We all got that one friend that just can’t seem to catch the beat. And yes…yes, they usually are. But is rhythm really a thing you either have or you don’t? Are some of us just born with a rhythm and others not? Could this be explained by genetics? In this episode, we break down what rhythm actually is, and talk to experts who help us understand how neuroscience, genetics, and culture shape the conversation around Black people and our relationship to rhythm and music.

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Episode 4: R&B- “Rhythm and Blackness” dives deep into the notion that Black people have rhythm and that it is genetic. We speak to geneticists, neuroscientists, and music experts to better understand if there is a cultural or biological difference between the social construct of race and catching the beat! We will test this hypothesis through an interactive experiment and use music in our community to elicit feelings and memories of some classic tunes that started trends in popular dance culture we see in America today.

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In Those Genes is an educational podcast that contains explicit language that might be difficult for some to hear. No worries, we got you! You can still get all the facts dropped in our cleaned transcript we affectionately call The Nucleus that will be posted soon.

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As a reminder this season airs every OTHER week.

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Want to learn more about the guests on this episode? Check out their work below.

Dr. Fredara Hadley @fredaraMareva (Twitter), http://fredaramhadley.com/

Dr. AZA Allsop, @DR_tr3 (Twitter). Dr. Allsop is also a multi-instrumentalist – listen to some of their music here: https://www.azafortheculture.com/about-1

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Want to unpack this episode with other In Those Genes Family and like minded folks? If so, be sure to come to our after show, In Our DNA ( https://kinkofa.com/inourdna/ ), hosted by our good friends over at Kinkofa (https://kinkofa.com/ ) every other Wednesday (the week following an episode drop) at 7:30PM EST. Register here, https://lu.ma/INOURDNA !

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Kinkofa is the future of genealogy. Connect to culturally-relevant tools, resources, and support needed to uncover your unique #familyhistory. Join their community here, https://kinkofa.com/community/!

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Making a podcast ain’t cheap. And as an independently funded podcast, we depend on our community to sustain us. Please consider donating $5, $10, or $20 to In Those Genes through our PayPal or commit to a monthly donation through our Patreon, if you’re able.

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If a monetary donation isn’t in the cards you can support us by rating and writing a review of the podcast, following us on social media, and sharing this podcast with everyone you know!

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No matter how you show your support, thank you fam <3 We appreciate you. You can formally join the family by visiting www.inthosegenes.com and signing up to get email updates including our Nucleotide Newsletter.

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