Ogasbashir, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia CommonsBreaking news logo template. TV news design. Vector Illustration.

Okay, I’ll admit that management is just me. I’m also the only employee. But while my staffing may not be all that impressive, I do have BREAKING NEWS IN ALL CAPS!

One of the most unpleasant assignments in my work with the EU involves monitoring the state of Human Rights in the U.S.A. and providing a weekly status report to my director. Topics include everything from the government attacks on trans people to the efforts by the current administration to encourage white folks in South Africa to emigrate to the USA in response to imaginary discrimination. It’s a painful experience, but I manage to mask the emotional toll well enough to provide the boss lady with factual information without expressing my heartfelt disgust.

But when the sick mother fucker who shall remain nameless revealed how utterly unpresidential he is when he posted images of the Obamas as apes and doubled down on his white supremacist bullshit by blasting Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance on his lame-ass social media outlet, my corresponding outrage was off the charts. I finished my report without going overboard, but I also felt the need to respond using my altrockchick persona—even though I am not an “influencer,” and that any action I might take would have little impact. I can’t do a damn thing to protect American trans people or stop the government-sanctioned murders of immigrants and American citizens, or snuff out the Hitleresque machinations designed to rig the upcoming midterms. I also have no desire to turn this blog into a political beehive with MAGA creeps and right-wing jerks wasting my time. Only Americans can change their ugly politics.

But I do write about popular music history, and what triggered my outrage had less to do with politics and more to do with the attempt at “cultural and historical erasure.”

Describing the African-American influence on American music in all of its glory and variety is an intimidating—if not impossible—task. African-American influences are so fundamental to American music that there would be no American music without them. People of African descent were among the earliest non-indigenous settlers of what would become the United States, and the rich African musical heritage that they carried with them was part of the foundation of a new American musical culture that mixed African traditions with those of Europe and the Americas. Their work songs, dance tunes, and religious music—and the syncopated, swung, remixed, rocked, and rapped music of their descendants—would become the lingua franca of American music, eventually influencing Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The music of African Americans is one of the most poetic and inescapable examples of the importance of the African American experience to the cultural heritage of all Americans, regardless of race or origin. (The Smithsonian)

Bad Bunny’s schtick is rap, a genre of African-American origin. Kid Rock’s schtick is rock ‘n’ roll, a genre based on blues, gospel and R&B, all of which are of African-American origin (take that, MAGA morons!). Even country music owes a good part of its existence to the blues, and there would have been no jazz or soul music without African-Americans. Of course, all of those genres have been appropriated by white people over the years or dismissed as “the devil’s music” by racist so-called Christians, so it’s no surprise that a white supremacist government with solid evangelical support would try to change history and demean the contributions of African-Americans. There are indeed black musicians like Kanye West, Snoop Dog, and Nicki Minaj who have embraced MAGA, but those are rich people motivated by greed and egoism who have forgotten where they came from. Other African-American artists fully realized what was happening and cancelled their performances at what is properly known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Saxophonist Billy Harper of the Cookers explained why he supported the group’s decision:

On Saturday, saxophone player Billy Harper said in comments posted on the Jazz Stage Facebook page that he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing.”

According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the renaming. Harper said both the board, “as well as the name displayed on the building itself represents a mentality and practices I always stood against. And still do, today more than ever.”

I know that my response will do nothing to change the big picture, but I have to live up to my values. Ergo, I have decided to make an exception to my boycott of American music by opening slots on the schedule to celebrate African-American musicians.

While y’all were watching the Super Bowl, I was busy re-jiggering my 2026 game plan. The bulk of the reviews will still cover music beyond the borders of the U.S.A. (Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Ireland, and Mexico), but I removed Senegal from the schedule due to LGBTQ persecution. I managed to create nine slots for African-Americans and identified ten albums for consideration, all involving jazz, blues, or soul. I also reduced the gaps between Tragically Hip reviews to strengthen the series narrative and finish up by the end of the year.  The changes pushed several albums into 2027, but hey, if the music is timeless, it can survive the wait.

The first review involving African-American music will appear this Sunday. Here’s your weekly hint: Shh!