“…as you sing your senseless songs for the mindless/your general subject, love, is minimal/it’s sex for profit” – Chuck D, “caught, can I get a witness?”

(I know I always say that I haven’t had a new idea since September/October 2001, but this is ridiculous. I’m getting this weird déjà vu feeling like I’ve made a post with this title some time in the past…)

anyway, I’m doing this mainly for the benefit of Ghetto who seemed to be kinda offended by my statement in the Boyz II Men post that “most R&B singers are some dumb motherfuckers.”

I know I’m dating myself, but I really miss the days when “R&B singer” was such a contemptible designation that a lot of younger R&B acts actively tried to disassociate themselves from it, choosing instead to align themselves with the “edgier” hip-hop (sadly, we can look around us now and see where THAT got us).

you know lately I’ve always voiced my dissatisfaction with a lot of Black music from the period of roughly 1977-1986, indicting it for its “emptiness” and “spiritual/intellectual bankruptcy” or (as Warren Coolidge never lets me live down) I have said that it all reeks of cocaine and joyless hedonism to me. not that there’s anything wrong with that… a lot of the music I like is willfully stupid and meant for nothing but a quick fix of good times. but for some reason, I always hold Black music to this higher standard where I expect that beyond the immediate message of dancing, fucking and shopping, that there should be some kind of higher “meaning” in it, whether or not I actually subscribe to that meaning.

I mean, during the “golden age,” one of the things that made hip-hop so fresh and exciting was the fact that it offered a point of view… hell, multiple points of view. you would listen to the lyrically content, or check out interviews with rappers to hear them express strong opinions on Black nationalism, or gangsterism, or why sucker MCs are bad, or why hip-hop needs respect, or how we’re heading for self-destruction… you listened to hip-hop and you felt that you were some kind of MOVEMENT. more than that, hip-hop was like stand-up comedy, in that it was one of the last bastions of true self-expression. hip-hop gave the listener more access to the mind of the artist than any other kind of music (which is the reason I still believe ghost-writing has no place in it). until maybe 1995 or 96, it was really important in hip-hop to “represent”; to stand for something… anything!

it’s been a long time since R&B artists stood for anything at all. all they ever sing about is love, and they tend to do it in the most clichéd and boring ways imaginable. most of them don’t even write or produce their own music, so basically all they do is show up in the studio. I often find myself wondering about the interior lives of these R&B singers. what do they think about? what do they care about? do they go about all day with thoughts like the ones they convey on their records?

I have no idea. and I guess it doesn’t even matter… what bothers ME, is the very simpleminded attitude they seem to have about their own art. I mean, in hip-hop you at least get people who are enthusiastic about music. maybe it’s because of the sample-based nature of the music, but hip-hop artists (or these days, hip-hop producers, at least) really care about music and listen to various kinds of things.

R&B singers tend to listen to mostly R&B. and I don’t even mean classic shit… they listen to their peers. or maybe they listen to gospel. they tend to be infatuated with other singers. have you ever noticed how excited R&B singers get when they hear all kinds of pointless melismatics and shit? they start talking about how so-and-so “can blow,” like anybody gives a crap. I don’t think most of these cats even **like** music that much. they just lucked out to be able to sing and figured it was a good way to get paid and laid.

and this emptiness is not even a recent phenomenon… it’s been there since the dawn of the post-Soul era that I’ve been railing against lately. but (as much as I hate to say anything that Warren will probably co-sign on) I think that it was covered up by the fact that they actually had half-decent bands backing them.

you had your Brass Construction, your Midnight Star, your Atlantic Starr, your Starpoint, your One Way, your Skyy… all of those bands were as empty as hell and “represented” nothing. but you didn’t give a fuck because they had some funky bands making some cool music you could dance to AND think about (to some degree), so there was SOME value to it. with these current motherfuckers skull-fucking Shuggie Otis or singing over tracks you liked better when they were KRS-One and Pharcyde records, what else do you have to concentrate on besides their fatuous “lyrics” (“words set to music” is more like it)? how self-deluded are they to think that we should care?

you see… this is the kind of “heroism” I was alluding to the other day in the Whispers post. sure, someone like Cody ChesnuTT is an artist who has assiduously crafted his own mythology, so I won’t claim to know anything about who he REALLY is, but when you listen to his record, you get a better idea of what he “represents” than you do from listening to the Whispers or any other group like that. there’s more courage, more nakedness, more truth. and that’s one of the things I believe makes him an honest-to-goodness modern Soul man, even though he doesn’t perform in a straight Soul style. because he "represents," whether you like it or not.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

lol...

------------------------------------------------------------
subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You).
Ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be
worshipped except You). Astaghfiruka

1. what's wrong w/singing about love? is it that most R&B singers sing about love in a way that's vapid and lifeless and unbelievable or is it that love isn't a worthy topic in songcraft?

2. what do you want R&B singers to sing about? me? i can do w/o hearing Tyrese's take on the war in Iraq, thanks. i don't care what Brian McKnight thinks about welfare reform. (or maybe i do?....nahhh). i'm not itching to hear Beyonce harp on about inequality in pay-scale for men vs women. but what is it you want these ppl to voice?

3. most rappers are equally stupid. case in point: Nas. being that i'm not overly familiar w/Nas' lyrics i'm not going too deep into this, so you Nas fanatics can hold off. i have heard a few 'pearls of wisdom' from him on singles and they were laughable. like that line about sending all the poor kids back to Africa on "If I Ruled the World"...that's horribly misinformed. and didn't he say som'n about Africa being a country on "One Mic"? either way, he's but 1 example. most hip-hoppers who rhyme about subjects too far outside the realm of bitches, hoes, guns, braggadocio, and their own personal struggles are quite dubious. granted, most of them are KIDS who have limited worldview given that they may be from isolated communities (be they urban or suburban) and so maybe they've not been exposed enough to have a concrete, cohesive, broad perspective. and if that's true, it's equally true of R&B singers.

fuck you.

>2. what do you want R&B singers to sing about? me? i can
>do w/o hearing Tyrese's take on the war in Iraq, thanks.

*shrugs*

and LOL @ mangling the nas line, when google is web page away.

http://breddanansi.tumblr.com/

Peace

Wendell

Peace

Wendell

Chuck does have some good points in there though...

**************************************

• www.scottstewartphotos.com •

really the approach to writing love songs sucks by-and-large amongst RnB artist. Additionally, the lack of actual songwriting (the music) is at an all time deficit. I think those were some of points of the initial post.

------------------------------------------------------------
subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You).
Ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be
worshipped except You). Astaghfiruka

>3. most rappers are equally stupid

This is not true. Because at least, in rap, there's this notion that you have to come up with clever ways to say the most mundane things. I know you're a bonified Luda hater, but point me to an RnB lyric that's as clever as "you just mad cause I'm a thief, and got away with words"...

And it's not that I want RnB to incorporate hip hop like cleverness either ("Ignition" would be an example of this, and it's one the corniest things I can think of). But back in the days, songs about love weren't that litteral. You had...metaphors and understatements and shit.

p.s.: I know some are gonna get a kick out of this, because they hate the content, but Jaheim's "Fabulous" was a cleverly written song

>>3. most rappers are equally stupid
>
>This is not true. Because at least, in rap, there's this
>notion that you have to come up with clever ways to say the
>most mundane things. I know you're a bonified Luda hater,
>but point me to an RnB lyric that's as clever as "you just
>mad cause I'm a thief, and got away with words"...

please. this isn't an apt comparison b/c R&B has rarely ever been as focused on lyrical trickery as hip-hop.

but here's one:

i can't say it more than once
cuz i'm thinkin twice as fast...Sly Stone, "Spaced Cowboy" (1971)

>And it's not that I want RnB to incorporate hip hop like
>cleverness either ("Ignition" would be an example of this,
>and it's one the corniest things I can think of). But back
>in the days, songs about love weren't that litteral. You
>had...metaphors and understatements and shit.

you know why that shit died?

HIP-HOP. i think the hip-hopping of R&B imposed upon R&B writers this need to be "real" & "hard" and so lyrics and approach became more direct and literal and less metaphorical and understated. i think maybe that's part of the reason so many are falling out over Andre 3000's new disc. it's 1 of the 1st R&B albums in quite some time that's chock-ful of metaphor. i think Maxwell tried to be metaphorical on "Embrya" but he went wayyyy too far w/his.

>p.s.: I know some are gonna get a kick out of this, because
>they hate the content, but Jaheim's "Fabulous" was a
>cleverly written song

you know i don't fuck w/Jaheim.

fuck you.

>you know why that shit died?
>
>HIP-HOP. i think the hip-hopping of R&B imposed upon R&B
>writers this need to be "real" & "hard" and so lyrics and
>approach became more direct and literal and less
>metaphorical and understated.

You know what? I agree, to a point. I've said it all along: crossover (in the sense of "hybridization") is a bad thing.

probably B2K and Boyz II Men and their ilk.

but i don't fuck w/them either so i can't quote their lyrics. lol

fuck you.

but maybe R&B singers could sing about something they really care about...

-
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
A public radio show about things that are awesome.
http://www.maximumfun.org
"This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's

What I loathe about most R&B is it's insincerity and lazy lyrics. jesus if you are gonna sing about shagging shagging and yet more shagging then at least sound like you mean it....I am sick to death of hearing lick you up and down lyrics....for me when swing beat came out that was when things started to go downhill....so many people I knew at that point turned away from hip hop and jumped into all that 'smoothed out r&b on a pop tip'or however the fuck bell biv devoe described their music. It's not that I never want to listen to any r&b I just prefer it in very small doses. I feel that the world is drowning in champaigne lyrics it needs to stop!

The problem I have is that at least then you'd hear public enemy alongside heavy d in a club....now when i go to a club I'm getting killed with corny played out R&B. I am so glad that i was a teenager in the 80's when there was VARIETY!!!

_____________________________________________________
http://b-girldocument.tumblr.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/RawBlueCheeseTV?feature=mhum

Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

time for a T-shirt or something

---------------------
http://sandbox.pair.com/sound/dujeous_allmcs.ram
www.beetrootnyc.com

---------------------
Thursday, June 17th
Dujeous @ Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street (at Bowery)
w/Addison Groove Project &
Gutbucket
10PM~$13
DUJEOUS debut LP "CITY
LIMITS" INSTOSNOW.
Buy my shit.

cuz u know u gotta sex it up to give it some attention











Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

>1. what's wrong w/singing about love? is it that most R&B
>singers sing about love in a way that's vapid and lifeless
>and unbelievable or is it that love isn't a worthy topic in
>songcraft?

I think he was attacking the vapidity of contemporary R&B… he’s expanded upon that feeling in other songs, and specifically attacked “Quiet Storm” radio which he said was good for nothing more than putting you to sleep at a time when Black people really needed to wake up

plus, back then I always thought it was interesting that rappers spoke disparagingly about “R&B singers” while fetishizing classic R&B albums from the 70s. I think the ill will was mostly aimed at current stuff

>2. what do you want R&B singers to sing about? me? i can
>do w/o hearing Tyrese's take on the war in Iraq, thanks. i
>don't care what Brian McKnight thinks about welfare reform.
>(or maybe i do?....nahhh). i'm not itching to hear Beyonce
>harp on about inequality in pay-scale for men vs women. but
>what is it you want these ppl to voice?

I wouldn’t mind them singing about issues. but even if they aren’t all gonna turn into protest singers, I wish they would paint a world in their songs that more closely resembled the one that most of us live in. I mean, in the classic Soul era, most of the songs were about love, but they also evoked a sense of the world and the community. Donnie Hathaway’s (or should I say Al Kooper’s) “I love you more than you’ll ever know” is about love, but it’s also a potent glimpse into working-class life.

>3. most rappers are equally stupid. case in point: Nas.
>being that i'm not overly familiar w/Nas' lyrics i'm not
>going too deep into this, so you Nas fanatics can hold off.
>i have heard a few 'pearls of wisdom' from him on singles
>and they were laughable. like that line about sending all
>the poor kids back to Africa on "If I Ruled the
>World"...that's horribly misinformed. and didn't he say
>som'n about Africa being a country on "One Mic"? either
>way, he's but 1 example.

most rappers, most musicians in general, are not the most educated people. I’m not asking to go over facts in the songs with a fine-tooth comb, because even the Public Enemy records I exalt are riddled with inaccuracies and contradictions. like I said, I don’t have to actually endorse what people are singing about, but I DO wish they would at least TRY to say something

most hip-hoppers who rhyme about
>subjects too far outside the realm of bitches, hoes, guns,
>braggadocio, and their own personal struggles are quite
>dubious. granted, most of them are KIDS who have limited
>worldview given that they may be from isolated communities
>(be they urban or suburban) and so maybe they've not been
>exposed enough to have a concrete, cohesive, broad
>perspective. and if that's true, it's equally true of R&B
>singers.

like I said, I’m talking about a certain era of hip-hop… I don’t know what’s going on now. people openly admit that people write their songs for them. 90% of hip-hop records are produced by the same 3 producers, whereas in my day most acts had in-group production. hip-hop has become a new version of R&B. and I have little use for either.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>I think he was attacking the vapidity of contemporary R&B…
>he’s expanded upon that feeling in other songs, and
>specifically attacked “Quiet Storm” radio which he said was
>good for nothing more than putting you to sleep at a time
>when Black people really needed to wake up

and he was full of shit, too. there's a place for QS music...the world needs it. we don't need all of our artists to sing w/bullhorns and agendas, we need some of them to help us escape, to remind us of happy times. Chuck & hip-hop should stick to fulfilling their roles as wake-up calls.

>I wouldn’t mind them singing about issues. but even if they
>aren’t all gonna turn into protest singers, I wish they
>would paint a world in their songs that more closely
>resembled the one that most of us live in. I mean, in the
>classic Soul era, most of the songs were about love, but
>they also evoked a sense of the world and the community.
>Donnie Hathaway’s (or should I say Al Kooper’s) “I love you
>more than you’ll ever know” is about love, but it’s also a
>potent glimpse into working-class life.

oh please.

again, if all art was realism the world would be BLEAK as all hell. that's not what we need.

maybe we need MORE artists to dabble in realism, but we don't need all of them to do so.

fuck you.

>again, if all art was realism the world would be BLEAK as
>all hell. that's not what we need.
>
>maybe we need MORE artists to dabble in realism, but we
>don't need all of them to do so.

so let's get at least A FEW of them, and me and Chuck will shut up. but it looks like there ain't none.

i don't even think it's "realism" i'm asking for. the Soul i love isn't so much realistic as romantic, but at least there was a little something in it that somebody could relate to on a human level that eases the leap into the fantasy world.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

i'm also a woman, i don't see chuck d up in arms about female mistreatment (black/white/red/brown)

i'm also a lover, why can't my music speak to that part of my soul?













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

i love p.e. about as much as a family member, but my being negligent (conciously) towards my community doesn't mean that I'm not concious about something else. in your defense, i accuse you of self hate sometimes, but maybe you just have love for everyone. maybe it just "looks" like self hate to me. maybe i don't know what i'm talking about? apply that to the way chuck d attacks r&b singers.













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

I don’t think his problem was the fact that the songs are about love, but the fact that that they are such vapid songs.

Chuck was always very welcoming to different kinds of subject matter in Black music. I remember him saying once that his favorite song was De La Soul’s “eye know,” which is a love song.

and to be honest, for the time that Chuck made that statement, I think it was kinda scandalous that so much stuff could be going on in the Black community (what with crack, etc.) and not a single R&B singer could put down the Riunite to make a single comment about it.

I felt a similar shame for hip-hop after Amadou Diallo got killed and after 9/11.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

and to be honest, for the time that Chuck made that
>statement, I think it was kinda scandalous that so much
>stuff could be going on in the Black community (what with
>crack, etc.) and not a single R&B singer could put down the
>Riunite to make a single comment about it.
>
>I felt a similar shame for hip-hop after Amadou Diallo got
>killed and after 9/11.

lots of people remarked on diallo, including a non-boho billy danz

....

"your only recommendations for adding spice are southern chunky chicks who scream."

....

"your only recommendations for adding spice are southern chunky chicks who scream."

didn't know that... i remember being sickened by the silence. apart from the Hip Hop for Respect Project and belated shout outs by Clef, Lauryn and Erykah, i don't recall hearing anybody say a word.

oh yeah, Nas made a mention in the liner notes to... um, was it Nastradamus or I Am?

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

to put down the guns/but amadou diallo caught at least forty one.

something like that.

....

"your only recommendations for adding spice are southern chunky chicks who scream."

....

"your only recommendations for adding spice are southern chunky chicks who scream."

i forgot all about that one

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>1. what's wrong w/singing about love? is it that most R&B
>singers sing about love in a way that's vapid and lifeless
>and unbelievable or is it that love isn't a worthy topic in
>songcraft?

nothings wrong with it but as stated in the initial post, few artists are tackling it with anything remotely resembling original or even individual thought. its become far too over literal and uncrafted a la beyonces dangerously in love (the title track)

uhhhh yeah he said

"i'll open every cell in Attica send them to Africa" perhaps when you said something about poor kids u were speaking metaphorically (criminals are like poor children???). He doesnt even say the word Africa in one mic.

anyway
i agree. i listen to R&B, mostly from the 70's though. why cause the stuff out lately is the same remakes the same let me love you down all night long take you away to my bubble bath massage all night loong blah blah. nothings sacred and nothings subtle. granted, all of rap is bullshit too (same old pimpin bling blingin) but i can still buy a good hip hop album there are still plenty of hip hop going against the same old same. also, who said one isnt supposed to sing about anything but love? many a great song had nothing to do with lovers.

in a sky full of people only some want to fly isnt that crazy?
~Seal

or the context of the verse... how can you sing about love when you are still an American Slave?

oops... nevermind... im about to get way too deep for you... go listen to your Ashanti record goyim...

______________________________
Dont Gay

------------------------------------------------------------
subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You).
Ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be
worshipped except You). Astaghfiruka

cause a lot of modern day artists DO stand for something.

A lot of the Artists on this site stand for something.

Peace

Wendell

Peace

Wendell

[]

but you know they are in the minority.

RIP JDILLA
THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

that's why i SO wanted Neo-Soul to work.

when i talk about "R&B singers," i'm not speaking of MeShell and D'Angelo. i'm thinking of Ginuwine and Mya.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

proved to me that alot of these singers have no real appreciation or understanding of the musical process.
as limited as their knowledge of "music" might be, some
of these hip-hop based producers seem to know more about
creating songs than the singers themselves.
Ginuwine's last album was just atrocious. Mindless music.
It's the kind of music an R&B artist would make after
listening to 70s soul and then completely going against
it. And these filler verses that sound like they just can't wait
to get to the chorus part(which admittedly can be good). What's up with that?

RIP JDILLA
THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

Geniune has had some good songs, but I'm not a fan of his music. I'm not his intended audience, so I see the disconnect.

Mya is what, 14??? Give her some time.

Hell, give all of them some time. Most of the singers out nowadays are really young in their careers.

Peace

Wendell

Peace

Wendell

>Mya is what, 14??? Give her some time.

how old was Betty Wright when she made "clean up woman"?

i think she was like literally 15 years old. Mya is 22... she has no excuse.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

or just a pretty face w/a little dancing ability?













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

i'm not the sort of person who sits on my throne and judges who is an "artist" and who is an "entertainer"

however you present yourself to me dictates the standards i'll evaluate you by, and Mya seems to take herself pretty serious

i think the dichotomy between "artist" and "entertainer" is pretty fatuous anyway. since when were the two mutually exclusive?

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

i mean she has *listenable* songs. i would rather see her act as opposed to singing, cuz god knows i wouldn't buy a mya album. not on purpose













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

>i'm not the sort of person who sits on my throne and judges
>who is an "artist" and who is an "entertainer"

well, i am that sort of person! lol.

"When somebody falls down, you laugh first, then ask if they're okay."

"u are on something strong" Okay Player - Ghetto

-------------------------------------------
INFIN8 Photography
http://www.instagram.com/infin8photo
http://www.facebook.com/INFIN8Photography

I really don't think highly of our generation's singers as evidenced by my previous We ain't got no Stevies post.
A few days ago, a singer that I might be working with came by the lab and we were just going through her song book to see what to work on. I was so shocked that she actually only had two songs about Love! From a total of ten. I was impressed.

Not that there is anything wrong with writing about Love. I'm just saying if that's all you're gonna do at least inject some personality into it. (And please stop telling little KG level stories...note to Musiq and R). And there's so many angles that love could be approached from.

I don't even mind when singers go out of their way to sing a
song that does not revolve about love and the end result is not their best work. Amel sang about the weather. Sade sings about a Somalian refugee and the plights of immigrants overseas. At least I know they care about that shit. it's a glimpse into their character or at least into the persona they've created.

As for singing about sex. There are more creative ways to do that than using metaphors for cars.

RIP JDILLA
THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

[]

fuck you.

.

-
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
A public radio show about things that are awesome.
http://www.maximumfun.org
"This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's

and from what i saw his image is contrived as hell.

seemed like he was trying WAY too hard to convince us that he's "po".

fuck you.

that aint no fake shit. a video does NOT an artist make, you know better than that













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

however, the video as introduction to him as a solo artist did absolutely nothing for me. as of the time i saw that video i'd not heard anything from or about him that made me want to pick up his CD. i'm still wary of getting it b/c i like his voice so much and i'm afraid the album will be full of cliched Soul- & po-isms like the ones i saw in that video.

fuck you.

you can get it for like 8.99. it has at least 4 songs your going to love.














Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

i might.

fuck you.

hamilton's recording is skrait up on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love it madly! now if the radio would just play him!

i'm playin: 1. james "d-train" williams-in your eyes 2. shanice-shanice 3. lia-lia

jawjuh man
dutty south native
supreme jedi!

if you bring me back my "Brainchild" album

AND if you write a post about how outstanding a song "Stand Up" is

now there's an excellent example of mindful r&b













Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

>if you bring me back my "Brainchild" album

i've been meaning to return it to you, but i forget it each time i see you.

>AND if you write a post about how outstanding a song "Stand
>Up" is

NEVER ever. lol

fuck you.

DAMN!!!

that's funny...

Peace

Wendell

Peace

Wendell

it's about believing in what you do. It's about song craft. It's about trying to say things a little differently than the next guy on the radio.

Anthony Hamilton has a song called "Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens". Where he talks about being a pimp, more or less. In other words, nothing but Soul/Black culture cliches. But to me...there is nothing wrong with cliches. Soul music has relied on cliches for years. So has hip hop (...so have a lot of specific genres in cinema or crime litterature, to take it further). It's all in how you use them. And "Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens" is a song that stands out to me in the current environment, because:

- it's not your typical RnB song
- it's not your typical Neo Soul shit either, because it's a little tongue-in-cheek and funny ("I'm a pimp, girl/with a dripping juicy jheri curl") and it's not politically correct

I won't go into details about the rest of the album, I don't think everybody has to like it either, but one thing is certain: the guy is not spineless. He's not interchangeable.

i dismissed him before based on the single and video, but i recently heard some songs that made me think that this dude is worth a closer listen

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

Considering the fact that you're bemoaning the lack of substance in current R&B, why did Anthony Hamilton's first song and video turn you off?

The song and video were more than the standard "let me sex you up while the other almost naked women around me jiggle" R&B you get these days.

Shaun G.

like "oh, i am SO soulful and southern, look at me!"

plus, it employed the now-common neo-soul device of subtituting jazzy chords and pseudo-bluesy vocal licks for actual songwriting.

i REALLY hate that shit.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>like "oh, i am SO soulful and southern, look at me!"
>

As opposed to "look at me, I'm a thug!" or "look at me, I'm a sensitive male devoid of balls" or "look at me I'm a pimp!"
Unless it's a video of a live performance an artist is going to give off a "look at me I'm -insert image here-".

>plus, it employed the now-common neo-soul device of
>subtituting jazzy chords and pseudo-bluesy vocal licks for
>actual songwriting.
>
>i REALLY hate that shit.

Okay I'll give you this even though it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers you.

In all seriousness, AFKAP have you ever given only praise to any R&B artist that has come out in the last 20 years? Your usual "I liked artist X BUT they were really corny/silly/singing for bitches" doesn't count.

I understand your point in the original post and even agree with it to a certain extent, but when aren't you complaining about R&B music?

Shaun G.

because i don't really think about it much. it hardly figures in my universe. the reason this posts exists is because somebody wanted me to explain a comment i made in another post.

besides, there's lots of R&B artists i have praised

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I haven't heard the album, but I saw his show, and I was very unimpressed.

It was just like the D'angelo voodoo tour, if the D'angelo voodoo tour had sucked. And his singing was very unimpressive, though he sounds pretty good on LP.

-
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
A public radio show about things that are awesome.
http://www.maximumfun.org
"This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's

Speak into the box below, my love

www.anthonyhamilton.com

PRAY 4 THE EAGLES/FREE GEORGE CLINTON!

http://www.premiercrumusic.com

holy mary mother of g.a.w.d

No new ideas, here, but...

I mean, there's *so* much ritual in soul music... and that includes the kind that we like.

Does JB's cape routine stand for something? Mean anything, besides just theater?

Does the "social awareness" or whatever that we hear in some seventies soul mean anything, or is it just trend-following?

To me, we have this distorted idea of what soul music is about... evidenced by those people on the last big soul post who were talking about how no one has lyrics anymore. Huh? Since when did anyone in soul music have lyrics?

And another thing...

Is it more valid to ape Stevie or Marvin or whoever than to ape Kieth Sweat or R. Kelly or whoever?

-
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
A public radio show about things that are awesome.
http://www.maximumfun.org
"This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's

mere social awareness. At least when I read it, I think he's talking about something bigger than the lack of modern-day "What's Going On". I could be wrong, but everytime he brings this p.o.v, it never seems to be politics. It's the easiest thing to focus on, and "fix", but that never really seems to be the problem. Nor is it merely the clone/idol factory/commercialized 'this is a business' aspect either.

It's almost as if there was an entire school of thought/background culture that supported, nurtured, and created black music of yesteryear, that shined in the music of yesteryear. A value system that everyone involved had. You definitely had hit factories and marketing back in the day. (Motown) There are plenty of don't worry be happy get some tracks also. (pick 10) But something seems to have happened, and it's not just nostalgia kicking in..But the standard answers of 1) lack of social/political material, 2) commercialization, don't really get to the heart of what I think Afkap is trying to say.

Those are mere symptoms or exacerbaters of a greater problem.

http://breddanansi.tumblr.com/

>It's almost as if there was an entire school of
>thought/background culture that supported, nurtured, and
>created black music of yesteryear, that shined in the music
>of yesteryear. A value system that everyone involved had.

Black ppl had a more unified school of thought, culture, & value system then.

or at least, that's how ppl make it out to be. i'm not sure how much i believe that.

fuck you.