MotownSubdivision said:

lastdecember said:

I have said it before and I will say it again, these times, are more polarized people are MORE in a box and labelled then ever before. You are this and that because of this, you think there ever can be a stage where you have a Hall and Oates, Kool and the Gang, Lionel Richie, Earth Wind and Fire and Fleetwood mac and Chicago all sharing a stage?? or the same damn radio station? NO NO WAY in hell, i am tired of hearing how "oh these times, changes, this and that" I see us going backwards not forwards in most respects.

If you watch/listen to the Breakfast Club, Charlemagne tha God said that people today would never let Malcolm Little become Malcolm X, choosing to pick apart his past and other irrelevant details about him instead of allowing the man to decide his own future as he did.

That goes hand in hand with music today. With how touchy everybody has been allowed to be, nobody would be allowed to grow or change or create as they themselves are led too. Hall & Oates probably would've never gotten another video played on MTV after the first outcry of them "appropriating" R&B music. Kool & the Gang would've gotten slagged even more by black audiences for daring to make pop music.

It's one step forward and two steps back.

As Daryl Hall said "People sometimes call us blue eyed soul, to us that is pretty racist thing to say" and he is right. They are just two musicians who grew up in Phillie and that was what they were into, tired of the damn labels. This generation between it PC culture and then OUTRAGE machines or should i say FAKE outrage machines, people jumping on everything people say and do and then share and post it all over Social Media like the world is supposed to give a shit, we are quickly becoming a culture that has two personas, what they are in person and the person they are online, its like we all have a PR management firm working for us. Hopefully this will change though i really dont see it happening anytime soon because people LIVE for LIKES and CLICKS and SHARES and VIEWS and they will get them however they must.

So are people saying that Bruno Mars shouldn't do the music he loves? Like do we really want to start to say who's allowed to do R 'n B, Pop, Rock, Jazz etc. and who's not? I mean, this is ridiculous people should be allowed to do the music they love, not the music they're forced to do.

The people who are hatin on artists like Bruno Mars, Eminem, George Michael and all the other none black artists, should focus on the real issue, and that is the industry and their biased promotions. Yes, THEY don't want black music from black people, THEY don't promote their black artists like they do with none black artists. If you really want to rant, rant on the real problem, not on single artists who just love the music they make.

And seriously, guys, there is literally no artist today who brings something new and original to the tabel, wether they be black or none black. Everybody's stealing from the inventors, no one is original these days and those who are, don't get the promotion they deserve. And by the way, the people who complain about Bruno Mars etc, could help those artists. But they choose to go on a rant on Bruno Mars, so they might be blind and can't see all these other artists, black artists, that could benefit from people like those from the GrapeVine.

Use your blogs, YouTube channels, whatever you got, to promote them. Don't just hate and sit on your ass while doing it, this won't solve the issue. Everybody can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?

Oh and Sensei, in case you're reading this, if you accuse Bruno Mars of Cultural Apropriation, you shouldn't go by that name tho, hypos gonna crite, right?

[Edited 3/11/18 16:29pm]

lastdecember said:

MotownSubdivision said:

lastdecember said:

As Daryl Hall said "People sometimes call us blue eyed soul, to us that is pretty racist thing to say" and he is right. They are just two musicians who grew up in Phillie and that was what they were into, tired of the damn labels. This generation between it PC culture and then OUTRAGE machines or should i say FAKE outrage machines, people jumping on everything people say and do and then share and post it all over Social Media like the world is supposed to give a shit, we are quickly becoming a culture that has two personas, what they are in person and the person they are online, its like we all have a PR management firm working for us. Hopefully this will change though i really dont see it happening anytime soon because people LIVE for LIKES and CLICKS and SHARES and VIEWS and they will get them however they must.

"Blue eyed soul" extends further back than Hall & Oates. Boz Scaggs, Average White Band, Joe Cocker, Bobby Caldwell, The Doobie Brothers/Michael McDonald, all examples of such a label and unlike their successors today could actually be mistaken as black and still be thought of as such even after being revealed as white. It's become a meme just a month or so ago that a white man in Bobby Caldwell is the singer behind "What You Won't Do For Love"; 40 years after the song came out in the internet age millions of people are just finding out and trying to accept the fact that this dude is white. If that man came about today, he'd be one of the names in the conversation for exploiting black culture instead of celebrated for being such a legitimate soulful singer. Much more than the likes of Sam Smith and Adele, two singers with a soulful essence but not full on SOUL. I'm just baffled at how Bruno who is a minority with even less representation in the industry than black people who loves the music he makes is getting criticized instead of actual culture vultures who make money off of what we made and discard it or downplay when it's convenient like Post Malone, Miley Cyrus and that walking minstrel show Iggy Azalea or even suspect people like JT (who people are just NOW turning against). The internet makes things seem bigger than they actually are and as RJ said, the internet has just given people a platform to voice opinions that weren't able to be voiced on such a level before but it's basically become a manhunt without a cause and as usual, whatever actual changes are desired never take place.

I don't recall those artists interpolating past music......that's the difference....that's the key

I believe this with everything....in the future, if there's a music industry left to follow, if there was a person to come to the forefront, whoever that person maybe culturally, if that person was to truly move forward and create his own/her own music with authenticity......that person will go down in history as changing the industry for the better and encourage others to do the same......all we need is one person to do this and others will follow that example......there's no doubt in my mind that would be the case

the new genres will originated as a result....

MotownSubdivision said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Oh yea!? The Apollo CBS special when he went to the hood in New York to give away free tickets to his performance? That was a prime example of "cultural appropriation". That was so fake to me. Knowing he would have NEVER step foot in that hood or EVER even been there in any other circumstance. He was trying to get his honorary "black card".

But I agree that performance was AMAZING! He knows how to keep peoples attention in the urban communities with his well rehearsed stage show. Plus has them ALL fooled into thinking he's black with his new afro.

Ignant

Are U referring to yourself? Because you're most definitely not calling me that.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

RJOrion said:

so are we just gonna all ignore the fact that Stephanie Mills looks AMAZING for a 60 year old woman?...she looks almost exactly the same as she did in 1981.

Doesn't she though?! But U know black don't crack.

Honest question

How many copies has 24K Magic sold as of today and how many copies did Robin Thicke sale for this album Blurred lines?

[Edited 3/12/18 8:28am]

Scorp said:

Honest question

How many copies has 24K Magic sold as of today?

Three million worldwide.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

214 said:

I don't care, love his music. His november show at The Apollo was nothing short of amazing.

Oh yea!? The Apollo CBS special when he went to the hood in New York to give away free tickets to his performance? That was a prime example of "cultural appropriation". That was so fake to me. Knowing he would have NEVER step foot in that hood or EVER even been there in any other circumstance. He was trying to get his honorary "black card".

But I agree that performance was AMAZING! He knows how to keep peoples attention in the urban communities with his well rehearsed stage show. Plus has them ALL fooled into thinking he's black with his new afro.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-park-bruno-mars-used-to-call-home/

Have you seen his 'hood'? He came from some real humble beginnings man, you dont know anything about him obviously.

Of course he was slammed...these kids today find fault in EVERYTHING

GTFOH WITH THAT BS!

We need to put our foot down on this pc shit.

Jealousy is a mother.

paisleypark4 said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Oh yea!? The Apollo CBS special when he went to the hood in New York to give away free tickets to his performance? That was a prime example of "cultural appropriation". That was so fake to me. Knowing he would have NEVER step foot in that hood or EVER even been there in any other circumstance. He was trying to get his honorary "black card".

But I agree that performance was AMAZING! He knows how to keep peoples attention in the urban communities with his well rehearsed stage show. Plus has them ALL fooled into thinking he's black with his new afro.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-park-bruno-mars-used-to-call-home/

Have you seen his 'hood'? He came from some real humble beginnings man, you dont know anything about him obviously.

Why are they complaining when Kendrick and others are making better albums.

2freaky4church1 said:

Jealousy is a mother.

What kind of mother is she?

Scorp said:

paisleypark4 said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Jealousy is a mother.

You got that right Freaky!

MotownSubdivision said:

Bruno generally gets compared to Lenny Kravitz and it is

Lastly, how is what Bruno makes not authentic?

How is someone who has displayed nothing but love and respect for his influences which he always touts for the music he makes, inluding shouting out names not relevant within the general public at present not authentic?

.

But there are different cultural considerations one must not forget when comparing Lenny Kravitz and Bruno Mars in this argument.

.

This argument is that he appropriates certain aspects of culture thus making his efforts inauthentic by the definition of the word authentic ("of undisputed origin; genuine"). Origin is what is being disputed/discussed.

.

If the names of the people that Bruno tributes/copies/karaokes aren't "relevant" why did he tribute/interpolate/copy them in the first place and why do articles and Mars' team keep bringing them back up? Is the 'general public at present' in this instance 23-27 year olds and/or younger? Anyone over 30 with ears knows Bobby Brown's style, even Sequence and Zapp.

RJOrion said:

for the record...as one of the so called Bruno Mars "haters" i never ever accused Bruno Mars of "cultural appropriation"... as a "black" man, i acknowledge his puerto rican and asian ancestry as non-white...when it comes to words like "gentrification" and "cultural appropriation", that is more specifically a black vs. white thing...i just think his music is overrated and overhyped as a talent...

.

What about his Ashkenazi ancestry? Thats Germanic, right?

StrangeButTrue said:

StrangeButTrue said:

"Black, white, Puerto Rican, everybody just a'freakin'."

-A really smart and talented guy

RodeoSchro said:

"Black, white, Puerto Rican, everybody just a'freakin'."

-A really smart and talented guy