When researching and listening to several genres of music I came across two songs Respect and Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud. Respect is a song that was originally written and released by American recording artist Otis Redding, but in 1967 the song became a hit for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. Say it Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud is a funk song that was written by Alfred Ellis, but performed by James Brown in 1968. Both songs were released in the 1960’s the period that kind of marked Black History especially after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. While Respect talked about the need to receive respect from a significant other, Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud is a song about black empowerment. Each song displays an image of America
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It was released in 1967 during the time of social change which included the Civil Rights Movement, the war in Vietnam, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the Black Panther movement. Before listening to the song, I had a feeling it was going to be about respecting women. After listening I concluded that the song was about women gaining that respect from men not only for themselves, but for the sake of the relationship. Throughout the song I noticed the tone of Aretha Franklin’s voice, she had determination and confidence in her voice. Franklin knew exactly what message she wanted to get across while singing this song. During the song, the lyrics “honey” and “baby” are repeated several times which could be associated with the opposite gender in this case, men. Franklin wants to give women that power to stand up for themselves and demand respect. The most memorable lyric of the entire song is the spelling of the word respect which goes “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me!”, this lyric leaves women with that confidence and empowerment. Just Like James Brown’s song, Aretha Franklin’s version of this songs has the same instruments such as the saxophone, trombone and bass, giving off the same mood as “Say It Loud”. This song is a girl power anthem, it encourages women speak up and not to take disrespect from noone. Aretha Franklin has said that “you may have what your men wants, but he needs to respect you first”, a quote that everyone men or women should live
It was released in 1967 during the time of social change which included the Civil Rights Movement, the war in Vietnam, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the Black Panther movement. Before listening to the song, I had a feeling it was going to be about respecting women. After listening I concluded that the song was about women gaining that respect from men not only for themselves, but for the sake of the relationship. Throughout the song I noticed the tone of Aretha Franklin’s voice, she had determination and confidence in her voice. Franklin knew exactly what message she wanted to get across while singing this song. During the song, the lyrics “honey” and “baby” are repeated several times which could be associated with the opposite gender in this case, men. Franklin wants to give women that power to stand up for themselves and demand respect. The most memorable lyric of the entire song is the spelling of the word respect which goes “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me!”, this lyric leaves women with that confidence and empowerment. Just Like James Brown’s song, Aretha Franklin’s version of this songs has the same instruments such as the saxophone, trombone and bass, giving off the same mood as “Say It Loud”. This song is a girl power anthem, it encourages women speak up and not to take disrespect from noone. Aretha Franklin has said that “you may have what your men wants, but he needs to respect you first”, a quote that everyone men or women should live