Radio's Commitment to Black Music

What is radio’s commitment to black music?

Urban radio in the United States has become a breeding ground for thievery, cultural defects and corporate profit driven people. This has hurt black music and black culture. Radio owes black music the decency of at least pursuing an agenda beyond profit. Think about the history of R&B over the last 50 years. Black artists couldn’t get played on mainstream radio stations so their only avenue was black radio. Now, of course payola was rampant but it was a necessary evil. It was a form of corruption but it allowed some of the greatest music of our time to be heard. Pay to play! That was something that was needed during the culture of segregation, racism and social radicalism. I am ok with that. But, what about the history of black music. What does it mean to some of these black programmers at urban radio. Think about the birth of R&B and its struggle from the plantation to the ghetto’s of Chicago. Black music, particularly R&B, has a deep and complicated past. There was a time that some black artists couldn’t even perform in certain venues. The struggle was real for a lot of artists. So, we look at the artists today and one has to think do they even know their history, the importance of their art, their culture, their talent, their music. R&B changed the face of music and radio. It has inspired people on levels beyond the norm. However, today is a new day. So I ask, “Where is the loyalty to preserving, playing and pushing black artists?” There is none. Radio has no commitment to black music and that is disturbing to me. If you listen to the radio today, you may think to yourself that we have evolved as a culture. But, you are being misguided. We have actually been setback as a people. The music, the sound the images and the perception do not reflect the richness of our culture. Sure, we have more black radio dj’s, black programmers, black music directors and black radio personalities but where is the substance. The substance is lacking because urban radio feels they have no commitment to black music. This is a problem.
Radio is run by corporate entities that could care less about preserving our culture. They want to make money. They think that we, as black folks, want to hear the same song 20 times per day. They think that we, as black folks, want to hear Hip Hop only or meaningless lyrics that don’t inspire or motivate us. They want us to dance and sing along to something that won’t change our mindset and keep us trapped in a simple way of thinking. Do you think they want us to get inspired or uplifted or saved or committed to a new way of thinking? The civil rights movement is over. Sure, I agree. So, Sam Cooke’s “A Change Gone Come” is not needed at this time, fine. However, give new artists a try, give R&B a shot to thrive and be profitable or played 30 times per day. Give black music a chance to live and change the world again. What radio pushes on its consumer is what defines our culture. So, if we allow radio to push meaningless chatter that clutters the airwaves, well you guessed it, that will be our culture. I see it already. Our youth, male youth and some females, their pants hanging past their butts, showing their underwear because they think they are imitating their favorite Hip Hop artists. They are more worried about Chris Browns court case then their own lives. Let’s not forget about their new found excuse for doing something ignorant….now they can say “Blame it on the Alcohol.” What about the music that tells us to have “Birthday Sex,” and the ever so popular song that tells the woman “She’s the F’ing Best,” how romantic.
I am waiting for the day to hear Musiqsoulchild, Anthony Hamilton, Joe, Genuwine, Ledisi, Maxwell, Syleena, Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz (without a rapper), Mario, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Day 26, and Dwele all in one day and all on urban radio. It can happen. We have to push our radio stations towards excellence. We don’t have to accept what they sell to us. Our future cultural standard is being shaped right now, as we speak, so it is time to make a difference now. Turn on the radio and just sit and listen and tell me what you here. We have to preserve black music. We have to or we are lost as a nation. To the powers that be at radio, let’s forge a new commitment today. Let’s focus on content over contest and artistry over profit. Competition should be in who is playing the best music, not who has the most advertisers. Give black music a chance. Thank you and you ‘re welcome!

The Lost Soul

Have we lost the soul in Rhythm and blues? I think most people will answer yes to this question. They are absolutely correct. What is soul? Soul is defined as a spirit, the core, the essence of something. The definition reminds us that soul is in all of us and everything. Art, music, dance, teaching, singing, writing and just everyday work all contain soul. It’s the essence of human life. Soul in music can be taken further. Soul in Rhythm and Blues defines is meaning, makes the listener feel a certain way and to its core is pure and wonderful. As a music industry, we have lost the soul of Rhythm and Blues. If you sit and listen to the radio for one hour, you will find that I am not that far off base with this post. There are artists out there still trying to make pure soulful music. Jazmine Sullivan is one of the new artists out in the last year to put that “soul” in her music. However, most new artists coming out in 2008/2009 don’t have the understanding of the power of R&B. They don’t know the history, meaning or struggle of the music. They can’t tell you how “A Change Gone Come” was a Civil Rights favorite. They don’t understand the impact Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, and others had on black music. Regular black folks don’t get it either. Ask someone about Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly and Claudine soundtracks and they will look at you as if they had seen a ghost. Artists today such as Jeremiah, The Dream and Keri Hilson don’t understand the music that paved the way for their existence. You can tell in the music they produce. It has no meaning, feeling, essence or spirit to it. To me, rescuing the R&B industry must come now! It is imperative we allow the Anthony Hamilton’s, Joe’s, Syleena Johnson’s and Kenny Latimore’s of the world the opportunity to reap mainstream success. With mainstream success comes mainstream awareness. It shows other cultures, races and people that R&B is more than T-Pain and Beyonce. Or, maybe R. Kelly, Usher and Mary J. Blige can give us more of that soulful R&B sound. For example, Mary’s Share My World album is classic and soulful R&B. Usher’s 8701 is priceless. R. Kelly’s Chocolate Factory, TP2.com and R. Kelly albums all gave us substance with undeniable soul. They are mainstream R&B artists. They have diverse followings. They have the opportunity to give the world what R&B is missing: Soul. So, when I talk about “The Lost Soul” we have to understand what that means. It doesn’t mean that the artists are lost. It means that the music is lost but can be found.