(gentle upbeat music)
- [Narrator] African-American music
was developed and evolved
by enslaved Africans in the new world.
As a way of communicating with each other,
as a way of spreading information among the members.
As a way of building a culture.
As a way of expressing their innermost feelings
and frustrations.
As a way of recording their history.
And as a way that was often opaque
to the dominant white culture
in which they were embedded.
This 400-year musical triumph
began with the Negro spirituals.
(gentle humming)
Exploded into the blues.
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ The train I ride on ♪
And at the same time, jazz took the world by storm.
(jazz music)
These genres grew into soul.
♪ I'll be there in a hurry ♪
♪ You don't have to worry ♪
♪ 'Cause baby there ♪
♪ Ain't no mountain high enough ♪
Then burst onto the scene with rap.
♪ Now let me welcome everybody to the Wild Wild West ♪
♪ A state that's untouchable like Eliot Ness ♪
And it's still evolving today with Afro futurism.
(soft music)
♪ It was all a dream ♪
This is indeed, one of the greatest American stories
of struggle and triumph.
♪ Dream, dream ♪