There is one peculiar thing which nearly all American music has in common - and the more one considers it, the more peculiar it becomes: an extensive emphasis on a unique rhythm, a rhythm very different from that to be found almost anywhere else in the world. It goes like this: Boom - Bap - Boom - Bap, with a kick drum on the 1 and 3, or all 4, a snare drum precisely on the 2 and 4, with nearly nothing in-between except maybe a high hat, and no major hits ever landing off the grid. This rhythm is called the "Duple" in music theory, and you can find variations of it driving all modern popular American music styles: Blues, Motown, Soul, Funk, Rock, Disco, Hiphop, House, Pop, and beyond.
How did North American modern music become so different? Why did the evolution of American rhythm take this unique path?
http://www.thisisafrica.me/music/detail/19998/no-drums-allowed-afro-rhythm-mutations-in-america
How did North American modern music become so different? Why did the evolution of American rhythm take this unique path?
http://www.thisisafrica.me/music/detail/19998/no-drums-allowed-afro-rhythm-mutations-in-america