The Shared Roots and Divergent Paths of African American Spirituals and Afro-Caribbean Music

The resilient perseverance of African culture manifested itself in the music of the diasporic communities of the transatlantic slave trade. This slave trade led slaves to two main areas: North America and the Caribbean. While there were common roots and shared experience of slavery that influenced similar growing musical traditions of African American and Afro-Caribbean music such as rhythmic and melodic elements, over time, their music evolved along distinct paths due to differing social, political and religious contexts. Through a comparative study of lyrical themes, melodic patterns, rhythmic characteristics and cultural functions, this research traces the influence of the African heritage and analyzes the points of divergence between these two genres. The African American spirituals became intertwined with Christian worship and expression of hope in a better life to come, whereas the Afro-Caribbean calypso developed into a medium for social commentary and a celebration of Caribbean life. It is important to study the differing trajectories of these genres as we gain insight into how they developed into popular genres today such as gospel and soca music.