Mixtape: Black Individuality

 Faith Predeoux

Dr.Harris

African American Literature I

December 7, 2025

Mixtape: Black Individuality

Out of the readings from the semester the one that I choose to use for my project is Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”. In Langston Hughes’s essay he says that in order to feel artistic freedom Black creators need to embrace their culture and culture identity rather than trying to fit into white artistic standards. This was one of the reasons why I chose this reading, because he kept saying how he wanted black artists to be themselves and to basically break the mold that white standards tried to put them in. From the reading I chose four quotes that I’ll be using to help with the songs for the mixtape. Each song that is chosen will correlate to their perspective quote.

“But jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in American”

This quote highlights how Hughes sees jazz as a way to represent genuine Black creativity. By viewing jazz as an authentic and spontaneous art form, he rejects the idea that Black artists must imitate European styles to create meaningful work. The way jazz is improvised is like how individuals are unique, it's spontaneous, personal, and comes directly from the experiences of Black people. Hughes thinks this is something to be proud of and wants artists to use their own culture instead of hiding it. He also urges them to embrace their own cultural roots with pride, celebrating the unique rhythm, improvisation, and personal voice that make Black art both powerful and original. 

Song List

Billie Holiday- Strange Fruit 

Mississippi Goddam- Nina Simone 

Take the A Train- Billy Strayhorn/Duke Ellington

What a Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong

“I want to be a poet, not a Negro poet.”

This quote is from a young Black poet who doesn't want to identify with his race in his art because he feels the label "Negro" is restrictive. Hughes doesn't agree with this view. By bringing it up, he shows how racism forces Black artists to hide parts of who they are. Hughes believes that being yourself means accepting your whole identity. Real freedom isn't about acting like race isn't a factor; it's about creating fearlessly as a Black individual, without feeling embarrassed or ashamed. 

Song List

Brown Skin Girl- Beyonce

I Am Not My Hair- India.Arie

The Blacker the Berry- Kendrick Lamar

Keep Ya Head UP- 2Pac

“The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs.”

The repeating drum symbolizes the rhythm and emotional range of Black life—its joy, pain, history, and resilience. By personifying the “tom-tom,” Hughes suggests that Black cultural expression is alive, dynamic, and emotionally complex. This metaphor shows that Black art contains multitudes; it reflects a people’s individuality, not a stereotype or monolithic identity. It also shows the importance of one’s individual artistic voice, rather than conforming to narrow stereotypes.

Song List

Redbone- Childish Gambino

A Change is Gonna Come- Sam Cooke

To Be Young, Gifted, and Black- Nina Simone

“We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.”

This quote represents the resilience and self-determination of Black artists, highlighting how “building temples for tomorrow” represents creating lasting, meaningful art rooted in Black culture, pride, and future aspirations. By urging Black artists to shape the future of American art through their own voices, Hughes emphasizes that standing “free within ourselves” means rejecting societal pressures to conform and embracing one’s unique identity. Together, these ideas present a powerful vision of collective empowerment—Black artists forging their own paths, trusting their individuality, and expressing their truth unapologetically.

Song List 

Glory- John Legend & Common

Freedom- Beyonce

Optimistic- Sounds of Blackness

Rise Up- Andra Day

In “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Hughes stresses the importance of Black artists embracing their identity, emotions, and creativity, a message reflected in music by Black artists. Jazz pieces like Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” and Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” show jazz as a natural expression of Black life. Songs such as India.Arie’s “I Am Not My Hair” and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry” reject pressure to hide Blackness. Emotional works like Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” echo the tom-tom’s pain and joy, while empowering anthems like Beyoncé’s “Freedom” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” embody Hughes’s call for artistic freedom and future-building.

This mixtape is to show the entirety of emotions that Black artists go through while trying to embrace their culture and not fit into European standards that society tries to place them in.

Mixtape