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Hmmmmm……I want to start off by saying that… I was not out to dis’ or offend anybody in any way. I spoke frankly because I thought that was what you were inviting your audience to do. Even so...I can be a little raw sometimes. I believe everything I wrote to be true so….Well in any case if I offended anybody they have my apologies. This is not personal….Just business. Straight facts.
Moles; I would advise you to keep your suspicions under raps. You’ll only destroy whatever relationship you have left with MCA. Don’t burn your bridges. Obviously…..I am not a mole. I’m just a guy that has seen a few shows. I doubt the Jazzies are important enough to MCA’s lives for them to start employing Moles to talk shit on your bulletin board. Also, if MCA actually thought any of the things that these people have been posting, you most certainly would’ve got your wish and been dropped by now.
Okayplayer: I am not an Okayplayer either. I stumbled across the site whilst searching for some info on Talib Kweli. I saw a link, “What the Jazzies are missing”. I read a few posts and thought I could add some constructive criticism to the mix, since you guys were seeming to be so open to it. You run the risk when you place your self in the public forum that people are going to say things about you that you don’t want to hear. This is a brave move. It’s braver still to actually take note of the negative points as well as the positive ones though.
I feel you missed the point in what I was saying. When I say you, I mean Mercedes and the other posters that have commented on my view. I haven’t seen any posts from the other Jazzie, Tracey, so I’m not addressing her right now.
There are a few things I feel I have speak on.
First….Your record company giving you a hard time, not believing in you, or not dedicating enough money towards your project is not a reason to quit. The Jazzies are not a major talent who have had their career stunted by a label who hates them. I agree with Mercedes. You definitely can sell anything with the right marketing and enough cash behind them, but there is still a difference between a Lauren Hill, or Jill Scott and a Britney Spears. Typically black artists don’t have anywhere near the budget compared to a white artist in the same genre. More to the point, they usually don’t have any budget until they start to become more successful. If they do, it’s because their management or lawyer talked the record company into handing over a chunk of cash as part of the contract. When you sign a deal, it’s up to you and your management to decide whether this is right for you or not. You can’t change up after the fact and expect the record company to tow the line. If your record company had breeched your contract or fallen short on any of your demands set down in contact, you wouldn’t even have to talk shit about them. It would take a single call from your lawyer to straighten things out. They would either end up paying you to leave or giving you what they owe you. Do you think you could walk into a bank, ask for a house loan, receive the loan and then three months later come back, “Ah…you know that house that you loaned me that $200,000 for well, I know I signed but, ah , I’ve changed my mind, now I need $400,000 cause I need a bigger house, give me the money? Record companies are banks. Actually they’re tax write offs for Alcohol and Firearms companies that masquerade as banks. They don’t care about your career. They don’t care about your message. They don’t care. Especially if your signed to a company that they have a label deal with. If the numbers don’t add up, or even worse, your labels numbers don’t add up, FORGET IT….THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE MONEY!! No amount of bitchin’ will change this. They have a fixed risk level which they will not go beyond. They wouldn’t change for George Michael, Elton John, or Prince. They won’t change for you.
I like the Jazzies, I bought the album, I’ve been to three shows so I guess you could regard me as a fan. My appreciation of the group may lie with one member over the other but…that’s life. I’m sure there are many out there that dig your thing. So long as I buy the record who cares. Now if I’m required to state my views on what the Jazzies are missing, I can only tell the truth as I see it.
I still think that the group would be a better group with vocal coaching, ( learning not to singing through your nose and throat and getting some chest and diaphragm up in the mix) some kind of stage planning ( as far as reducing spinning round in circles and jumping around on the stage). I don’t think I’m being to brutal or infringing on anybody’s right to be themselves. You are in the public domain!
The light skin thing: This was just a way of identifying one member of the group. It was not a dis’. I happen to be light skinned and proud of my heritage as a black man. I also happen to be one quarter Cherokee native American, and one quarter Puerto Rican. I speak fluent Spanish, I was raised a Christian, but you can’t tell any of that by looking at me. What you can tell is that I’m black and further than that I’m light skinned. You aren’t pushing yourself as all of these things as an artist, so why bring it up?
Soul: Well….It ain’t got nothin’ to do with church, though you can find it there. It’s doesn’t have anything to do with being black or Hispanic or part white part black. It comes in many different flavors. Soul is a depth behind what ever that singer may sing. A singer with soul has the ability to make the audience believe that every note they are singing comes straight from the SOUL. They have a genuine quality to their performance that can’t be faked. Britney may sound like Witney but only one of them has the soul. The Blackstreet boys may sound like Blackstreet but they ain’t got the soul. Sarah Vaghan sounded whiter than other singers of her time, as did Minnie Rippington, Jonie Mitchell is white, as is Bjork, but they all have soul. I’m just saying, I like to hear that. That’s all I’m saying.
Jill Scott: Well, I would tread very careful in this area if I were you. You’re right. She is dope, but that probably doesn’t have a whole lot to do with her success. Jill Scott should thank Jill Scott for where she is. I mean, yeah….Her Mom, Pops, Uncle with one leg, high school teacher with the Jazz collection, Bus driver for not crashing the bus on the way to school, Flora Purim, Betty Carter, Erikah and the Roots. But come on. I never even heard of the story you told and I’m in the industry. You can bet that those that bought her album never heard it either. Otherwise, they would be fans of the roots too, and they too would have sold a million, not to mention Erikah’s lacking sales. Jill has everything mentioned under soul above. She doesn’t need more marketing, better production, an $800,000 budget, a dance troop, or gimmicks, she has soul.
Budget: Anybody who says that $300,000 for a recording budget ain’t shit is trippin…well. It ain’t allot…but it’s standard for an unproved new band. Go see a lawyer, they’ll set you straight. If you still think it ain’t shit….Didn’t you sign the contract?…or did you start recording intending on going overbudget by $200,000 or 70%. If you did this in any other business they’d take you house and your car and maybe even lock you up. Did you even produce a budget before you went in the studio? You know your supposed to do it before, that’s why it’s called a budget. Incidentally, about 65% of records are recorded for under $300,000. Including Erikah’s 1st album, D’angelo’s 1st album, Jill Album, and a whole host of all live rock projects. Can you honestly say that every cent of your budget was spent effectively towards your album. Anyway, you shouldn’t be discussing your budget on a board. Bad business.
I’ll say again. You guys are definitely quite talented and can definitely sell some records with the right coaching. I would agree that you are a diamond in the ruff. You’re both very attractive, especially Tracey. You’re good song writers. You’re prepared to work. So what’s the problem?
On the subject of what the Jazzies are mssing: Well allot of people have overlooked it, but I believe you’re missing effective management. How did you sign the shitty deal in the first place? Do you really think that your manager threatening you business associates as well as MCA’s record company execs helps your case in any way? Do you think that various other people in the industry don’t sit around sipping Martini’s laughing about this? You may find yourselves being judged before you even show up for the meeting? Is the record company refusing to support and believe in you or are they refusing to believe in your managements ability to manage you? Why are they prepared to give money to acts with half the potential? Every single act that I have worked with that ended up blowing up, had great management. Why haven’t any other Motive artists blown up? Who has blown up? Who is even warm?
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