#AP African American Studies: Music, Theater, and Film Review 🎶🎬

Hey! Let's get you totally prepped for the AP exam. We're going to break down African American contributions to music, theater, and film, making sure you're confident and ready to ace it! This guide is designed to be your best friend tonight, so let's dive in!

#1. The Foundations: Harlem Renaissance & Jazz Age 💡

• Harlem Renaissance (Early 1900s):

  • A flourishing of African American cultural and intellectual life in Harlem, NYC.
  • Writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston celebrated Black identity and experience.
  • The Apollo Theater became a key venue for Black performers.

• Jazz Age (Early 1900s):

  • Record labels began signing more African American musicians.
  • Radio helped spread genres like blues, gospel, and jazz nationwide.

• Jump to Blues Music
• Jump to Jazz as American Art Form

#2. Blues Music: Origins and Evolution 🎶

• Origins:

  • Emerged during slavery in the American South.
  • Early blues was acoustic folk music with a single singer and guitar or harmonica.
  • Lyrics reflected both hardship and resilience.

• Evolution:

  • The Great Migration transformed blues as African Americans moved to northern cities.
  • Electric blues emerged in cities like Chicago and Detroit, with amplified instruments and full bands.
  • Urban blues reflected the challenges of industrial city life.

• Characteristics:

  • Emotive vocals, repetitive lyrics, call-and-response patterns.
  • Use of African American Vernacular English.
  • Themes of despair, hope, love, loss, and overcoming adversity.
  • Often follows a 12-bar chord progression and features improvisation.

• Jump back to Harlem Renaissance & Jazz Age
• [Jump to Jazz as American Art Form](#jazz-as-am...