Viviana Zuniga

Global Popular Music: Identity and Social Change Essay

Summer HUM310

August 7, 2015

Word Count: 1592

Popular music has many relations with different topics such as with identity and social change.

Music over the generations has helped people come together and join among themselves as a single unit

of identity. It has also helped people around the world by doing a social change in their country or worlds

perspective. By reading different articles and films have been able to recognize how music was able to do

these changes. Music has its own way relation with identity and social change that in a way that is how it

became popular music.

One of the countries that associated popular music with social change was Cuba. In the Moore

readings it identified that when afro Cuban music became popular then the white Cuban accepted the afro

Cubans as a part of their culture. As soon as the afro Cuban music became popular, the country associated

it with their current music. They also accepted the afro Cubans as part of their history since they helped at

time of fighting for the countrys independence. As well as afro musicians were now being recognized for

their work and were able to become popular.

Cuba was at time of many changes that made them be able to identify themselves with the afro

Cuban music easier. Cubans were going through some very rough times that they tried to use other means

of entertainment to forget the bad situations they were in. Cubans turn to music for inspiration, refugee,

and forgetfulness of reality. Afro Cuban brought this at the time Cuba was going through many changes as

poverty and the discovery of their own nationality. Popular music helped them be able to make up their
identity as a whole country and see what truly made their country unique. As well as who helped it

become what it became and be more inspired from within instead of the exterior of the country.

Popular music allowed countries to be able to respect one another in different forms. For example

as Moore discusses that the music allows the population from a geographic region be able to come

together as a whole. It also makes it easier for the population to form a nation. While forming a nation the

culture is part of this creation. Moore explains that music can contribute to politic discussions which can

bring people together as well or either move them apart.

Identity becomes a very important part of a country and its population which makes them be able

to have a representation of themselves. When popular music reaches different countries it makes these

countries have some assimilation between themselves. When the population comes together to hear the

same music they are able to forget what class they belong to and respect each other because they share a

common like when hearing the same music. People can identify with the music and have similarities with

others and be able to express themselves as well. When studying the music it can help us understand the

way a country or a population developed its own identity.

Referring back to Moores readings he dictates that popular music can have an effect on persons

identity depending on their experiences in life. Can develop a problem when socializing with other people

and that problem can affect the relationships the person has with other people. Music develops our culture

which helps us develop our self-identity. Which can also define if you will be accepted into the society

with different cultural customs. Which social change can lead to cultural change and affect its own

identity.

In relation to studying the history of popular music it can help us understand how a country

developed its own identity and what social changes were made in order to become what the country is

today in day. Popular music in many countries such as Cuba or Brazil helped people know they can be

able to express themselves and their thoughts. In Brazil in the 1960s when times of hard politics, they
played songs that helped the artists express themselves on how they felt toward the politicians at the time.

In their songs they also fought the politicians that made the politicians ban their music. Also in Africa

many artists express their feelings on how they were treated and how people should defend their rights.

Such as the singer Fela Kuti where he was a social rebel as they called him had many of his songs

expressing various topics that society was being affected at the time.

Expanding on Fela Kuti an African singer, he talked freely on what he thought politicians were

abusing his country. He became known as the politician musician because of his songs talking very much

on politics of his country. He was able to identify himself more and be able to express himself more by

creating his music in such controversial topics. Since his songs became popular that meant people were

able to identify themselves with the topics he was discussing in his songs. He made possible a social

change were people were standing up for their rights and also expressing themselves through his music.

People are able to identify themselves more when emotions are intensified and evokes

unimaginable experiences for the listener that makes easier for people to identify to. As Fela worked very

hard to develop his music that he played always a major part in the production of the whole song from

sound to lyrics. He developed music very related to his culture and included some of Africas history

where in was a middle of a big crisis. Many people during Africas political crisis identified with Felas

music since he expressed as the people would want to express about the current conditions they were

living in. People also associated the change they needed in their country with identifying their problem as

not something they want to keeps and believed expressing these thoughts through hearing and supporting

Felass music.

Expanding on identity it is difficult to understand when not knowing the real identity of itself.

Social life affects in every aspect the basis of finding its identity of oneself or of a population. Not being

able to identify ourselves affects our social language and may overproduce a meaning of ourselves which

is not the truth self. When there is a social change it can change the identity of a population such as

mentioned earlier that it happened to Cuba. Cuba was able to change its identity after it was influenced by
afro Cuban music instead of Spanish music as it did before. It was able to accept their part of culture as

having afro Cubans be part of their history and future.

In other words identity can also be a part of practice where people try to find themselves and put

themselves in a category. The population analyzes themselves of what their true identity is by configure

themselves. It can configure itself in everyday life and from there organize the actions and experiences to

create their identity. Which can create self-understanding of oneself to be able to find the identity and

create a social change influenced by popular music. Popular music always influences people to speak up

and voice their rights and be able to express themselves.

Popular music throughout many generations had inspired people to make change when needed.

As throughout the years people have made songs to be proud of themselves when achieving something.

As many songs in the 1960s in the Brazil when they freed themselves from military dictatorship and

Cuba frees themselves from America and became independent. Brazil popular music invoked carnivals

and festivals to celebrate their culture and identity as well the social change they were going through.

They were free to interact with each other and not excluded from being outside in their own town and

socializing with others. Brazil had a tough dictatorship where Brazilians had lost their identity since they

were excluded from hearing music of all kinds and having conversations outside with their neighbors or

people from the town. Brazilian music made a social change by expressing themselves through music and

voicing their voice to what change they needed. By that means that was the reason Brazil had banned

music from being heard from the population and spread throughout the country. Clube de esquina was a

group of musicians that expressed themselves of the political debate that was unfair to the citizens of

Brazil.

I can identify myself more with Latin music since I am more familiar with it and have heard it

since my childhood. I can identify more with the current problems Mexico is having now with all the

violence, crimes, and drug trafficking since is all over the news. The problem has been expressed a lot in

many songs over the last few years since its greatly publicized in the news as a major problem and where
a lot of people want a change for their country since it hurts them to see their country be in the current

situation. Regarding the social changes in the U.S. over the past few years where people use social media

to express themselves and are widely heard throughout the world in a matter of minutes. Many songs as

hip pop are using social media to influence their songs to be heard. Also with the violence between cops

and civilians which has been publicize greatly over the years where creates a racial bias. Rap songs are

being influenced by the current events happening in the country to where they develop songs based on the

issue.