The Moon Garden Lounge

My semester ends at the end of this month, too.  I'm looking forward to having more time to "chat" as well  

I noticed. It reminded me of a blackface minstrel show. Maybe he is reclaiming that part of American culture.

In South Africa we are so proud of our minstrels. Link to wiki on them en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaapse_Klopse

On the 2nd of January each year it is one big carnival in the streets of Cape Town, and to participate they go through screenings and auditions, it's a huge occasion. The costumes are brightly coloured, are made months in advance and are kept secret until the event. During the carnival there are singing competitions, best dressed competition, etc etc. One big party in Cape Town.

The reason why it is held on the 2nd of January is because they worked in the houses as cooks, nannies, general workers, farm labourers etc and on New Years day they were on duty to clean, cook and watch the children while their bosses/madams were having New Years parties. It was a tradition that the workers get a day off on 2nd of January. That's when they have their New Years celebrations. It's also known as "2de nuwe jaar" or "2nd new year".

Even today with the abolishment of apartheid, the tradition of 2nd new year are still important and are celebrated.

What an interesting topic!!! 

I have to admit I am not very familiar with will.i.am's music. I have seen the Black Eyed Peas (is that what they're called?) on TV and thought they were a lot of fun, but never been inspired to look any further into their music. So that is really all I know about them. 

From what I understand, minstrel music was the first genuinely American art form of music, even before jazz. It's hard to believe how popular it was, but it was the leading form of popular entertainment for decades and decades. The first great American composer, Stephen Foster, wrote minstrel music -- he blazed the trail of writing interesting, emotionally complex music rather than just slapstick comic tunes. The first great American superstar was Al Jolson and he sang minstrel music, including a lot of Foster's by-then "oldies."



I have read occasionally about artists trying to reclaim the vast catalog and tradition of minstrel music but it seems insurmountably difficult to me. Perhaps that is what will.i.am had in mind. 

Some say the minstrel tradition is alive and well. Spike Lee in particular has harshly criticized some black performers for essentially acting like minstrels. I remember the man who played Jack on Will and Grace was also accused of being a gay minstrel by some. :(

P.S. grandduchess, that story about Juneteenth is a bit of a myth. Blacks in Texas knew about Emancipation, there just wasn't anything they could do about it until the war was over. The date was the day that federal troops arrived in Texas and read the proclamation. And since everyone was starving, there wasn't much to celebrate, just a lot of uncertainty about what to do next. Later, they did reclaim the day and now it's something really special.