Final answer:
The banjo is the instrument commonly associated with bluegrass music. It gained prominence due to its high volume and portability, playing a key role in folk and traditional music, particularly in bluegrass, which reflected cultural adaptations similar to early hip-hop's development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The instrument often associated with bluegrass music is the banjo. In the evolution of bluegrass music, certain instruments were favored due to their loudness and portability. The banjo, with its resonator to increase volume, became a staple in bluegrass bands. Much like the banjo, the fiddle (violin) and guitars were also popular due to the same reasons. Even though the mandolin is quieter compared to these instruments, it is played rhythmically and percussively in bluegrass music to boost its volume. This adaptation mirrors the transformative beginnings of hip-hop in urban areas like the Bronx, where the genre is molded to fit the resources of its creators.
Historically, African Americans contributed to the spread of the banjo after it originated from the Senegal and Gambia regions of West Africa. By the eighteenth century, the banjo became a prominent musical companion for African dances in North America. This dynamic history of the banjo underlines its significance in various traditional music forms, especially in bluegrass.