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The Strokes - You Only Live Once

As the predecessors of hip hop, both jazz and blues had a great impact on the cultural dimension of the black communities of the US during their respective periods. Faced with widespread racial segregation and discrimination, members of the black community often resorted to music to gain a sense of peace and as a source of consolation. Jazz and blues helped in creating a strong sense of identity, social cohesion, and originality among the black musicians. Due to their origin among the blacks, jazz and blues music became the primary means by which frustrations and desire for inclusion transformed into greater positive energy for the Africans. Given that a greater majority of the jazz musicians, composers and originators were African Americans, they use jazz and blues music as a cultural tool for addressing the circumstances facing the entire black community. But because of their cross cultural appeal, jazz and blues were widely used as a tool for promoting cultural integration between the whites and the blacks in the US.

Although the influence of jazz and blues began to wane during the second half of the 20th century, much of their cultural appeal was absorbed into the emerging music genres, particularly the hip hop... Gradually, hip hop became a distinct genre with prominent lyrics and drumming designed to the young people regardless of their racial identity. The nimble rhythms of blues and the complex harmonies of jazz fused easily to form the defining aspects of hip hop music.

The contents of rap are generally about things that are of interest to the society especially the ideas of culture and its roots. Apparently, rap was associated with the daily struggles of the blacks and lower class communities of the US. The music got them more noticed in the society and enabled them to forge a strong sense of cultural identity in the fast paced society. Due to this association with the blacks, rap became a defining feature of the hip hop culture, leading to its rapid growth as a fully fledged music genre.


The Strokes - You Only Live Once
Written by: Marvin Gaye
Genre: Rock, Indie Rock
Released in: July 24, 2006

"The band rose to fame in the early 2000s as a leading group in garage rock/post punk revival. The band consists of Julian Casablancas lead vocals, Nick Valensi lead guitar, Albert Hammond, Jr. rhythm guitar, Nikolai Fraiture bass guitar, and Fabrizio Moretti drums and percussion."

See previous Song of the Day

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Location: United States

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