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Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Jimmy Crack Corn; Frankie and Johnny; String of Pearls; Blue Moon; Jingle Bell Rock; and Dirty Pop: none of these songs would be here today without influence from African-American culture. Some people have a hard time listening to “black music,” meaning Jazz, Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop but using the same logistics, you would have to put Rock, Pop, many church hymns, and much of choral literature in the same category. For …

…see the African-American influence in Rap, performed by both whites and African-Americans. In Rap, the drum beat (or heavy bass) as well as the speech-like story telling is very similar to that of its African ancestory. African-American slave songs had much influence on modern culture. Starting in New Orleans with Ragtime, a new form of music combining the brass bands of white culture and the music structure of African-American music, American music was forever changed.