Mixtape: For the Renewal of Negros

 Kiara Jones

Dr. Jaleesa Harris

African-American Lit 1

01 March 2026

Mixtape: For the Renewal of Negros

Alain Locke wrote in the  “New Negro”  saying ,” If in our lifetime the Negro should not be able to celebrate his full initiation into American democracy.” A new age of black people who wouldn’t be ashamed or stereotyped, but renewed in all aspects of their lives. I wanted to use this reading because not only does it address the state of African Americans in the moment, but also predicts how far they will come. For my major project I have chosen to do a mixtape which will demonstrate black people coming into a new sense of self love and acceptance. This is to show how Locke's statement has come into fruition in our lifetime. Even though everything isn’t perfect we have gotten to the point where African Americans can be proud about who they are. The mixtape will include songs about renewed love, joy, change, and  pride all while embracing African-American culture, tradition, and history with all the songs in chronological order to demonstrate the tone shifts.

  1. Feeling Good- Nina Simone. This song shares affirmations and rebirth after struggle. Her control over her tone makes this song a powerful ballad about overcoming, but showing rejoice in this new era , the new dawn rather than resignation.

  2. Inner City Blues(Make Me Wanna Holler)- Marvin Gaye. This song shows that steps were taken to change, but everything still isn't perfect. This shows still standing proud in the culture, having a strong jazz and blues tone within the song.

  3.  People Make the World Go Round- The Stylistic.This song reflects on everyday struggles and the human forces that shape society, which aligns with Locke’s interest in black civic presence and dignity within America.

  4. Rosa Parks-Outkast. This song addresses asserting space, dignity, and pride within the industry and the world, which is why the title references a historic act of that. Showing how black people asserted themselves within American society even with push back.

  5. Freedom Time- Lauryn Hill. Locke’s “New Negro” project imagined cultural renewal tied to civic maturity. This song insists that cultural confidence must be paired with mental and political liberation demanding that celebration be grounded in freedom.

  6. Golden-Jill Scott. The song models the kind of self‑respect Alain Locke imagined with black people claiming dignity and joy rather than suffering. It emphasises the everyday liberation that Locke saw black people achieving. 

  7. I Found My Smile Again-D’Angelo. A song displaying black love and joy, this song models the personal work of recovery that Locke’s cultural renewal requires , self-word and dignity,  while not denying the systematic struggles.

  8. The Blacker the Berry- Kendrick Lamar. This song celebrates Blackness while also calling out internalized self‑hatred and Black‑on‑Black violence. It shows that the renewal isn’t complete, but the steps were taken demonstrating Locke's imagined future.

  9. Formation-Beyonce. This celebrates Black Southern identity, beauty, and lineage. Locke’s “new sense of self‑respect” but in pop form. Demonstrating pride and joy of being black.

  10. Make Me Feel-Janelle Monae. This song is a modern, queer‑affirming celebration of black desire and self‑expression. A form of renewal that was not seen years prior, which means these doors were now open for black people. 

  11. Almeda-Solange. This song celebrates black beauty and culture taking Locke’s ideology that turns blackness into a site of cultural capital and self‑respect rather than a stigma. This song shows how embracing tradition can lead to renewal.

  12. Eden( From “Black History Always/ Music For the Movement Vol. 2)-Brent Faiyaz. This song touches on the religious traditions within the community, showing that there is growth, but all is not forgotten. Celebrating the change and representing the African-American experience. 

  13. omnipotent (feat. Tune-Yards)-WILLOW. This song uses old vernacular and spiritual themes surrounding love. This demonstrates the renewal that Locke predicted black people would find when expressing themselves while paying tribute to the old. 

Mixtape-For the Renewal of Negros




References 

Kerry, John. “Alain Locke on the “New Negro” (1925).” The American Yawp, 1925, https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/22-the-new-era/alain-locke-on-the-new-negro-1925/. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voices On The Mountain: Black Music Overcoming

  Grace Smith Jaleesa Harris African American Literature 1 March 2026 Voices On The Mountain: Black Music Overcoming The black poet, Langston Hughes, wrote a piece titled “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” In this Hughes exclaims his desire for black artists and black people to celebrate their art for its blackness and not try to hide this quality. Hughes, in this work, describes black artists breaking out of the mold of white art and sensibilities, regardless of the recognition this got the artists. At the close of his work, Hughes says, “if he [the black artist] accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering ‘I want to be white,’ hidden in the aspirations of his people, to ‘Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro- -and beautiful!.’” Here we can see that Hughes wants black people to have unashamed pride in their skin, and their creations. We can tell that he wants black people to view themselves and their art not...
Read more

Performing the Hustle: Fame, Survival, and Identity in Atlanta

 Performing the Hustle: Fame, Survival, and Identity in Atlanta The show Atlanta delves into how success, money, and identity collide for young Black creatives  living life in contemporary America. The characters have to constantly negotiate between  surviving and succeeding acting confident or successful or emotionally distant when they are  unstable. This mixtape embodies the same aspects of them all by utilizing contemporary hip-hop,  dealing in the ambition, pressure and emotional and psychological price of pursuing opportunity. The track opens with Long Time (Intro) by Playboi Carti. Thereby describing the spirit of  someone who finally has had enough of hardship for so long and is finally getting a glimpse at  success, mirroring Earn’s faith that controlling Alfred could be his route out of financial  instability. At the end we have Money Longer by Lil Uzi Vert, which expresses the concept that  money is freedom. In Atlanta, financial s...
Read more