Writing Assignment (Music)

Elvis Presley is known as the King of Rock n' Roll. His black predecessors are generally given credit, but not to the same extent. Is that Elvis' fault? Is it anyone's fault? What should be or should have been done about the situation?

• It is true that Elvis is known as the face of rock music, starting the trend to make that style of music popular in the 1950s and 60s. At the time, this perception of Elvis as the "King of Rock" developed because Elvis was the superior headliner option for the new genre, despite not actually inventing it. Most of Elvis' music was released before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which set people of all races equal in America, and thus, segregation and  inequality prevented the black Americans who founded rock music from being credited. I do not think that this was Elvis' fault or any individual's, but rather the entire society's fault for failing to credit black musicians just because they were black. This was a consequence of the social atmosphere at the time.
• Ideally, black Americans would have been credited for rock and roll initially, or at the very least as soon as the Civil Rights Movement started. This did not occur until later when the decades were "dated" and studied and the mindset of the country had changed. Today, we can continue to study the true origins of rock music and credit Black America for developing such a critical modern genre.

Is there a justifiable comparison between "The King" and the "Rap God"?

• Both Elvis and Eminem produced music in genres that were initially created by black Americans. However, unlike Elvis, Eminem acknowledges that he and other white rappers take advantage of the genre and often do not credit black Americans. One can compare these two artists, but they live and create in entirely different social worlds, which allow for different levels of accreditation.