Here's a link to stream a studio interview and Harper sitting in as a guest DJ
where music he's worked on or favors.

.
http://www.kcrw.com/music...ben_harper

I'm just not feeling this guy. I got mad respect for him as an instrumentalist but he just seems all fake to me. I get that "I'm so better than you ["N" word snip - luv4u] kinda vibe from him"
It's got nothing to do with that fact the he is one of the most unoriginal cats out there. He is like a more rootsy Lenny and I love Lenny.

Don't wanna bring race into it but he is what white folks has been waiting for since Hendrix and Marley moved on.
Sadly he is not, by a mile.

I have seen him live here in Portugal...he's excellent.

rebelsoldier said:

This racist bullshit has got to stop, do you realize how ignorant you sound?
The only level I can compare it to is people who said the world was flat, it's that fucking stupid.

Music isn't judged by skin color but on it's merit so if you don't like Ben Harper, that's fine but spewing ignorance does nothing but reflect on your intelligence.

rebelsoldier said:

I'm sorry you feel that way, but I find it really funny that you got edited.

rebelsoldier said:

-----
Everybody is not going to do the thug thing. We need to learn to respect differences. All black people don't think a like or come from the same background.

Slave2daGroove said:

Dude I'm not judging his music by colour I'm not saying he makes white music. He is a blues/rock and soul artist. Do you actually know who my favourite artists are or what music I listen to. My favourite band is Funkadelic and I have all of Jimi's and Bob's album so I know what I'm taking about. (I hope you didn't get the impression that I think those guys made white music)
I've seen Ben Harper Live and I got this vibe. I've really tried to like the guy. He is huge here in New Zealand so I know what I'm taking about. Folks here take him like the second coming or something and he believes that he is.

People go back and fucking read my posts Im not into that thug/rapper shit but compared to most on this board I don't blindly diss hiphop on the basis of what MTV/BET shows me and I know enough good young blacks artist to say that Ben Harper aint all that.

PFunkjazz said:

Those guys call me racist when they were stereotyping me as someone that likes thug rap and hates white music(insert rock here).
Now who is racist.

rebelsoldier said:

You are totally correct on Harper on so many fronts.
1 "He is a blues/rock and soul artist." I expect that's a ringing endorsement for many on this board.

2. "He is huge here in New Zealand." Yes he has very successful tours to NZ and Aus.

Harper features a lot of Hendrix and Marley covers in his sets and also
Marvin Gaye and Stevie, but he features his own tunes primarily.

You probably only know him from the herd mentality of fans going to his shows every few years. Having seen him multiple times in large venues and small coffe houses, I can say Ben is one of the most humble and real artists out there. Every gig he thanks fans for choosing to come out and he thanks his band, the promoters and the city for hosting him. I kinda know him on a more personal level since we're from the same neighborhood and he's not at all like what you're thinking. There was a time when I'd see him out buying Cds (really LPs) in the same store I shop.

It's cool if you don't dig him. At least you've experienced enough to form a knowledgable opinion. I'm not looking for debate. The post was just FYI since he's got a new disc and tour coming. I do this stuff for most of the artists I dig.

Yeah I guess Im hating a bit on the basis of his fans that don't know shit about Stevie or Sly stone and only know Marvin for sexual healing.
Or maybe I just wanted Cody Chesnutt to be as big as he is.

Since you know him personally then he must be a great bloke. Let me know what you think about the new album and I will give it another go.

Btw PFunkjazz I respect everything you post.

rebelsoldier said:

It's funny you should say that. Actually, I also got the same vibe from him irronically. I wonder what's the deal with this cat.

rebelsoldier said:

Sad but true. His neutral sensiblity makes some overally anal liberal audiences feel comfortable.
[Edited 8/23/07 17:36pm]

rebelsoldier said:

You've got a point.

rebelsoldier said:

I don't know if you know his recent music but he's added a cover of "Inner City Blues" in the middle of "Black Rain" (the tune about the New Orleans Katrina flood).



I don't see CC as having as strong a desire to develop his career. Ben has had shows and new albums every year since getting the Innocent Criminals band together.



He's very mellow. I've heard the new songs in various stges: solo acoustic, live with full band and in an online preview. I already like 'em. If you're interested I can point you to downloads of these performance or a variety of shows.



I'm flattered

MsLegs said:

What exactly is he neutral on? Are you talking about political ideology or his multi-racial heritage? I chuckle at the "overally anal liberal audiences" there's a tendency to get pretty stoned at his gigs.

PFunkjazz said:

>I'm speaking in reference to his political perspective.
[Edited 8/23/07 17:56pm]

rebelsoldier said:

Dude, everything else you said was eclipsed by this racist statement.



I didn't claim you were a thug or judge your taste in music or talk about where you live, I just said this ignorant statement brought anything else you had to say down a level.

"White folks" aren't waiting for another artist of that caliber because they don't exist. It was a place in time, like Funkedelic. While I'm not trying to get into a debate on the subject, I don't see skin color. Not in music, not in life. It blows my mind when I see this because it's like saying the earth is flat to me. That's it, nothing more.

PFunkjazz said:

This is a cool interview and I like the Brazilian song and it turned me on to Ryan Adams who I've never listened to because his name sounds too much like Bryan Adams.

Thx for link!

Slave2daGroove said:[quote]

rebelsoldier said:

Dude I know what Im taking about ok. Ben Harper is a hippie wet dream.

MsLegs said:

Tree-hugger leftist radical liberal. Anti-Bushie. Hollywood celeb spokespiece. "neutral"; nope.

My statement is entirely true because no one at the Ben Harper concert knew anything about Stevie or Marvin apart from I just called and sexual healing. One even had to nerve to say the Ben's cover of sexual healing was better than the original. I see blank faces when I mention Sly Stone, P-FUNK and The Isleys to my friends. Those artists never really crossed over and therefore irrelevant to them, that's what I meant.
Ben Harper is the only black musician with any kind of commercial success nowadays and he is viewed as the Jimi/Bob of his time. He is not.
I'm taking from experience I'm not just running my mouth.

rebelsoldier said:

I've also noticed this as well. So it's not shocking at all how oblivious some of his fans our to Black Artist.

rebelsoldier said:

Your points are dead on it.