Young voices from America, from Beyoncé to Lady Blackbird

The voice of the most universally known American, the most talented, perhaps, of her generation, born in the early 80s, Beyoncé. That we just heard singing « American Requiem »the adjective American that she writes with two i's, I don't know why, there are all sorts of speculations on this subject, « American Requiem »the song with which his latest album begins, Cowboy Carter. Perhaps, some say, to emphasize the duality of this large federal state, this is an interpretation that I have seen circulating. Who, you may be vaguely aware, is preparing to change president. Yes, a country whose duality seems, perhaps, to have become an insoluble contradiction, and which, I cite an article that I read this morning in the New York Timesis perhaps on the verge of unraveling, of tearing itself apart. An American population, this article headlines, is frightened and anxious. Two assassination attempts against Donald Trump, ballot boxes which are literally set on fire here and there, threats of armed revenge from both sides. The Democratic camp is highlighting frightening stories of women who have come close to losing their lives due to growing restrictions on abortion rights. The Republican camp, for its part, points to another source of fear: the murders committed by organized gangs from foreign countries, likely, it warns, to attack ordinary American citizens. In short, for voters on both sides, it is the other side that fuels hatred and violence.

And then behind all that, there is a distrust, to varying degrees, towards the electoral system, particularly complex, that's for sure, and sometimes downright messy in the United States. If I understood correctly, from Democratic voters, it would favor conservative states, less populated than in the past. As for Republican voters, it is the electoral process itself that they judge to be flawed, rigged, they assure, by the officials of the federal establishment in Washington and their agents, who pull the strings in secret. Moreover, for the most extremist among them, everything surrounding the White House constitutes, literally, a target. The New York Times article reports, imagine, that restaurants near the White House now protect their facades behind fences.

So, I come back to Beyoncé. His album constitutes an attempt, one of those eternal attempts which mark the history of American music, to reconcile two different Americas, at least to show their common points. It's basically the same story since Elvis. Originally from Texan, Beyoncé sought in her album Cowboy Carter to highlight the fact that country music owes as much if not more to the musical heritage of black populations than of white populations. This is what I myself tried, on an admittedly more modest scale, from my position as a European observer, to emphasize in the series that I devoted to the birth of music country, which we rebroadcast during the last week of October. In Houston, Texas, of course, Beyoncé participated ten days ago in a rally in support of Kamala Harris' candidacy, which brought together thirty thousand people. With his partner in the trio Destiny's Child, Kelly Rowland. A gathering whose central theme was the defense of the right to abortion. Beyoncé said this: “I'm not here as a celebrity. I am not here as a politician. I am here as a mother. Your freedom is a right that God gave you, a human right”.

Another singer, rapper and musician, like Beyoncé, from the South, Kanye West, son of two renowned academics, his father was an activist for the famous Black Panther movement, supports the other camp. It goes to show that things are not simple. That said, it must be said that the overwhelming majority of celebrities in entertainment, music and cinema massively support Kamala Harris. Which of course fuels the beliefs of the other camp, who say to themselves: it's them against us. And unfortunately it seems inextricable. Here is a recent title signed by Kanye West, aka Ye, with Los Angles rapper Ty Dollar Sign. “ Slide » and it's on Very Good Trip this evening on France Inter.

To find out more, listen to the show…

Playlist :

Beyoncé – « American Requiem » album « Cowboy Carter »
¥$, Kanye West, Ty Dolla Sign – « Slide » album « Vultures 2 »
Torren Foot, Azealia Banks – « New Bottega »
Miley Cyrus – « Psycho Killer » album Artistes divers « Everybody’s Getting Involved : A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense »
Paramore – « Burning Down the House » album Artistes divers « Everybody’s Getting Involved : A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense »
Olivia Rodrigo – « Bad Idea Right? » album « Guts »
Margo Price – « Pump It Up – Downtown Owl Soundtrack »
Larkin Poe – « Bluephoria »
Boygenius – « $20 » album « The Record »
Lady Blackbird – « Let Not (Your Heart Be Troubled) » album « Slang Spirituals »