viciuzurban said:

Thanks for the kind words and I do get what you're saying. I think the hip-hop industry shares a lot of the blame for its one-dimensional promotion of the music, and the black music industry can't escape responsibility for essentially pumping out regurgitated, watered-down hip-hop, which actually needs a robust black music scene in more ways than one. It's a shame that an MC like Q-Tip made a better R&B album than most of the big "R&B" acts last year.

Both genres need to diversify and differentiate themselves. The he author's piece, such as it is, made a couple of points about these issues, but like most everyone else, ignores the diverse and innovative acts in hip-hop bubbling below the surface.

There are a lot of facets to this, I agree. But the hip-hop/black music industries cause many of these problems by their own strategies/messages.



PS -- for what it's worth, MuthaFunka is one of my boys here on the Org, and he and Angel345 are very astute on these topics. I think y'all might discover you agree on more than you disagree on. Y'all handle your business, just FYI.

namepeace said:

Yeah, hopefully it was just a "bad start" and a misunderstanding on a topic. Hopefully.

bboy87 said:

namepeace said:

Let me say this: if both parties or more disagree or see things from a different angle, it does not justify mental bashing, calling folks idiots or slow. I notice that moderators have to snip his remarks. Well, I'm done here. Good day.

Damn right. Everybody didn't sing ballads only back then. That's what pisses me off more than anything. There is no, I repeat, NO JAMS whatsoever being made and it is fucking rediculous.



I heard he and his band rehearse for a live concert once. I could hear live drums and bass coming through the walls and it was sounding downright "funky". They were rehearsing a song about either a bigbone or redbone. Hell, I can't remember. However, when I got in the car and heard the same exact song on the radio, I didn't hear those funky drums and bass on it. The music on the radio version (CD studio verson) sounded very similar to what everyone else was making with the same type drum machines that the shit hoppers use. The mere presence of those type drum machines absolutely ruin a song for me.

What makes me furious though, is when I hear stuff like this on the radio but hear them using real drums and bass in concert. They need to be using them on the CDs because the studio versions are what the mass public is hearing and you can't change no musical styles and drive shit hop out of business if you throwdown only in concert. These record labels know this. I can bet you money that Anthony Hamilton would not even have a recording contract if he had recorded his album the way I heard him rehearse it for a live concert.

vainandy said:

Yeah that pisses me off too. Live performances by acts like Anthony and 'em show you what could be done if it was recorded for an album and released to radio but no one wants to do that and yeah, black singers have been typecast as "balladeers" and that's sad and disrespectful. Not every black individual who loves R&B just wanna hear tripe ballads, lol.

These labels know what they are doing. It's fine for an artist to play those instruments in concert because only a few people are going to hear it. If they recorded the CD that way, droves of people would hear it. And what would happen if those droves of people liked what they heard? They might want more of it from other artists. So what would happen then? The record labels would have to shell out more money for musicians as well as shelling out money for the artist. Hell, if they can afford to pay all those musicians on a nightly basis, why can't they pay for them in some recording sessions? Because they don't want live music to catch back on. They would much rather bring in the cheapest shit hoppers they can and let them push buttons on their little Fisher Price toys.

vainandy said:

It's a cheap way out when you summarize it.

POOK said:

You are truly one of my favorite posters, Pook.

I'd take Anthony David over Maxwell any day of the week. Maxwell's been in decline since his first album came out. Soulless croonings over Leon Ware/Stuart Matthewman's sound.

Van Hunt is all but dead to the industry, but his music is still strong.

D'Angelo - what the hell is he up to these days (years)?

Robin Thicke's starting to look real good. 'Dreamworld' is a great, soulful track though, I must admit.

Fauxie said:

Robin must be the lightest-skinned brotha EVER if he's Black.

vainandy said:

Yes! Spot on, unfortunately.

MuthaFunka said:

Yes, I did read the initial thread. Just sayin'

Funnily enough, Robin's wife is black.

Fauxie said:

And she's mighty damn fine, too.

MuthaFunka said:

She certainly is.

Fauxie said:

This article is so dumb I could almost swear it was written by an orger. The woman is..... CONFUSED!

Fauxie said:

I agree. I went to go see Music Soulchild and I was SHOCKED at how GOOD his songs sounded live..rock guitars and crazy synths and pounding drums with some funky bass...I go and listen to the album...NOTHING....NOTHING like what I heard..needless to say I judst put the album down dissapointed. How are you supposed to sell to me when the sound isnt even the same?

namepeace said:

Well i know that when i saw my little brother (12) drawing "thug life" and all this other stuff all over his arm and face and hands before we were going to the mall I said, "Where do you think you going looking like that!!!?" he said, "I want to look like Little Wayne".
I knew that this mess have gone too far. I just always forget how kids are so impressionable.

paisleypark4 said:

Did you whoop his ass?

bboy87 said:

No I cleaned him up and told him that he cannot go into public looking like that, it's an embarrassment and that he is NOT Lil Wayne. Then I preceeded like an old man to tell him how he is influenced by Hip Hop too much.

paisleypark4 said:

Thank God I'm the youngest, I would've been like




But then again, my brothers were big hip hop fans while I was trying to be like THIS muthafucka

bboy87 said:

I never bitch about why some of my siblings like some hip-hop, they know I prefer older shit and don't have a problem with it (mainly my closest oldest brother on my mother's side), he and I share that love for classic R&B.

BlaqueKnight said:

Well wait..... this doesn't add up?

As you mentioned in your post: Rap music became the cash cow for the music industry because of young White's being the "largest percentage of record buyers" of rap music. Cross-over appeal on steroid's. Yeah, women may be major players as consumers of music, but you have to ask, what types of music are they buying? Wouldn't you need to include demographics? I almost certain girls, young women, and older/mature women aren't listening to the same artist/music genre's/musician's. (hunch-shoulders)

I agree the young woman (Pearl Jr.) was helter skelter in her analysis, she could and failed as you mentioned to examine if "Gangsta Rap" killed "Political Rap" also.? At the same token for all the pushing Record Labels did of gang banging, violent thugs, and misogyny what responsibility do the those black men/rappers play in their willingness to sale their souls? Are they passive, shuffling Negroes who can blame the "Man" for making them do it? I think not... If some take issue with "effeminate lyrics" can you/we take issue the "violent hyper-macho masculent" lyrics"? Hmm.

Look, not for one moment do I believe Rap is the cause for the issues we face in our community, those issue have been long standing and festering. To scape goat Rap Music as an indicator are the cause of our problems is simplistic and silly. Our willingness to deny, excuse, stand still, or justify those issues/problems I think have put a significant percentage of our community in peril. The money grabbing at all cost isn't something that Rap music and it's musician's invented. Integrity, honesty, and ethics has become a foreign to many of use across the board; in private and in public people are willing to do what rappers celebrate. Maybe the real issue with Rap some are put off by their unwillingness to smile and lie at the same time.
[Edited 3/30/09 14:34pm]