'Blackness' and 'Whiteness' are terms often used to describe genres of music, but they are difficult to define. Is it the artist, origins, or audience that decides whether music is ‘black’ or ‘white’?
In the 50s, and 60s artists like Elvis Presley and the Beatles covered music originally considered to be 'black' music, soon radio stations would only play white artists covers of 'black' music. Does this mean that the music becomes ‘white’ music or are the origins of the music more important?
Russell Potter (1999) said with music genres crossing over it is harder to define than ever. One example is the white artist Plan B who performs acoustic rap songs combining acoustic guitar which could be considered ‘white’ with a ‘black’ style of rapping.
Although it is difficult to categorise music into ‘black’ or ‘white,’ these terms help us understanding of the origins and development of popular music.
This post is quite well expressed and offers some interesting examples.
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