Music

There are 2 statements that stand out from this episode:

1) American Music is Black Music 2) Music is in the marrow of black people (Wesley Morris)

There are wonderful songs being played throughout this episode (naturally) and there are clever edits that take music from today, and contextualizes either earlier performances of the songs, or the inspirations for the songs showing how foundational black music is to the music we know today.

The interviews range from academic to producers to artists, proving both points and showing the barriers and bias that still exist.

In particular I enjoyed the interview with Nile Rodgers showing the arc of his career from disco to today that got to the heart of what the limitations faced by even a Grammy-winning music producer. Also brilliant was Nichole Hannah Jones sitting down with Wesley Morris (who wrote the essay this episode is based on) trying to give the audience the barest hint of the power of music. 10 stars.