Ethnomusicological Autobiography Essay

My Ethnomusicological Autobiography Growing up in the South in the early 2000s, I was surrounded by music my family identified with or could relate to. My family would come together every weekend for some barbecue and laughs while gossiping and enjoying music that made them dance or feel good. In black culture a family get together with loved ones, music, and grilled food is called a cookout. A typical cookout would consist of the children playing outside while the men would be around the grill cooking and cracking jokes, and the women would be inside gossiping and preparing the food. For example, staple songs at cookout would include Before I Let Go by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe, and September by Earth, Wind,

My taste in music is a complex combination because I could go from listening to 70s, 80s, and 90s music to current day songs and it depends on my mood that determines what music I will listen to. Sometimes there are days that I only play music by Toni Braxton, New Edition, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Erykah Badu, Luther Vandross, and Mint Condition. The old school music I listen to I would describe as being truly organic, authentic, and pure. It consists of music that had actual meanings that people could relate to people of any gender or age. Old school music was composed mainly with instruments that gave it an authentic feeling that complimented the lyrics. To emphasize my random music taste, one of my favorite funk songs is Doo Wa Ditty by Zapp & Roger. One of the band members, Roger Troutman exposed the world of music to the talk box which is a device connected to a keyboard which enables it to produce distinct and unusual effects with the voice. His voice was so peculiar that it skyrocketed his career and opened doors for him to work with artists like Tupac and Dr. Dre. This song is a song that my family and I love because it makes you want to dance as soon as you hear