Introduction

For the past eight years, I have been engaged in the study of African culture, primarily African dance, African American music, and African aesthetics. Music can be a cultural form of expression that unifies, even arouses, large numbers of people. This is certainly true for African music as it is manifested in African American songs and sounds. In this study, I explore selected song performances of Bessie Smith (1894-1937), Billie Holiday (1915-1959), and Nina Simone (1933-2003) through the prism of African aesthetics. This study is guided by an intense interest in oral compositions that promote Black consciousness in general, and Black female social consciousness in particular. I look at Smith, Holiday, and Simone’s life experiences in a social and historical context, in order to discern how their music reflects African and African American cultural values. The most prevalent themes and messages in their lyrics address social ills, particularly imprisonment (incarceration), race relations, and love-induced depression. African American music speaks to the unspeakable: ideas that would otherwise be banned from the realm of language (Davis, 1999a).