Carrying the rhythm of history, the drumline continues African musical tradition

The powerful sound of the drumline is more than just a crowd-pleaser at football games and parades—it's a living echo of history with a heartbeat that traces back to the African continent.

At the Atlanta Drum Academy, founder and Morris Brown College alumnus James Riles is on a mission to educate a new generation about the roots of rhythm. 

Riles teaches his students not only the modern cadences of the marching drumline but also the ancient art of playing the djembe, a traditional West African drum.

"To really understand today's drumlines, you have to go back to West Africa, where drums like the djembe weren't just instruments—they were a language," Riles explains.

Traditionally carved from a single piece of wood and topped with goatskin, the djembe has played a vital role in African societies for centuries. 

Its rhythms have carried messages across distances, marked ceremonies, and even served as warnings in times of danger.

Historians like Dr. Daniel Black from Clark Atlanta University say that "cultural power" came at a cost.

"This djembe was an entire language in and of itself," Black said.

It was a language enslavers quickly understood and feared.

"The drumming was not just a form of entertainment. The drumming is a means of collective communal communication. They figured that out very quick and as such, they outlawed the drum," he said.

On many American plantations, slaves were banned from using drums early, but the rhythm didn't disappear — it adapted.

"What Black folks did was embody the drum instead of beat it. In other words, we used our body," Black said. "Some folks called it the ham boning tradition. Some churches called it the stomping tradition. In most churches, when we're singing and stomping, we're actually stomping the drum beat because we were not allowed."

From foot stomps and hand claps to marching cadences heard across HBCU stadiums, the beat carried forward, louder and more visible with every generation.

"In Africa, the drum was used to communicate, to tell stories, and it's the same thing today with drumlines — it's storytelling," Riles said.

Only now, that storytelling echoes through stadiums, parades, and battles of the bands, where rhythm still speaks first.

Thanks to educators like Riles, the heartbeat of African drumming continues to inspire young musicians, connecting them to a rich legacy that resonates through every beat.