Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Hills Have Soul
2008-02-01
By Eric Easter

“Half of American music is African... This banjo here is an African instrument, did you know that? The fact is, until 1830 no white man would ever even think about playing a banjo. Then this fellow Joe Sweeney started messing around with it, and in ten years it was the most popular instrument in the country.” – musician Pete Seeger, in a 1960 televised interview with Hugh Hefner

If the Black roots of banjo music have been largely forgotten, it would be hard to fault Black folk for that. The Beverly Hillbillies, Ma & Pa Kettle and Hee Haw put the picture in the world’s mind that the music was other than ours. And the movie Deliverance sealed the deal – turning something fun and curious into the official soundtrack for moonshinin’, intermarriage and intolerance.

As much as one might have enjoyed the music itself, the image didn’t necessarily inspire a search for Black cultural connection.

But to the pleasant surprise of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, there are a considerable number of Black folk who, despite not seeing themselves, held onto their admiration for the skill and musicality of banjo, jug and fiddle grooves – even if they find it hard to admit.

“A lot of people think Black people don’t like country music. That’s just not true. I think we have that perception because Blacks are not that present in the commercial sense of country and old time music.
We get Black people who come up to us at shows and look around to see who’s looking before they whisper “You know, I really like this music.”

For Rhiannon Giddens (vocals, fiddle , banjo), Dom Flemons (multiple instruments) and Justin Robinson (banjo, jug) the three musicians who comprise Carolina Chocolate Drops, their embrace of traditional bluegrass grew organically.

According to Giddens,  “We were all attracted to the music for various reasons. We were exposed to country, blues and jazz through our parents but we weren’t particularly raised in this kind of music but there were aspects of it that we were attracted to. But learning the history behind it, the truth of the African American history behind it, is what made it more attractive.”

In there own way, they have approached the music as historians, studying the work of old time  players like John Snipes, Libba Cotton and Emp White, folk artists such as Taj Mahal and Pete Seeger, as well as living banjo legend Joe Thompson, who has become both mentor and griot.

The Drops use the terms “country”, “folk” and “old time music” interchangeably, as a part of the same continuum that has its foundations in Black tradition, though they are quick to distinguish the country they enjoy as decidedly not what can be heard on contemporary country radio.

They also would likely bristle at any comparison of their visual image to The Fugees (without the drama) or Digable Planets (with talent), but it’s hard not to think along those lines. Nevetheless, that they look like something dreamed up in a PR office PR is more inspired accident than marketing ploy.

Giddens: “I was doing Celtic music, Dom was doing his thing and Justin was doing classical. We were all coming into our own as individuals at the same time and found each other at the Black Banjo Gathering.”

Since then, they and a collective of string musicians have played together in various iterations including the bands Sankofa Strings and Gaelwynd and of course, Carolina Chocolate Drops.

The fact that the concept of three young black people is a visual disconnect for some is not lost on the group, and mostly has been a distinct advantage.

Flemons: “Our look gets us in the door, but what we do keeps them there. A goal that we all would love is to not have that be an issue ever. But for now it serves us really well. It’s sort of our meal ticket, and it’s taken us places where we would not have been able to go before.

But our novelty is not the same as other novelty acts. We’re playing old time music that’s banjo and fiddle, but it has a longtime connection to the Black community. In the folk world, they’ve been wanting Black people to get into it for years.”

Giddens: “A lot of Black music when it originated was raunchy, raucous, dance music. Black people created it, then Black people left it and white people held onto it forever.

In some ways the white people who held onto the music have been almost too respectful of it, playing in these insular circles and not wiling to stretch it for fear of disrespect.

I think there’s been a real desire for Black people to come back to this music and recapture what’s been lost. People seem to respond to us because of the energy we bring back to it – as an impetus for getting out of your seat and dancing.”

They’ve embraced the songs and style of the past without feeling compelled to dilute it for crossover, or otherwise twist it into a new experimental genre. Any bending they do is a natural result of their musicianship and sensibilities, not an active attempt to futurize it or create commercial appeal.

That doesn’t mean unexpected tunes don’t find their way into the repertoire. In recent shows the Drops have been playing a version of Blu Cantrell’s hit, “Hit ‘Em Up Style” which could superficially be called a hip hop meets country blend, but that could pass at any point for Celtic to Cape Verdean to Irish jig to Civil War march music. The song will be released as a single later in 2008.

Robinson: “I always say, Tradition is a guide not a jailer. We were born in the 20th century, not the 19th, our experiences are different. It’s an older tradition informed by modern people.”
Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Company. He writes about politics, culture and technology for ebonyjet.com.

Tour Dates:
http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com

Related Links: 
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Carolina Chocolate Drops 

Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Company. He writes about politics, culture and technology for ebonyjet.com.