@OG_StankBrefs your comment in
@Theraflu 's thread prompted me to create this thread. I've been holding off on this for a while cause I didn't think it would be appreciated or gain the right audience...but to hell with it. I've been meaning to discuss this with all of the intelligent folks on the Coli for a while.\
I've been interested in the creative arts for as long as I can remember. Whether it was drawing comics, doing graffiti, making music, designing t-shirt graphics, or just writing some little poems in a notepad. There were many people in my life that encouraged me to pursue some sort of career in the creative field, and seeing that it was one of my passions (and still is) I decided to stick with it.
Sticking with it has been the hardest thing. And I'll tell you why.
In my experiences in the art/music world (from going to art galleries/shows/openings to actually being a participant in these events whether as an artist performing or showcasing works in these events) the fact of being a black person in this world still stands: WE ARE CRIMINALLY UNDERREPRESENTED.
I figured that with how race concious and sensitive many fields are, that the art world would be more open minded and "accepting" to an extent. But, sometimes I feel like this is yet another good ol' boys (and girls) club. Complete with nepotism, culture vulturing, kickbacks, and other shortcuts to fame and notoriety.
This also ties in with what I do musically (which could be it's own thread, so I'll just abbreviate my main points). I feel like with black people that make music outside of Hip-Hop/R&B...they are doomed to be a "niche" or unseen in general.
For years, my man frustration from making music and trying to get it heard was where I stood in this music world as a black man that decidedly does "electronica". Especially in the current frame of American life where hip-hop and R&B is the definitive "voice" of the black community. I'm pretty sure a good amount of black people that dared to love music outside of these got the same comments by their peers or something along those lines...
"You ain't black:"
"why you listening to this whiteboy stuff?"
I will admit, I felt vexed amongst my people when met with these statement. For years, I thought that somehow we as a people we're lacking of a perspective that could se the beauty of these musics/arts and that we just didn't have the foresight or knowledge of these to do so. The older I got, I realized this wasn't the case.
I guess this is why I kind of felt angry towards the state of hip-hop and R&B...like I was pigeonholed to do this or just never get any sort of attention towards my music and my art that I have been doing for 17 years.
I remember DJing events where there were a significant amount of black people in attendance, playing house music, and seeing those people clear the room in record time. It was disheartening.
I also remember DJing events where I was the only person of color on the bill. And wondering...is this my fate doing this music to play for predominantly white audiences? Especially when I'm trying to create a diverse atmosphere and fanbase.
Needless to say...from doing this for so long, we have it much harder to make a name for ourselves in this game than anybody else. But it shouldn't be this way.
