One of slavery’s most devastating effects was robbing Africans of their identity and grouping them into a homogenous mass, so that they would no longer identify with their cultural origins. However, the complete annihilation of cultural identity was impossible. We find the earliest folk songs were done in groups and acted out in solidarity. It was a matter of achieving personal freedom over salvation, thus many early folk songs were a secular form of music. It became common for groups of slaves to sing in the fields, participating in either field hollers, or work songs.2 The latter was a group performance in the form of a call and response, in which one singer would sing a verse and then it would be repeated either identically or with some small variations by the rest of the group. Field hollers also sometimes followed this formula, but were mostly done as solo performances.3 These songs were meant to be a form of sorrowful expression and were one of the few means by which African Americans could communicate with one another. Other kinds of work songs used to voice displeasure, or to communicate during work, included arhoolies (a style without instruments that consisted of whoops, hollers, cries and arhoolies as they were called) and ballads as well. All these styles would later contribute to the formation of rural folk blues. These songs were done in communal settings, even if performed by a single person.4 There was often a purpose to each kind of song which gave them meaning beyond entertainment value. The blues began to grow in popularity as more communal gatherings began to form. Blues was at its base a social, rather than solitary form of music that gave people a voice when they needed one. As we will see, this social aspect is what many critics will say is lacking in white musicians that overtook the blues scene in the 1960s. Whereas African American musicians sang because they felt a need to communicate with one another about their hardships, white musicians were criticized for appropriating the blues for their personal experiences, but could never convey any sense of communal or racial oppression in the same manner. The blues and early folk music gave African Americans an opportunity to practice their own culture away from the influence of slave, or land owners. Blues music is a perfect example, as it is a purely aural/oral tradition, an important aspect of many African cultures. Unlike some of the songs that are produced for entertainment value, many of these songs were made for the purpose of human interaction. During the long working hours either on cotton or sugar plantations, this was one of the few times when the voices of the oppressed could be heard. This cultivated sentiments of solidarity that would not have otherwise been possible in complete silence.