I understand and like the Tupac's and NWA's and Nas's of this world. People who actually poetically speak about the streets, But remember when black music was happy? Why is virtually all black music it soooo concerned by being street and usually having expicit lyrics.

I like some profanity. like 2 live crew, but now it's kinda stale.....

I miss the days when black music in general was happy without expicit lyrics.

thesexofit said:

you are generalizing. Maybe mainstream music is more agressive in general. Nas really isnt that agressive.

Soulchild82 said:

It only was helped by Dr. Dre..after that it was history..u were "gay" if you danced or looked happy in the rap community.

paisleypark4 said:

that's true that people will perceive you as "gay" if you don't look like you're about to beat someone down. that's partly why people don't like will smith. he's not "street" or "gangsta" enough, for today's music market.

I know my comment was very brief and crude but u know what I mean I think.

Iam a gay contridiction. I love to dance to camp pop of the 80's and black acts like jermaine stewart. Black producers like c and c music factory and narlada michael Walden helped create dozens of positive tracks that did not need to be so expicit all the time. Take that ciara song "my goodies".....it's just sex,sex,sex and the dirty south crunk is just very, very straight up macho bullshit all the time. I liked it when black music, whatever the genre, was still able to be diverse with some acts that were expicit (I love 2 live crew!) and acts that were just fun pieces of good natured ctchy fluff that u could dance too (tevin campbell's "just ask me to" for example).....

Does black music nowadays represent some sort of anger that was not present in the 80's or something? As simplistic as that sounds.

That is one of the main reasons y black rnb music these days is mostly rubbish to me.

It still makes me sick how rap HAS to have that thug image. that's the same with rnb these days too. (ie beyonce)

thesexofit said:

I don't think that makes you a contradiction - that's why Ludacris sells to suburban white kids who have never seen the inside of a club or why happy people buy Cure records. That's how music sells.

I agree with T-bird, but the trend is noticeable. Cats singing ballads always walk around in the street clothes of the month acting like they're "thugged out." They even move like rappers when they sing. Check out any D'Angelo live performance in the mid-90's.

Hell, today's music is dull and boring so why shouldn't the clothes be dull and boring also? If they can't come up with a melody for their own songs instead of using other people's, why would they be able to come up with their own look either? All they wear is jeans and athletic wear. Hell, you can buy that shit in Wal-Mart. Sure, it won't have the brand name but who the hell cares? It still all looks the same and there is nothing unique looking about it to make that star an individual and to make him stand out in a crowd.

Then there's the ones that start their own clothing line. First of all, the clothes they make all look "normal". Hell, I like something that stands out and looks unusual, not something that blends in with everyone else. Second of all, if you have a clothing line, then you have loads of other people dressing like you. A real star would be pissed if someone else looked like them.

I have absolutely no problem with having an aggressive look but their look is totally "ordinary", "blend in with the crowd", and a "common" look. A real star may have an aggressive look but it is done in an "over the top", "FAR from down to earth", "wild", "not a hair out of place", "totally an individual", "I'm better than you" kind of look.

As for the gay thing, in the 1980s it was totally different. If you weren't gay back then, well dammit you had better look like you were if you wanted to be a star. The majority of the music scene looked like gays pissed off at the world and I was loving it.

What is black music?

Why did black music become aggressive?



[Edited 1/12/05 18:39pm]

NWF said:

Or more to the point which "black" music? Rock & Roll, Blues, gospel?

thesexofit said:

again from a commerial aspect this is what sells...but if you are looking for something that isn't ...gun-hoe/cutthroat...their are alot of MC's out there who do not fall into this mold...they might not be as commercially visible as 50 cent,Lil Jon,Nelly etc...but if you want something bad enough I guess you will have to find it.

Given our times, I'm surprised more music isn't agressive.

Real aggression would be about black power. (87-92) they had to kill it after the riots.

Because folks kept calling it "black music" instead of "music," and it ticked a lot of us off...

well the music he's talkin' about is black music. it originated from black people so thats why its called that. personally when someone says black music i ask first "what kind?" like someone said already. but when the term "black music" is used it's automatically assumed that its r&b or rap music. why are some offended?

Assuming you're talking about "gangsta rap" and the similarly sad Top 40 songs that pass for rap and R&B these days:

"Black music" became aggressive for the same reason that reality TV has replaced actual plots, for the same reason that William Hung became an overnight sensation, for the same reason that Paris Hilton is a celebrity and that a draft-dodging con artist's soundbites beat the mess out of a war hero in 2004:

ADD-riddled America has an eternal love affair with the lowest common denominator, stereotypes and the exploitation of marginalized demographics. The prurient thrill of consuming material produced by stereotypically animalistic artists by "mainstream" kids became a cycle that has fueled the entertainment, fashion and food industries. Here's the shorthand: Big business.

What was it?


Anyway, glad u understood that when I said blakc music, i meant rap/rnb/pop.

WOW. U a journalist or something as that is some deep stuff.....

so black music is a relection of today's society is what ur saying?

I blame Hammer.

I BLAME HIM

I can see what u mean, seriously.

Hammer was not the first to just rap about less megative things like dancing or whatever. Fresh Prince and kid n play did and some before that.....

but maybe the fact that happy hammer was so sucsessful sales wise, caused a backlash in postitivity in rap and not looking like a thug and thus became more bullyish in style and content.

ThreadBare said:

i couldn't in a million years have said it better

vainandy said:

Dude, we are on the same page on this topic. The main reason why I'm not as big a fan of R&B, Hip-Hop or Pop music is because of the loss of individuality and originality. These "stars" are so busy trying to prove to the public that they are relatable and that they are still like them that there's no sense of mystery to them. They don't seem to realize that if they are so much like me, then why are they riding around in limos and Benz's while I'm driving around in a hooptie or riding the bus and/or subway to work? They need to get it through their brain housing groups that they aren't like us anymore. They are stars or so they claim to be.

Plus they keep singing/rapping about the same thing. How many different ways to I have to hear about how rough someones life was in the ghetto? You found a way out of there. You should be singing about that and what it's like to be free from there (and I'm not knocking it, I'm from Harlem so I know what it's like). It's like what I said earlier, they want to prove to folks that they are no different than they are and it's not even true. The record labels don't even go to the neighborhoods to see for themselves what's up. It's pisses me off to see this. That's why Prince is still around after 26 years. We need someone with guts to come out and be different and sing about something different. This is why I can't get with Kanye West. While he's rapping about something other than money, hoes and guns, he looks no different than anyone else. We need the FULL package. The music world needs a rude awakening and they need it NOW.

Nicley put, thanx.....u guys r way better then any music magazine. We all obviously know music mags have to like modern shit so readers will buy it etc.....

yeah, good point about the mystique thing. I seem to love anything 80's more and more now.

Heck even pop wasn't ashamed to be cheesy. Tell that to beyonce or whoever. Trying to be so down with the streets all the time. I agree that I don't want an act who I can relate too image wise.....

be original, be different. Don't kill me, but maybe thats why I love MC Hammer. He didn't give a shit how commercial he was, or how he danced, looked whatever.....4 a rapper to do that, even back then was hard to do.
[Edited 1/13/05 10:40am]

ThreadBare said:

Preach T-Bare.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Black Music?

somebody needs to take a listen to NFO 2 and listen too "Hey Champ"

"Why are styles of musics define dby race"

Iam just saying that there is a huge differance with what was rnb music in the 80's compared to now, in terms of image, lyrics etc.....I don't ever class music by race either BUT it is easier to label, 4 the sake of this arguement.

thesexofit said:

Well thats simple,

People don't want to work hard anymore...
RnB these days, are simple songs that have no warmth or meaning connected to them.
They are filled with hip hop producers who don't know the First thing about RnB.

The Highlight of RnB was during the 70's and 80's period
we had great bands and singers and beautiful bump and grind grooves
as Hip Hop became popular and the 90's entered
RnB was slowly suffering to its new competitor
as the end of the 90's came, RnB was transformed into another form of hip hop...
Neglecting their true roots...
their are some traditionalist though, Like D Angelo,Maxwell, and YES BABYFACE
but its not the same
i wouldn't say more aggressive
but less feeling...
and now that all the greats like Barry white and rickjames are dying out
who is left to bring back the old grooves?
No more Teddy Pendergrass's,Lenny Williams, James B. Luther Van.
Teena Marie
these are the RnB all stars

i don't listen to current RnB same reason i don't listen to hip hop anymore
the artforms have lost their "Art"

vainandy said:

Good point.

Forgot the exact way this gets worded but in order to qualify "stage clothing" as a tax write off, it has to be attire that you would "not normally wear on the street.

So at the very least, they're losing out on the ability to keep some money out of the hands of the "gummint".
(that's government in southern lingo)


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm