Week 9 -Week 9~Are Blackness and Whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

‘Blackness’ and ‘Whiteness’ are concepts used in order to define the origin for different types of music’s. One can argue that it is possible to split genres between these two concepts due to the ‘expected’ musical sounds and rhythms, yet it can also be seen to be almost impossible due to its constant changing nature. This may seem like a useful concept of defining music as either Black or White, however, today it is very difficult to define musical styles between these two concepts, unlike years before where the sounds of Black and White music were so different they were easily distinguishable. Today’s music brings with it countless racial combinations, of whom borrow other regional styles, so in this respect, it can be said that this concept in the study of popular music is not a useful one.