African musical symbolism in contemporary perspective

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Since the turn of the century, the world has embraced a variety of Black American dance beats, from Ragtime to Rap, and more recently, the popular music from Africa itself. This book explores the reasons behind the dominance of Black "roots" and ethnic music in our global culture. The first section delves into the symbolic knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa found in its music and traditional worldviews. The second section discusses recent scientific research that has shifted from a mechanistic and deterministic approach to more relativistic, holistic, and participatory ideas, aligning surprisingly well with the old African symbols mentioned earlier. Essentially, the musical wisdom of Africa and its Diaspora is aiding the contemporary world in harmonizing mind and body, inner and outer experiences, and introducing a sense of play and "swing" into a materialistic society. John Collins has been a prominent figure in the Ghanaian/West African music scene since 1969, serving as a guitarist, band leader, music union activist, journalist, and writer. He holds a B.A. in sociology/archaeology from the University of Ghana and a PhD in Ethnomusicology from SUNY Buffalo. Since 1995, he has taught at the University of Ghana, where he became a Full Professor in 2002 and Head of Department in 2003. He also manages Bokoor Recording Studio and is involved with various music unions and bands.