I've heard of the "griot," it is a part of African-American tradition, brought without doubt on the horrible slave ships of the Middle Passage. African-American musicians, some of them, like to remember that their ancestors entrusted history to singers. What used to be called "jazz," in this century I'm not sure what to call it....today it is part of the bedrock of American music, regardless of how my fellow white Americans trample on it.