Meanings
nounrace music (uncountable)
- dateduncountableentertainmentCommercially recorded African-American popular music from the early 20th century, including blues and jazz.
LA's most popular “race music” radio shows featured a white disc jockey, Hunter Hancock, from Texas. He featured black artists on his “Harlem Matinee,” which aired every afternoon starting at four.
2015, Deena Weinstein, Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History, University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 29
Origin
In use from 1920, replaced by rhythm and blues in the 1940s.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
race music. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20music
MLA
“race music.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20music. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “race music,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20music.
Source: race music on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.