Wade in the Water

From the Program Director of a national prison outreach program comes a book that casts a bold and refreshing light on the state of popular Black/African culture. Wade in the Water, by Taharkah X, is a meticulously researched and philosophically sound argument that popular Black/African music is a barometer for the mentality of the Black community. Using the slave spirituals and the politically charged music of the 1960’s as examples of the power of African music, Taharkah then focuses on two wildly popular African genres and paints a vivid picture of what happens when Black music becomes separated from its African cultural base. Taharkah demonstrates how the ideology prevalent in today’s mainstream Black music influences the modern African notion of family, marriage, economics, education, and even ideas about the value of African lives. The author, a community activist and spiritual advisor, sets out to restore the hope and pride that was once the fulcrum of the African psyche.