Seemingly in rapid succession, we have lost iconic figures in the history of soul music: Michael Jackson, Etta James, Don Cornelius, Whitney Houston.... What do all of these have in common? A relevancy in the industry long past the time when their music or their "style" was trendy. In many ways, it seems that the loss of these purveyors of soul music, both the performers and the legendary business man who brought us "Soul Train,"are symbolic of the loss of our culture, identity, and sound.
A quick scan of today's airwaves will treat you to some less than savory sounds: the cartoonish clip of Nicki Minaj, the profane and sometimes indecipherable drawl of Li'l Wayne, blush-inducing lyrics from so-called R&B singers like Trey Songz and forgettable pop-like music from numerous female artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj, and those who are "not Beyonce," "not Rihanna," and "not Nicki Minaj." Add to that the continued fascination with white artists aping a black sound--Adele, major winner at the Grammy's and chief among them--and you wonder, when did we stop making our own music and start letting white people do it for us?
I just finished watching the "Unsung" episode (my current favorite pastime) on Full Force. So many of the artists on this show are considered "unsung," while I consider them a major part of the soundtrack of my life--I'm sorry, my teens, so basically my LIFE! Full Force was incredible. These big, burly guys that looked like body builders, wore effeminate jheri curls, and could SANG! And what happened? Gangsta rap came to the forefront, white suburban teens dug it, and suddenly, melodic soulful sounds, were no longer the order of the day. Except they were--overseas. Suddenly Full Force finds themselves plucked from near obscurity ("Alice Be My Girl" will always be one of my all time favorite hits, as well as "Unselfish Lover" and "Love is for Sucka's" so I don't know how that happened) to producing some of the biggest selling white acts of all time: The Backstreet Boys, NSync, and Brittany Spears to name a few. An unlikely story, a great comeback tale. But WTF? Why are these people singing some of our best music?
Meanwhile, all of a sudden, we are chasing the pop charts--and not the way Whitney Houston (and countless others before her) did it, brining that soulful sound to white-friendly music--but by sounding as generic as every typical white girl who comes out with a passably danceable record. Let's be real, Nicki Minaj has a decent singing voice. I'm assuming Rihanna does too. We all know Beyonce has got the chops. How many times have you heard one of them singing and not known who it was? We also know there are plenty of somehow invisible yet incredibly talented black singers out there. Neo has tried to keep the spirit of R&B fresh and yet true to its roots. But we are being inundated with this melange of pop-ish, almost black-sounding, party music that ascribes to no sound in particular. Is it reggae? Is it ska? Is it house? Wait--is that a broadway musical in the hook? I'm all for creativity, but where are WE (meaning black people who pioneered jazz, r&b, soul, non-gangsta rap and the like)?
I understand that Ne-yo has just ascended to the post of A&R exec at Motown. #KeepHopeAlive
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