Before I begin this post, I just want to say #1 I dont want this post to become messy or the be taken as offensive. I really love coming on this board and I appreciate the comments from everyone on here, even the ones I disagree with.

When I was in high school, I was first introduced to the music of Curtis Mayfield through his NEW WORLD ORDER album and I was hooked. In the ten years since then, I have collected quite a few of his albums and read a few books on him. Most recent, I purchased the "Curtis Live" album and I was FLOORED. The subject matter on the CD is so relevant. Its almost as if that recording has an "air" about itself. You can listen to the audience singing along to Curtis on some of the songs and hear the revolutionary tones in their voices. On "If There's A Hell Below", you can hear the angst and anger in the audience's voices as they sing along. The lyrics of "Check Out Your Mind" and "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" echo a sentiment of someone who's crying out, if not pleeding to his people to "WAKE UP."
I must admit that there are times that Curtis sounds as if he's preaching but sometimes the realities of the World are THAT serious.

My question is this, is there a need for consciousness like that in our music today? Sometimes when I listen to Curtis or Stevie's "Fulfillingness..." or Marvin's "What's Going On", I think that those recordings were made 30 years too early and that if there is EVER a time that we need to hear those type of things from MAJOR artists(which they were at that time) its now.

Whats the reason that there is such a lack of black consciousness in our music today? I was just glancing at 106 and Park on BET yesterday and they were interviewing Cassidy and he was saying "Just cuz of my jail experience, I aint gon try to be no conscious rapper. I'ma keep it hard and gangsta."
He spoke as if being a "conscious" rapper was a negative.

Whats the reason that we think its OK to refer to our beautiful black sisters as "HOES and B$#@ES" or make songs like "Put that D@CK all up in her throat?"
Why would I refer to my queen that way? Why wouldn't I use my music to uplift my sister and let her know that "WE'RE A WINNER?"

I dont expect everyone to be "conscious" but can we get somebody feeding something POSITIVE into our heads as a people? Is it too much to ask for an artist to affirm good things about me as a black male and my black women? Can I get someone to say something good about my black queens other than that they wanna "pimp" her?


Do you think there's a need or necessity for consciousness in music?


WE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE

lyrics

WE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE
ARE WE GONNA STAND AROUND THIS TOWN AND LET WHAT OTHERS SAY COME TRUE
WE'RE- JUST GOOD FOR NOTHING THEY ALL FIGURE
A BOYISH GROWN UP SHIFTLESS JIGGER
NOW WE CAN'T HARDLY STAND FOR THAT
OR IS THAT REALLY WHERE IT'S AT
WE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE
THIS AIN'T NO TIME FOR SEGREGATING
I'M TALKING `BOUT BROWN AND YELLOW TOO
HIGH YELLOW GAL CAN'T YOU TELL
YOU'RE JUST THE SURFACE OF OUR DARK DEEP WELL
IF YOUR MIND COULD REALLY SEE
YOU'D KNOW YOUR COLOR SAME AS ME,
PARDON ME BROTHER AS YOU STAND IN YOUR GLORY
I KNOW YOU WON'T MIND IF I TELL THE WHOLE STORY
GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, LEARN TO KNOW YOUR SIGN
SHALL WE COMMIT OUR GENOCIDE BEFORE WE CHECK OUT OUR MIND
I KNOW WE'VE ALL GOT PROBLEMS THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TO SAY
KEEP PEACE WITH ME AND I WITH YOU
LET ME LOVE IN MY OWN WAY
NOW I KNOW WE HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THE SISTER, AND MOTHER
IT'S EVEN BETTER YET
BUT THERE'S THE JOKER IN THE STREET LOVING ONE BROTHER ANO KILLING THE OTHER
WHEN THE TIME COMES AND WE ARE REALLY FREE
THERE'LL BE NO BROTHERS LEFT YOU SEE
WE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE
DON'T LET US HANG AROUND THIS TOWN
AND LET WHAT OTHERS SAY COME TRUE
WE´RE JUST GOOD FOR NOTHING THEY ALL FIGURE
A BOYISH GROWN UP SHIFTLESS JIGGER
NOW WE CAN'T HARDLY STAND FOR THAT
OR IS THAT REALLY WHERE IT'S AT
PARDON ME BROTHER, I KNOW WE'VE COME A LONG LONG WAY
LET US STOP BEING SO SATISFIED

To answer your question,, yes there is a need for consciousness in music. I'm gonna try to tackle this subject more after I've had some sleep.

Cassidy is a fucking idiot.

Yes, there is more need as things, overall, have gotten worse. The difference, now, is that there are so many sand holes to stick our heads in. You couldn't hide from Vietnam, You couldn't hide from segregation, you couldn't switch to cable or XM. Options were fewer so it was harder to avoid/delude. When there was a plight, it was unified, when there was a cry for help in was unified and when songs like that spoke, everyone listened.

That's all changed. There's positive and negative art out there...so there's a choice. Each has its own following. The good thing is that there will be less that are positive or negative only because it's fashionable but because that's who they are.

The down side is that some really negative things are validated/nurtured because everyone has a voice and a potential audience.

I think the artists who produce the music would need to be plain conscious first. Cause you can't tell me today's musicians were anywhere near awake or sober when they came up with their lyrics and choice of vocal-delivery.

Novabreaker said:

I agree.
To answer the question posed in the thread; absolutely. The entire world needs music with a message. What's sad is that it's needed more than ever before, and the artists who are interested in making such music are in the minority.

anon said:

Well put. I believe that the MAJOR thing that is missing is the "struggle". Like Anon said, in the past you could not hide but now it's easier to "hide" in your own existence. It's sad really. We have no appreciation from wence we came. "We" seem to be regressing NOT progressing.

Graycap23 said:

And that's true. Last time we all pulled together was 9/11. (Maybe Katrina) and that was for what?...2 days?...and then it was back to our lives.

If there is no "voice" of change, people will use entertainment as escape. Look at India...one of the most destitute of nations (though that's changing). For many decades the worlds largest movie industry consisted mainly of singing and dancing in happy colorful movies.

In troubled/hopeless times we seem to sing and dance too. It was Shirley Temple and all the musicals that got us thru the depression and WWII.

It's not very different now except, I would think, that people are more consumed with their personal fears. We now plug into our i-pods (audio and video) like we are plugging into our own alternate realities. Very much like the Matrix. Funny it should be called i-pod 'cause that's the state we seem to be trying to get back to.

Another wake up call will come. There always is one. Let's see how long we unplug for that.

Consciousness, intellectualism, and even good education is feared and frowned upon in general these days. We need higher expectations and a social system where overt sexism becomes as socially unacceptable as overt racism.

heartbeatocean said:

Hear, hear!

heartbeatocean said:[quote]Consciousness, intellectualism, and even good education is feared and frowned upon in general these days."


That is so TRUE. I cant begin to tell you the number of people that have told me that I was "trying to be white" because I like to read books and listen to most "non-urban" forms of music.


Sometimes I watch videos on BET and MTV and wonder if "Black Face" is back.

LoveAlive said:[quote]

heartbeatocean said:

It's a really unfortunate trend. And it's not just in the black community either. Schools all over have taken the apologetic pose for making their students STUDY! Imagine!!!

LoveAlive said:

"Absolutely" there's a need not just on the part of the Artist, but the consumer and record companies as well. I figure the lil' squids can't see and/or hear neither can I. why put something out today and tomorrow you're ashamed of it. Then again why put something out you should be ashamed of and tomorrow your conscience doesn't bother you. I sometimes wonder if we are 30 years are less behind. Did we drop the ball as consumers ,steer the yunguns in the wrong direction and let the record companies get away with Aiding and Abetting.

i don't think some of the ignorant music coming out over the past few years is going to age very well. i hope those people are being smart with their money, but they probably aren't.