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Monday 2 August 2010

Who Sold The Soul...I Hope You Got A Good Price!!!

For years black artists in the UK had to fight to gain recognition for there music, but with the advent of the term "Urban" it seems the fight has been lost.
There is very little/no black British music in the mainstream just this Euro-Pop they call "Urban" that anybody can make.
I'd support any artist making money from there music because it ain't easy, but not at the expense of our musical heritage, culture & traditions or because some numbty at a record label said "...rapping to Euro House tracks is progressive". It's NOT!

For the record, I think the UK is overflowing with talent and sometimes it breaks into the mainstream. It's just sad how much of the young talent in this country will never get the chance to shine.

And...In a time when so many young 'Urban' musicians believe that talent is measured by sales and performing over anything whether you like it or not is cool as long as you can get on the telly, I have to ask "What Happened To Creativity and Originality".

Being unafraid to try new things and the way musical styles meet and merge to create new forms is EXCITING and GOOD. Jumping on bandwagons and giving away your credibility for the illusion of success is not.

I see so many emcees (I won't name any names but you know who i mean) who are such obvious Jay Z (Kanye, Nas, Wu Tang etc...but mostly Jay Z) fans it's embarrassing.
I mean I'm a Jay Z fan myself but i don't dress,act,perform,take pictures,do hand signs or formulate my lyrics so i can sound and look like Jay Z or anybody else. In my day that was called biting...AND WAS A SIN!

Am I hating?.....If you think so you're missing my point, but fuck you anyway.





Like the man said, "Don't Front For Me"...and just to remind you that not all Hip Hop artists in the UK are clones, puppets or clowning jiggerboos, here are a couple new tracks. One by The Peoples Army and one by Mystro

Big Up Mystro, Logic, Azita and all the crew.




2 comments:

  1. yes rodney - fist high - stand tall - backing you all the way bro - ! ! !

    keep it coming ! !
    Uncle Joe CHX

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  2. Alright Rodney:)
    Never a truer sentiment or word spoken sir.
    Making money from creativity and music is indeed not easy to do in this present climate and definitely takes a certain stubborness on the part of the artist, having said that, Bandwagon jumping is for the weak.
    Being an unsigned muso/producer/singer yadda blah I know first hand about the issues and also the temptation to fit in to moulds already formed, Nah though, aint happening.
    Would rather fail in making my own mould than succeed fitting into someone elses psuedo shoes.
    The issues facing artists today make me and other creatives I know MORE likely to experiment, collaborate and think outside the sonic box tbh, in an attempt to rise above the masses of other clones and generic creatives amassed on the internet/in charts.
    In doing so I've worked with and met some amazing creatives, Rastafari, Metal bands, singersongwriters, rappers, country artists infact anyone who shows soul and commitment to projects.
    These projects could be best described as Eclectic, Big breakbeat n DnB fueled, gnarley, beautiful monsters with one featuring 14 unsigned'ers yet more than that, experimenting is Fun and as you said earlier, brings about results not necersarily heard by the human ear before, therefore exciting.
    People are too inclined to say 'its all been done before'.
    The thing is I, you, other creative individuals havent existed before with access to such technologies, instrumentation and collaborators, thus the intruige of what may occur fuels the creative fire...and sometimes it hasnt been done before...a brave statement I know but one I stand by.
    The reason I first ever picked up a guitar and MPC was to attempt to put my spin on sound, remix the world via my psyche in an attempt at creating something new, not to recycle and regurgitate tunes/artists gone by...although having said that I have nuf respect for all my inspirations and heroes, ofcourse. *tips cap.
    I firmly believe the sheer volume of people making music these days neccesitates the need to utilise more creative experimentation, soul if you will, in a Salmon swimming upstream against the flow kinda way.

    To earn a crumb through ones own creativity and expression is the Holy Grail Most artists are seeking....
    Thus All the unsigned can do is keep on keeping on, be true to oneself and try to be the Wheat and not the Chaff, but as you said earlier about the unfortunate situation of some amazing talents not getting heard, sometimes some wheat gets lost in the chaff.
    Sorry for the waffle bro, tis a subject I'm passionate about:)
    Respect to your goodself for the Blog and not being afraid to push boundaries.
    Carl, Beeba.

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