith Hill, Tracy Chapman, and Alabama Shakes, black musicians have poured themselves into their craft in the rock realm, opening doors, breaking down barriers, and shaping new musical landscapes. And we can’t forget black rock titans like Living Colour who bring everything from hard rock and heavy metal to funk, soul, R&B, pop, and Caribbean music to their albums with unparalleled musicianship and an innovative style - a band that also often salutes their affiliated roots in early hip-hop during their energetic live concert performances, and the amazingly gifted trio King’s X. We have hip-hop artists like Outkast and Pharrell and N.E.R.D. who bend genres and bring inspiration to their works without boundaries, or Ice-T with Body Count, another early artist to introduce rock and metal to the rap world, as well as inspired collaborative acts bringing heavy metal and hip-hop together, from Public Enemy and Anthrax to RUN DMC and Aerosmith and others (think back to the Judgement Night movie soundtrack from the ‘90s), rock-rap titans Rage Against the Machine, or the radio-friendly pop-rock collaborations of Bryan Adams and Tina Turner or Philip Bailey and Phil Collins. We also have to shout out Latin rock acts like War and Santana for adding so much depth and language to the rock genre with their own influences and sound. There are too many artists in total to name here! This could be a life-long study. You can hear rock elements in so many blues, jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop artists throughout the decades just as much as you can hear all of those styles permeating rock music. The mixture of overlapping genres and sounds that make up contemporary American music are as diverse as the melting pot of American culture and identity itself. The artists mentioned above are but a few of the many we look to honor with this project. 45 Riots brings you… Black Music Rocks!, coming to a concert stage, theatre, or performing arts center near you soon.