'Today' Show Guest Robert Plant References 'Spook Music'
I was in New York doing what I try to do best: show up for my little girls and support them in their endeavors. My daughter had a volleyball game at her university and I was pumped for the event. Although I do all I can to stay away from work when I am with my kids, I couldn't help but sneak away to appear on one of my favorite radio shows, "The Main Line" on 98.7 Kiss FM.
During the show, we discussed all the usual topics for a hot blooded Sunday afternoon: politics, news, African American issues, Obama and more. Toward the end of the show, someone made mention of Robert Plant's appearance on the 'Today' show. My first thought was, "Who in the heck is Robert Plant and why does he matter?" It only took me a couple of seconds to figure out the answer to both of those questions.
Plant is the former lead man for Led Zeppelin. He is also of British decent. Apparently, Plant was mentioning the American influences to his music (check the 1:02 mark in the video). "Spook music" was a genre he stated to be one of his favorites, which obviously got my attention. The host of the show didn't seem to notice a thing, and the 'Today' show hasn't issued an apology or explanation for the incident.
Okay, I tried to think to myself, "What else could he have meant when he said 'Spook music'?" So, I went to Internet University to try to find answers to that question. When I searched for the term "Spook Music" on the web, I didn't find much of anything that might allow me to exonerate Plant for his ill-timed remark.
I saw a band called "The Spooks," but that didn't seem to correlate. I also saw a website that talked about Spook music, but it was referring to a record label that appears to have been created in the last five years. Overall, it appears that both Plant and the 'Today' show might owe black America an apology.
I'd love to hear feedback on this one, as I'm trying to find an explanation. Could the 'Today' show host have been too insensitive to catch this, or am I the one missing the joke? Either way, black people would rather not be referred to as "spooks."
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.
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