feature: “of course music is for everybody” – the chicago tribune talks diversity in rock

Yesterday a piece was published by the Chicago Tribune in which writer Allison Stewart explores the subject of diversity in Rock, centering the piece on American progressive metal band Animals As Leaders and its frontman Tosin Abasi (pictured). Read some excerpts from that piece below, and check out the full write-up HERE. 

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

“Death and Bad Brains started it, these bands advancing it. Of course music is for everybody. Leave preconceptions at the door.” 

“Animals as Leaders frontman Tosin Abasi is one of the most-revered guitarists in metal. He’s also African-American. When he walks into the club the night of a show, sometimes this happens: “They’ll be like, ‘Can I help you, sir?’ Because obviously I’m not in the metal band playing there tonight,” Abasi says. “They’ll assume I’m lost or something. It’s, I don’t want to say abnormal, but it’s unusual to be fronting a metal band as a black dude.”

Rock ‘n’ roll was, of course, born out of traditionally black musical forms like R&B. It has been dominated by whites since its earliest days, despite periodic African-American attempts to reclaim it, from Jimi Hendrix to punk bands Bad Brains and Detroit’s Death to influential 1980s rock band Living Colour and beat-intensive ’00s indie rock bands like Bloc Party and TV on the Radio, multiracial outfits led by African-Americans.