The folk and popular music of Black people in the United States is rarely studied as topical. However, this body of music reflects its times, and to be fully understood, must be seen in as complete a human context as possible. It helps in hearing the music to know and understand the underlying philosophies and local cultural references that produced blues and jazz topical themes.

For example, two topical songs, "West Indies Blues," and "Black Star Line," were closely intertwined with the life and times of Marcus Garvey and his ability to stir the imagination of the Black population.

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican immigrant who came to the United