I'm an old head so nobody cares what I think about this. Will say that I really try, and I think there is some good black music out there. But even with that, there is a dearth of it. Black music used to be deep.
I think we're seeing the results of a few things. Its hard to blame labels because that's what they've always done. Read anything on older artists during their day and labels have always been manipulative and greedy. I think the depth problem has come from other things.
Culturally, I think black music is simply where black people are. That can't be overlooked. Black music until the last few years was truly rebellious. Not in the content per say. But rather in that it was an off-limits thing to the non-black world. It didn't get mainstream airplay at the same levels. The few Black stations, few shows, few labels were catering to black people, about black life and there was a solidarity. I remember back in the 80s, radio was pretty much totally segregated outside of say Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson. TV was even more dramatic outside of award shows. It was even more segregated with hip-hop. I think this resulted in music that was made in the tradition of a soulful sound. You were making music for black people. Messages could be more rebellious because it was being made for black people. Even dance music retained the sound, even when the sound was new. We see now, that even white people loved this music even if they didn't seem to at the time. The world loved this music. This reflected the culture, which was still more segregated. I think black people weren't living for a mainstream image in life at all the way we have to now.
That move to the cultural mainstream overall(American blacks moving into the middle class rapidly) has also resulted in more religious experimentation, less religious participation overall and like the rest of America, a polarization of career choices. From the religious angle, popular black music and so-call gospel music have kept the same roots and have often crossed paths throughout black American history. You're simply losing that sound tradition for better or worse(not making a judgement). You're not only losing the home grown singer that grew up singing in church, but also the musicians who often were able to practice their craft and sound in church. The mega-church model of today is also contributing to this loss. The career polarization is happening in a huge way in the black community and the rest of America as well. Colleges are specializing more and there is a stigma to anything outside of more vocational fields. You're losing some would be artists. The result of this at earlier ages are less kids picking up music outside of school programs. Its interesting. I look at my peers and even relatives around my age. A few of us played in the band back in school. Otherwise, we have a few wannabe rappers and a couple of professional DJs. Looking back at my parents generation and older, there were several church organists, saxophone and trumpet players and some nice singers. Some even had small professional music careers. They learned in church or from people just teaching them. They were usually discovered or tried to get into local clubs to play. People wanted to be stars but they were really into what they were doing in a different way than now. Fame was more important than money I guess. Running with the big dogs at the craft was most important. Listen to older interviews of people wanting to be as good as their contemporaries. Just a different culture now. Getting into music is just not that organic anymore.
So if you don't want to read all that, basically black America is moving away from the things that made our music great and deep. The organic process is just over and black people are moving rapidly towards the center. The fashions of America are blending. The goals of Americans are blending. The lives of Americans are blending. Its no wonder that black music would be a victim of that. I make no judgement about that. I miss the depth of artists out there, but I make no judgements, just observations. The mechanisms that made the greatness of the past isn't there anymore.
@ nikkas always talkin bout "but but but its good music out here, you just have to look for it..nikka please
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