Graycap23 said:

SteamForest said:

Graycap23 said:

SteamForest said:

One of the reasons that we assume an artist is burnt out is that for the majority of consumers , the remaining major record companies ( like Universal ) handle the marketable concept which they focus on a specific targetgroup which might sell best to , and which will suit best for their profit .
Due to circumstances , an artist can have a shorter career .
Like mentioned above , Lauryn Hill chose after her Grammy winning album for family-life .
A life-choice yes , but she eventually went recording a live-album which might have not been the succes she expected , especially after that succesful period followed by a time-out in the music-biz .
So you see , there are more sides to some stories .
If every other artist here is going to be compared to the continuous creativity of than the verdict has been made quickly .

And i have to say that even Beyonce and DC flourish(ed) most of the time within the marketable area of Urban Soul , they are one of the few which have been delivering for a long time in the spotlight , if you want to speak in terms of long durance in the bizniz .
I'm not a fanatic buyer of that music-area , but if you check their live-dvd you'll hear an impressive band of skilled musicians backing them up , and playing all kinda tight arranged riffs , hooks & loops .

And even out the spotlight there have been artist busy working in the music-scene , by doing session-work , performances in smaller venues ... after all these are musicians .. a life-choice .


There is actually a wave within Urban Soul which some major companies don't focus all their effort on .
It's called " grown folks music " ... soul with a more mature flava .
I've just made a random selection from my collection :


IAN MARTIN
A talented bass-player/composer/musical-director .
Released his album " The Way " last year and was assisted and represented by a friend of mine .
Here you have a sample of " Brother " , for which he collaborated with singer Gavin Christopher , who once sang the lead-vox on Herbie Hancock's " Stars In Your Eyes " ( 1980 ) from which the original US-maxi single is a much sought item among collectors :

http://mp3.juno.co.uk/MP3...-01-03.mp3



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DA PRODUCERS
A group of producers and musicians which received big recognition in the UK last year with their first album-release :
http://tinyurl.com/bd6r5




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ISRAEL HOUGHTON & NEW BREED



The album " Real " from him and his community blew my mind when the title-track came by on the radio .
It is gospel-minded and the musicians on there are SLAMMIN !

Check the samples in this link
http://direct.crossrhythm...hp?cd=7101

The project was directed by Tommy Sims , who arranged some amazing horn-riffs in the track " Better " .
Really a salute to the classical EW&F-horn section , which paid off a few years later when he was asked to collaborate with Maurice White and his band .
Check also Tommy's appearance on a live-dvd from Michael McDonald .


_____

2 recent concerts here from KINDRED and LEELAH JAMES .

KINDRED is from the same Philly-based Hidden Beach Company on which JILL SCOTT released a few solid albums .
They pay a tribute to MAZE & FRANKIE BEVERLY , from who they do their impression of " We Are One " ( 1983 ) , and a beautiful version of WILLIAM DEVAUGHN'S " Be Thankful For What You've Got " :

KINDRED
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-...red_bb.wmv



LEELAH JAMES
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-..._james.wmv



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DWELE
Released not long ago his second album with great tracks , including a horn-section .
The vibe of his shows are very alive .

_____

Lots of this music i hear on 2 UK-based internet-stations :

www.solarradio.com
The marketable commercial Urban Soul is played there too sometime by Dave Brown in the daytime in weekdays .
But Dj's like Steve Hobbs and Bigger play mostly the interesting , unfamiliar and musically refreshing underground jams .

www.starpointradio.com
Dj's to check here are
- Andreas Hellingh - who plays new jams from which some yet have to be released or are un-released .
- Geoff Bingham
- Soulsorts

These stations find much new releases on www.cdbaby.com .
This is a site whre all kinda artists from all sorts of music can drop their product with which they can't get a record-deal at a big Company .
And yes , there are (imo ) some awful productions for sale over there , but also a lot of excellent albums from artists , which aren't given the opportunity to get a deal at major label .
The file of that site is expanded and every week new artist join the archive .
So one must be willing & eager to explore and discover some good hidden treasures : http://cdbaby.com/style/urban
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[Edited 4/12/06 13:07pm]

DavidEye said:

Not exactly a new development. If you look at just about any era of popular music it tends to be dominated by a whole lotta acts that look and sound alike, imho.

Over the years it's easy to forget just how much sound-alike crap filled the airwaves when you only focus on the iconic artists who managed to rise above the masses of cookie cutter acts that actually dominated the charts.

That said, the older I get, the less interested I am in where R&B is going.

Universaluv said:

... or the less eager you are to explore what sounds in hyperspace :
http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi...att-06.m3u

100MPH said:

Hmmm, a decent, albiet forgettable, beat with "uplifting" lyrics that blow chunks.

That really didn't help your case..
[Edited 4/12/06 10:36am]

UndercovaBrotha said:

They're not very entertaining if you're blind.

Universaluv said:

I can't help you just with one sample ... it was a try-out , and therefor you have to be willing to find that kinda beat that's hip to you .

That this wasn't your kinda thing is not an excuse that ALL the current soul music should be ignored ... kinda narrowminded if you ask me .

100MPH said:

When did I advocate ignoring it? I stated the direction of my personal tastes. As a genre it's just getting less and less interesting for me personally.

Do I still listen and find R&B artists that I enjoy. Absolutely. But that's getting to be less and less frequent. Maybe that'll change, maybe it won't. C'est la vie.

top 40 R&B and top 40 country music is interchangeable to me. it's all a bunch of overproduced easy listening pap, with arrangements designed to appeal to the appropriate demographic. there's good R&B out there and there's good country music out there, but it's not popular because it's easier to sell the edge-free, bland crap to the masses who want to buy a CD that will match their new sofa.

same thing goes for the pop and rock and country artists too...

THEY ALL SOUND THE SAME


shut the funk up

Universaluv said:

I got that impression in the last line of your post below , but apparently i misinterpeted that .

Universaluv said:

... unlike the former posting above mine .... that's pure narrowminded ignorance .
It all has to be served on a plate and some effort in finding new discoveries has become of rare value .
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[Edited 4/12/06 11:20am]

Ellie said:

I agree. I can't tell one from the other...and the crazy thing is, they are all so disposable, I'll try to pick up a gift cd for godkids, nieces or nephews, only to be told that "this" one is no longer hot, while "that" one is, and I'm just thinking "they all sound the same to me!"

I mean, what is the musical life span of ANY of these singers, like what? 1 or 2 cds? Even that I wouldn't mind so much if the music we had to put up in the meantime from them wasn't so CRAPPY.

...good grief, lead singers like El Debarge managed to put out only 3 albums with his siblings in my day, but that man left me happy as HELL with something I can at least play at a wedding, for gawd sakes...

CinisterCee said:

Damn, I didn't even think of them.

Theyre all cheap and disposable artists, they get a hit single or two an album, and then they are dropped. Some are Ok, but the rest are shit. The only good recent R and B rap artist to come out of this is Kanye West, but I think he would have got signed, even if the selection criteria was higher than being black, hip looking and funky (Bein from the hood counts as well).
Some of them are gimmick too like Mantayishu or whateva his name is. But the crap like Chris Brown (whos new single is very weak) and Chingy (Blinged out and annoying) and all these "Dominiquah" type singers like Ashanti and Destiny Child girls and rap bitches like Lil Kim and Mya are all annoying. Its serving crap up for an undiscerning and largely uneducated audience. Akon and Chingy are easily the worst, but Slim Thug really sucks too.

tane1976 said:

Matisyahu. There is definitely a gimmick aspect to his success, but his live album is damn good.

My co-worker told me about a study that was conducted on rats.

They put a group of rats in their own room. There were 4 rooms.

One room played classical music, the second played pop music, the third played country, and the fourth played heavy metal.

By the 8th hour, the rats listening to heavy metal started eating each other! (The rest of the rats didn't do that)

CinisterCee said:

so what you're saying is that if there was a firth room playing hip hop, the rats would have instigated drive by shootings?

Imago said:

More like, after 8 hours in a room with the same person, you might put your mouth on them.

CinisterCee said:

My coworker told me that his friend's sister in-law went to Vegas and woke up in a bathtub full of ice missing a kidney!

Universaluv said:

haha I know totally reeks of an urban myth

CinisterCee said:

Long live metal.

Those acts are plastic, and when you say so, there are still some black americans reacting on that like they are bitten by a rat...

Trust me...its not about your skin colour, but music like that is really shite...I mean: people who dont like modern R&B are (on an intuitive, implict level) easily accused of racism, but that nonensense, its YOUR shallowness, thinking that bling-bling, polished music is representing yourselves...get a grip, PLEASE

Maybe that's why 3121 bores me.
It reminds me of a new-soul record.