I'm about to start this blog off the right way. I'm going to keep it short and sweet for those of you with a short attention span and/or whom don't like to read. It's ok, I understand. But don't worry, this won't be a Harry Potter novel or one of those blog posts that start off good but halfway through you're Zzzz and drooling. Not a good look to be falling asleep and drooling on your computer, but it's all good I won't judge you or bore you. I'll let you decide which one of those was a lie (lol).
But seriously here's the deal. The music industry is changing and there is nothing wrong with change at all. Change is good. We saw the 50s and 60s more doo-wop style music transition into the more Funk and Disco type of music in the 70s. 80s saw pop, rock, an emergence of hip hop/R&B. 90s era the R&B dominance was definitely there with of course pop and rock changing it's sound and hip hop changing it's style and sound as it expanded to the west coast from the east coast. But all in all I'll say that there is one thing we can all agree on, the people who were in the industry during the aforementioned time frame (50s-90s) were talented.
I mean you had Michael Jackson (plus the Jackson 5), The Supremes, Frankie Limons and the Teenagers, Smokie Robinson The Heartbeats, The Tymes, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Elvis, The Beatles, New Edition, Guns N Roses, Minnie Ripperton, Earth Wind & Fire, Cher, Atlantic Starr, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown (in his prime), Mariah Carey (in her prime), Boyz II Men, En Vogue, Jodeci, TLC,All-4-One, Brandy came in the game, The Roots, The Gap Band, Prince, Run DMC, Tupac, Notorious BIG, MC Lyte, Yaya,Queen Latifah, Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, The Underground, Ledisi, Snoop Dogg (in his prime), Outkast, Lionel Richie, Kool and the Gang, Lauryn Hill (plus the Fugees), Salt N Pepper, Dr. Dre, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Sade, Marvin Gaye, Kenny Rogers, George Strait, Queen,
etc etc etc I could do this all day, trust me. But I said I wouldn't bore you haha.
These artists were not only talented in their vocal and musical abilities, they did something that this new industry of musicians (as a whole, not individually) don't do. They respected those that came before them and acknowledged them as legends that paved the way for them in their particular genre whether that be pop, rock, rap, r&b, country, and so forth. They didn't treat them like has-beens that should be dumped in the trash because they're no loner "relevant" or injecting their "earworms" into our heads. Earworm or virus: songs that are absolutely positively talking about NOTHING, yet get stuck in your head because they have a "sick beat". Sound familiar?
Of course there are artists that embody the integrity of music, but they're few and far in between. There are two big problems I see here:
1, A lot of the artists in today's industry lack creativity. Creativity was key in the time period 50-90s. It was innovative. Every artist not only worked to cater to the sound of the time period in question, but they also created sounds that were beyond their time. Matter of fact their sounds are STILL being sampled religiously to this day? Hmmmm.
Everyone just wants to sound the same today. Music sounds so similar. The same simplistic earworm beat. The same lyrics that lack depth. Blah Blah Blah.... write about stuff that matters! Sing from your soul, from your core, stop just trying to "chart". Hell, some of the best artists last year didn't "chart". Mainstream, samestream. All y'all swimming upstream likeamug.
2. Consumerism is the root of all evil, when it comes to the music industry that is. Here's what is being done today that (for lack of a better and more tactful way to put it) pisses me off (el oh el smiley face)... Here's an analogy to explain where I'm coming from:
It's kind of like what people do with iPhones. As soon as the 4 came out, everyone threw their 3s away. A few months later, the 5 came out. The 4's were piling up in the trashcan like Professor Klump's KFC chicken bones. Then considerate folks at Apple wanted to give you something "better" so they gave you the 5s....then the 6/6Plus....and I'm waiting for the 6s/6s Plus to come out just to see people throw away their perfectly good 6/6plus away. Why do we do this?
We do this to our music artists too. Here's a few examples and I promise you I'll be done.
Carly Rae Jepson. Do you remember her? In 2012/2013 she had one of the hottest songs in the country...if not the hottest song during that time. "Call Me Maybe". Everybody was singing it and buying that song. How many of y'all still support her now that the hype is gone....? (crickets)
Fun: There wasn't a radio in America that didn't have "We are young" play a million and one times. The song was EVERYWHERE. Commercials, Tv Shows, Good Morning America theme song.... EVERYWHERE. But I guess the Fun wore off, because they haven't been that hyped since....
Ke$ha. Her song Tik Tok finished #1 on BillBoards Top 100 in 2010. That's another song that was played 24/7 and even when you thought you were sick of it...you ended up catching yourself singing it while you were in the shower "with a bottle of jack" ha! But besides getting sick to your stomach sometimes watching the sad reality tv show she had, did she dominate your iTunes 2014? Nah.....
Lady Gaga: who arguably dominated 2010-2011.... her last album effort wasn't as hyped. What happened there?
Lil Wayne was everyone's favourite rapper in 2008-2010 but then somehow now all of a sudden the his hype has been silenced--- like "the "g" in lasagna."
G-Unit ... The early 2000s 50 cent led G-unit up the charts with hits like PIMP, In da Club, Best Friend, Candy Shop, etc etc... but since then the label seems to barely be producing anything worth getting on the charts to rap consumer America.
There are plenty more examples like Nivia, Cherish, Olivia, Petey Pablo (lol) etc...
But the point is that the industry needs to do a little soul searching. Journey back in time and remember what music is all about. Which is: substance, relationality, TALENT, depth, and inspiring the generations to come. Heck, there are no LEGENDS being created that I could honestly tell my future kids about. People that sold a million records without having to turn to overly sexualized aide for assistance or switching genres to sell millions of records. (Yes, that just destroyed the two people that came to your mind in a single sentence). But relied on their sounds, creativity and passions and the BONUS (not the initial goal but BONUS) was that they sold a million-over a million copies and "made lots of money".
*There are people/groups in the industry today that have actual talent and are keeping true to the integrity of music. While some are beginning to get recognized for that, others are still being drowned out by marketable people that are inherently inapt.
Ok, end rant.
Peace, love, and the end of the miseducation.
