This is a great post. African music has made such a huge contribution to music everywhere and continues to do so into the future. I play old style banjo which is an instrument that emerged in North America from the slave trade. It was only once I got the rhythm of songs that I could figure out how to play them. That rhythm concept in old style banjo is uniquely African. Bluegrass may be different, but I'm not sure.
Many of the old style banjo songs are about social injustice, hardship, and clinging to a higher power. I just got up from banjo practice and this post was here- haha!