Beyond the Bassline 500 Years of Black British Music Paul Bradshaw,Bri

Beyond the Bassline 500 Years of Black British Music
Paul Bradshaw (editor), British Library (associated with work)
Hardback (27 Apr 2024)
The story of Black British music is a five-hundred-year journey from the court of King Henry VIII to the 'Ends' of South London; from Africa to the Caribbean to the UK and back; from subterranean shebeens and church halls to royal command performances and sold-out stadiums; and from outsider influence to domestic chart domination. It is a story that grapples with the slave trade, the prejudice of unwelcoming institutions and the bias of ignorance while ultimately celebrating the creativity and perseverance of the pioneers and today's digital age innovators.
Published alongside the major British Library exhibition, Beyond the Bassline is a landmark volume of essays, features and interviews which traces a new timeline underpinned by the Black artists and musicians who, over centuries, have shaped Britain's unique and globally significant musical culture. Illustrating this vibrant history which traverses musical genres from classical, gospel and jazz through to reggae, jungle and Afrobeats are more than three hundred images including contemporary and classic photographs, paintings, posters and record sleeves.
 
Introduced by the exhibition's curators, Dr. Aleema Gray and Mykaell Riley, and edited by Paul Bradshaw, music journalist and publisher of Straight No Chaser magazine, Beyond the Bassline tells its essential story through specially commissioned pieces from musicians, composers, DJs, writers and photographers, as well as important voices in politics and history.
Authors/Contributors include: Tej Adeleye  Christian Adofo  Ishmahil Blagrove, Jr.  Stephen Bourne  Garth Cartwright  Monique Charles  Dalia Al-Dujaili  Tracy Durrant  Juliet Fletcher  Vivien Goldman  Julian Grant  Linton Kwesi Johnson  Anthony Joseph  Julian Joseph  Cassie Kinoshi  Kevin Le Gendre  Charis McGowan  Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm  Tony Montague  Malik Al Nasir  Sharon O'Brien  Michael I. Ohajuru  Lisa Amanda Palmer  Amar Patel  Ade Egun Crispin Robinson  Angus Taylor  Chardine Taylor-Stone  Andy Thomas  Julia Toppin  Ayanna van der Maten McCalman  Derek Walcott  Richard Williams  Val Wilmer  Anthony Wright  Benjamin Zephaniah