Prof sings praises of 'Muze 'n' the Hood'

Hip hop, jazz and gospel filled a high rise rooftop lounge Tuesday, as recently hired Music Professor Guthrie Ramsey examined the importance of black music. Ramsey addressed a group of about 30 undergraduates, graduate students and fellow professors at Hamilton House, or High Rise North, about the varying roles music plays in American culture. The presentation, entitled "The Muze 'n' the Hood: Black Music and Meaning in Film, Family and Song," was based on his upcoming book, Race Music -- Post World War II Black Musical Style from Be Bop to Hip Hop. Ramsey joined Penn's Music Department this year and will begin teaching in the spring. He earned his doctorate in historical musicology from the University of Michigan in 1994 and taught at Tufts University until earlier this year. Ramsey's book focuses on musical style in what he calls three central moments -- the post-World War Two era, the late 1960s to 1970s and the emergence of hip hop. He is studying how aspects of culture such as migration, ethnicity, age and sex shape musical texts, and how musical texts, in turn, influence culture. The lecture began with a short clip from the 1942 movie In This Our Life starring Bette Davis. Ramsey demonstrated how the music in the movie, "swells in such a way to tell you everything about [Davis'] character." He showed how the mood of the film could be discerned not only from the dialogue, but also from the musical score. Ramsey also showed clips from 1989's Do the Right Thing, 1991's Boyz 'N the Hood and 1997's love jones, in an effort to demonstrate how "cinematic and musical discourse combine and shape black identity and the perception of black identity." Ramsey concentrated on what rap or hip hop music is used to convey in these films. "The music is doing something if somebody made the decision to put it in," Ramsey said. One example of the role of rap was in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. In one scene, Ramsey discussed how members of the black community allowed rap to be played in conjunction with jazz or radio music. He showed how rap music can be harmonious with other black music. Ramsey even displayed his own musical prowess, playing a few chords of the movie's score on the lounge's piano. The event was sponsored by the Center for Study of Black Literature and Culture. English graduate student Nicole Furlonge, who helped to organize the welcoming event for Ramsey, said, "He was able to use music which is very interesting to many individuals and make them look critically at it." English Professor Farah Griffin, who also attended the speech, said she "was extremely glad to see so many undergraduates there." She added that the event exposed students to what Ramsey's teaching might be like in the coming semester.