In Cuba, for example, enslaved Africans who didn\u2019t have access to building materials would stretch hides over barrels to create drums that would later become today\u2019s congas. In Brazil, people built small agogo bells based on the design of larger gankoguis in the West African Ewe tribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Trinidad, a country subject to centuries of British imperialism, this sort of ingenuity and creativity led to the creation of an instrument that you probably know pretty well: the steel pan. You might\u2019ve heard it in Childish Gambino\u2019s \u201cSummertime Magic,\u201d The Beach Boy\u2019s \u201cKokomo,\u201d or even in Soulja Boy\u2019s breakout hit \u201cCrank That (Soulja Boy)\u201d \u2013 but there\u2019s a lot more to the instrument than its popularity in American pop music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n