The year Black music turned inward

MERICA WAS IN PERIL IN 2016: unarmed Black people were being killed by police at an alarming clip, and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign revealed stark ideological divides. None of this was new; law-enforcement officers have always harassed minorities, and U.S. citizens have long been split along racial and political lines. But not since the late 1960s had the tension been so palpable. Between social media and the 24-hour TV news cycle, viewers could see bullets penetrate Black skin on a continuous loop, or watch antipolice protests unfold in cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. The music responded in kind; from Solange and Beyoncé to Frank Ocean, Black artists were using