>The fact that we classify certain forms as "black music" does
>not mean that black people are looking to boost their
>self-esteem by "claiming" Louis Armstrong and Jimi Hendrix.

firstly, who is 'we'? who are 'white people'? how can you speak for all of them on what they mean or understand, or really any except for yourself?

i said it's pathetic when people conflate themselves with others to boost their self-esteem through their achievements. if you or anyone else don't do that, fine. i never said anyone who 'believes' in black music is automatically doing this, but some certainly do

in what possible other terms is someone thinking when they say 'i see THEY want to take credit for ____ blablaba'

>
>If you are white and you love and identify with the music of
>Louis Armstrong, then you can "claim" him just as much as
>anybody.
>
>But in "claiming" him, you also need to recognize that his
>music came from a "black" place (both spiritually and
>geographically). That music was not gonna come from a white
>person in that particular place or time in history.
>

it would be interesting to learn about the influences that the artist drew upon to shape their music. but usually the discussion doesn't go that far, it stops at a vague term like 'blackness.' i wonder why that is.

i avoid using the term black music because, as evidenced by the confusion in this thread, it's uselessly vague. if someone else uses it, i have to figure out what exactly they even mean. but that doesn't mean everytime i hear someone say it i go 'BLACK music?? I think you mean AMERICAN music'

the thing is... i just... don't... care what race/nationality/whatever the artists or innovators of something were. i'm not going to deviously reinterpret historical context or play down important facts, but i just don't care. it's got nothing to do with me one way or the other, and most times nothing to do with the people who do care

>The idea of taking the "black" out of the music seems like an
>attempt to erase context... which is an anti-intellectual
>tendency that I would certainly not have expected from someone
>like Dam.
>

if you ask me the anti-intellectual tendency is more the shying away from defining what this context is and asking why someone would want to erase or reinforce it. just leave it at undefined 'black'-ness and trot off