Tag Archives: Sade

What Happened To Good Music?

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Good music has always been a part of my life, but I’ve noticed within the past decade a serious downgrade in the artists that are getting signed to major labels.  To be frank; there simply is no GREAT TALENT out there.  Just average singers with more gimmick than substance.  There are a few notables, but when was the last time you felt AWE–like back in the day?

There was a time when singers, particularly the super talented superstars like Prince,Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Sade, Babyface, TLC, Toni Braxton, En Vogue, Brownstone, Boyz II Men, Tupac, Ice Cube, NWA, Geto Boyz, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Mint Conditioned, R. Kelly, Notorious B.I.G., Lauren Hill, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, EPMD, Wu Tang Clan, Guy, et al., Black music was relentless and dominated 20 years ago.  But not anymore.

The people that were in the business back in the nineties have now either left or ventured into other areas of the business.

Napster changed the game.  It truly did.  Music has not been the same since.  Can’t blame the fans.  They had been telling the music industry through slow sales that they needed to “up” their game.  They were slow to respond; Napster woke them up. Link: http://entertainment.lilithezine.com/Napster-Revolution.html  And downloading music soon became the norm.  It literally killed the CD market and forced music stores to shut down.

But how can we demand better talent?  We can literally change the music industry by simply embracing artists that reflect the quality we expect.

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There are many underground artists that don’t get any recognition, but fans that are tuned in know about them.  Like Kindred The Family Soul and Raashan Patterson, Anthony David, Ledisi, to name a few.

Music gives us joy and improves the environment.  I just can’t fathom that one day, this may be a thing of the past if things don’t change.