African American literature refers to the writings of people of African descent living in the United States. Besides, the writings began as early as the eighteenth century and are characterized by identity, dominant society position, and use of religious imagery concerns. Today, African American literature has explored fields of gender and politics hence developing criticism due to new ways of existing racial identity representation (Bey, 2018). The four themes of African American writings that have developed from slavery to the present are literature, poetry, gospel, and hip-hop.

The focus of African American literature has developed due to the black's place changes in American society. Before the American Civil War, enslaved people who had managed to escape slavery wrote memoirs, which made up the literature. During slavery, stories of life and the journey toward freedom via justice and atonement were part of the African American literary genre. African American literature evolved to include various topics of interest after the Civil Rights war, unlike during slavery, when the genre mainly focused on oppression, self -identity promotion, and political consciousness (Schur, 2018). The African Americans' viewpoint in today's society made the back authors write about various topics in the 1970s, like urban life, marriage, and friendship, changing the literature topics during slavery. Additionally, African American literature has many recognized titles that have enabled black writings to reach mainstream audiences. Presently, most African American authors have expanded literature by writing fictional and non-fictional works. However, there is controversy in the subject matter, language, and genre despite African American literature's continued recognition in the United States.

Poetry is a type of art that existed before literacy. The oldest types of poetry were passed down orally and sung. These were frequently chants or prayers, but among the poetry preserved in the tangible archives were historical chronicles, how-to guides for daily tasks, and works of fiction. Most early oral history was narrated in poetic form, probably because a repetition would aid memory. African American poetry owes its paternity to the tabloid pages. Besides, African American poetry occasionally appeared as part of political and cultural programs during slavery in magazines or newspapers of the early nineteenth century. From the early years of the twentieth century to the present, African American poetry has changed and developed due to its emphasis on traditional formalism and ornate diction. The present African American literature poetry also possesses the black's repertory authentic features that manifest itself in the use of concrete images and the concepts of space and time that establishes a poetic form and culture.

African Americans coined spiritual songs before freedom and emanations as a form of hope. The traditional hymns were introduced by the Europeans who settled in North America. As a religious movement, the Great Awakening of 1730-1755 significantly contributed to gospel development during slavery (Bey, 2018). The revivals embraced free singing characterized by choruses, refrains, and repetitive lines. Additionally, the people easily learned and memorized the revival songs due to the repetitive passages. The introduction of singing schools also led to the development of African American gospel since most African Americans were taught how to read music staffs, rhythms, and singing syllables. Presently, African American gospels are more harmonically complex than they used to be during slavery. Moreover, all genders perform African American gospels as solos in small and large ensembles. Hip-hop is thought to have roots in African American storytellers who employed handmade instruments at social gatherings to make their tales flow more smoothly. Slavery is a major factor in the migration and settlement of black people in America and is directly linked to hip-hop music. Hip-hop, a new music genre that has evolved into one of the most well-known in the world, was created due to this settlement. Hip-hop music has shown the strongest resemblance to historical slave narratives (Schur, 2018). Like the stories of enslaved people, hip­ hop is more than just the lyrics of any song. Africans in slavery had limited freedom to engage in any other activity save those directed by their masters. African American hip-hop, Rap, a term used to describe a strike or a hit, has been associated with hip-hop from slavery. A few decades later, rap was brought to America with a little adjustment that suggested that someone was speaking or discussing the terminology of the black community.