by Inês Ribeiro Celebrating the Outcasts Music edition

The celebration of the outcasts and their input in music is inevitable since they were the ones who brought so many innovations and shifts in the musical paradigm. We ought to, at least, give them some credit for the power and liberation they grant us.

When thinking about the history of music what pops up in our heads are the names of renowned classical composers, musical arrangements that only nobility and kings were familiar with. However, the history of music is everything but respectable or boring. Innovation came from the outcast, the lower class and provocateurs that looked after the overthrow of the established.

© Grego

Blues Blues is one of the examples of musical breakthroughs that come from the lowest of the classes and the most marginalized group, slaves. While it is hard to prove with precision where it originated from, the state of Mississippi is oftentimes referred as the birthplace of Blues due to the widespread poverty, isolation and low rates of literacy and of income that prevailed in this region of the United States. It was a more personal way to express sorrow and melancholy, using day to day episodes as the major source of inspiration.

Jazz If you still believe that the rise of blues, a genre that originated within the most marginalized group in the US, and its importance in the entertainment stage was merely a stroke of luck, think again about it. Jazz had a very similar outcome almost simultaneously with blues. This is a more urban style, originated from New Orleans, one of the most multicultural cities at that time. Currently, this is a respected music genre, embraced by powerful and recognized institutions, but it wasn’t always like that. Jazz was born on the periphery, inciting violence, provoking riots and even being considered an illegal musical genre.

A Monterey Jazz Festival poster. This event has been happening since 1968 in Monterey, USA. © Pablo Lobato

Hip-hop: Rap Rap is often linked to youth violence and rebellion, due to its angsty and fierce lyrics. Yet, this criticism attempts to cover the main purpose of this music style, forgetting its roots, the historical and social context of its emergence. Originated in the post-industrial South Bronx (NY), in the 1970s, within a group of young working-class African-Americans, rap major task was functioning as a message of protest, giving voice to this overshadowed group. If rap songs seem way too aggressive or violent compared to other genres, it is due to its origins. It comes from a culture that has been constantly fighting against oppression, segregation and inequalities dictated by race. It can be seen, in reality, as an outcry about a very severe current problem.

DJ Kool Herc, the “father of hip-hop”, setting up a bloc party in The Bronx, New York City, marking the birth of hip-hop in the 11th of August 1973. © Smithsonian – National Museum of American History

“Sniffin’ Glue and Other Rock ‘N’ Roll Habits” was a monthly punk magazine started by Mark Perry in 1976. It was a key source of photographs and information about contributors to the punk scene.

© Sniffin’ Glue Magazine

Punk Rock

Originally used to describe garage musicians of the ’60s, Punk Rock was born thanks to bands without musical instruction and limited skills. This could be considered a major flaw or fragility, but, because they didn’t know the rules, it was easier to break them. The English Punk scene has economic and political roots, due to the harsh reality faced by youngsters in the past. The United Kingdom was having a hard time economically, being confronted with extremely high rates of unemployment and inequality. Young people were frustrated, angry and had enough free time. Their strong opinions were the ones that politically charged Punk Rock.

Flamenco It is believed that Flamenco originated in Andalusia, between the VIII and XV centuries, during the Arab occupation of Spain, while local music and instruments were also shaped by Christian,

A women’s flamenco group, Sevilla.

© Emilio Beauchy

Jewish and later suffered some Roma influence. This mixture of cultures, sounds and movements, created a peculiar hybrid genre. After centuries of oppression and struggle caused by the monarchy and the persecution of Jews, Muslims and the Roma people by the Spanish inquisition, this genre finally receive recognition with the arrival of the Romantic Era, in the late XVIII and XIX centuries, gaining prominent importance in the artistic world. the day-to-day life, something that resonated with the experiences of the lower social classes.

Rebetiko Due to the resettlement of around 1.5 million Greek refugees from Asian Minor, in 1923, the number of slums started to rise around several cities. With them, the refugees brought different music styles, having a big impact on the Greek urban sonority. Rebetiko was always a genre of the poor and outcasts, is frequently described as the “Greek urban Blues”. The lyrics are oftentimes a portrait of the anguish, the hardships and struggles of

Nueva Cancion Born in the late ’50s and early ‘60s, Nueva Canción, also known as trova or canto, was a musical movement filled with political messages contesting the various dictatorships in South America. The worsening of the social and economic conditions in the rural areas, that affected especially the native communities, led to a rural exodus. The mixing of the new arrivals’ musical traditions with the already present sounds in the cities created a new style, a new form of art. Nueva Cancion was a powerful tool to denounce political persecution and oppression, calling the people to be more proactive, the catalysts for change. This new music genre was the opportunity to express the collective fight during these vicious times, but also to speak very clearly about topics such as imperialism, human rights, democracy and religion. © David Prudhomme © The Esperanza Center