New York (AFP)

If the anti-racism demonstrators who have roamed the American streets in recent weeks have not lacked imagination in terms of songs and slogans, a particular sound was heard: that of committed black music, old classics for young generations.

Californian rapper YG, already known for his anti-Donald Trump anthem released in 2016, released a new song, "FTP" (Fuck The Police), which resonated on the streets of Los Angeles when thousands of protesters asked a reform of the American police force after the death of George Floyd.

For the occasion, and while many big companies have openly embraced the anti-racist cause, Spotify has created a "Black Lives Matter" playlist of 66 tracks compiling committed pieces by artists ranging from James Brown to Beyoncé, by the way by Nina Simone and NWA

And in his compilation of the most listened to songs of the moment, his "Viral 50", classics of protest, like "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", by Gil Scott Heron, appeared.

The heirs of Prince, originally from Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, have released a clip of the song "Baltimore" written by the late pop and funk star in 2015, on the occasion of the death of a black American, Freddie Gray, in the hands of the police.

Soul and folk singer Leon Bridges has published "Sweeter", a meditation on racism.

"George Floyd's death was the last straw," he said on social media. "I have been anesthetized for too long, insensitive to questions of police brutality".

"It was the first time I mourned a man I have never met. I am George Floyd, my brothers are George Floyd, my sisters are George Floyd. We can no longer bear the silence," he said. he adds.

- "Sound of America" ​​-

For Fredara Hadley, professor of ethnomusicology at the Juilliard School, a famous performance school in New York, black music has always fueled protest movements, as in the 1960s when soul and rhythm 'n' blues accompanied the civil rights movement.

This music, she explains, "was allowed in places where the black population could not go". "She played the role of ambassador and representative of black culture".

Kendrick Scott, a New York jazz drummer, recently composed an instrumental track that collides with the recording of George Floyd's last pleading words and the voice of outraged protesters chanting his name.

When he composed it, he imagined himself playing drums at the head of the procession during the demonstrations, in front of the police, with "everyone behind (him) chanting his name".

Incorporating Floyd's last words, captured by a video that went around the world, was painful, he says.

But the artist wanted "that the listeners have a visceral reaction and really feel it, rather than just imagining it".

"I wanted to use my instrument and my voice, the best I could, to make a difference."

This possibility of immediately reaching its audience on burning issues, says Fredara Hadley, we owe it to digital.

"We have this continuous dialogue where we understand that there is no longer any distance between black musicians and black communities," she explains. "They can be our spokespeople, our columnists, help us remember what we have lost."

An opinion shared by Kendrick Scott, who recalls that black music is one of the best exported American cultural products.

"I go around the world and hear African American music everywhere," he says. "It's the sound of America".

© 2020 AFP