‘1619,’ Episode 3: The Birth of American Music

Today on “The Daily,” we present Episode 3 of “1619,” a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

Black music, forged in captivity, became the sound of complete artistic freedom. It also became the sound of America. Guest: Wesley Morris, a critic-at-large for The New York Times.

This episode contains explicit language.

Background reading: 

“The proliferation of black music across the planet — the proliferation, in so many senses, of being black — constitutes a magnificent joke on American racism,” Wesley Morris writes.The “1619” audio series is part of The 1619 Project, a major initiative from The Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. Read more from the project here.