1. Music of African-American America
Rap and R&B Music
Music of African-American America

2. The Black Population The U.S. is 12% African-American.
Black people in the U.S. are mostly descended from slaves from Africa.

3. Where Black People Live
Mostly in the South and urban areas of the U.S.
They live in areas that have traditionally had problems with racism.

4. Black Families
A majority of black families have no father in the household.

5. Black Education Black people are generally less educated.
They often go to troubled, poor schools and face high drop-out rates.

6. Blacks Face More Poverty
Poverty is especially common in households headed by women.

7. More Blacks in Jail
Blacks are represented in the jail population at high rates.

8. Black Life Expectancy
Black people live several fewer years than other Americans.

9. Features of Rap Music Profanity Explicit talk about drugs, sex, crime
Glorification of money and name brands
Discussion of racism
Anger
Spoken, more like poetry than music—limited melodies
Lots of non-standard grammar—“Black English”

10. Features of AAVE African-American Vernacular English
Use of be without conjugation: “He be going all over the place” OR
Dropping of be altogether: “Something wrong”
Frequent use of ain’t and double negatives
Extreme shortening: Imma=I’m going to, tryna=trying to
Dropping of past participles=“I’m swoll up”
Dropping of 3rd-person singular “s”= “He go every week”

11. Popular Rap and R&B Music Stars
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