Hello, everyone. *smile* I tell you, it feels great to be a Bey Party member. First of all, I want to congratulate Bey and Music World Entertainment for their 3 Grammy nominations and for having the #1 selling DVD for this week. Also, for having the most nominations by a female artists ALL TIME. If this don't show that she is the greatest vocalist/entertainer of her time, I don't know what will.
As we all know, she is one hell of a performer(studio recordings are performances just as well as live concert performances) and she deserves every good that she gets. There are a lot of pressed people today and I will address them in a few moments. But before that, I just want bask in the glow. The fact that IASF is still getting kind of love over 2 years later, just shows that the IASF was truly a killer. Think about it: How many of us would have thought that this would happen?
Last year we were celebrating the 10 nominations and then the 6 Grammys. And now...this is just icing on the cake. Contrary to what people think...Bey gets a lot of love from her peers and the public as the VH1 100 Greatest Artists shown as it was voted on by her peers. And some stan bases can't deal with it. I feel their pain. Okay, I am lying. Not really. I would be a "gracious winner" but some of these stanbases have lost their minds.
Why is it that when their fave don't get "Grammy love", now the Grammys have become a joke? If you are really a fan of an artist's music, you don't actually care whether it gets nominated or not. I mean, I love Bey's music and even if it never got praised, I wouldn't care. I mean, it does gets its due but I love it regardless. And I am not going to call other artists names(Negroncé? Really?) just because my fave is not shining over them. It's juvenile, it's pathetic, it shows your life need a better perpective.
And another thing...and I say this all the time, for all those who are mad because Bey was nominated for her I Am Live version of Halo just as she was nominated last year for her studio version of Halo. Understand this...it goes to show you just what kind of state music is in and just for that reason....Bey deserves every accolade that she gets. Halo is one of the best vocal performances in pop music. Any Non-Operatic Mezzo Soprano who can move through from their chest and head voice as well as use their dynamics as fluidly as she did deserves the love it got. It's a beautiful, sweeping, dramatic ballad. And the live version, Bey did a great job with the lowered key, using her lower register to go lower than the original version(especially on the word sound, that part gets me every time). I always thought it was a great song and I am glad it is getting the love that it deserves.
But of course, instead seeing this, it's the old "Matthew buys votes" BS. There are 12,000 voters on the Committee. Matthew is only one of them and even artists who have been in the industry a long time get to vote on them. Saying these kind of arguments over and over again, makes you sound pressed, and pathetic. It's one thing to want your fave artist to get nominated but the world is still spinning on its axis. The stars is still in the sky. Music is still in existence. It's not the Apocalypse, ladies and gentlemen. If any of your faves didn't get nominated, they will get nominated soon.
I mean, to be honest, some of the Bey Party wished that her Sweet Dreams/DIL/Sweet Love live medley had been nominated in the Female R&B Vocal catalogue and I personally feel that the whole I Am DVD at the Wynn should have been at least nominated in the Contemporary R&B award category. But I will not cut my wrists over it. It's all good.
But all and all, it was a great day for the "BeyHive". *applause* I know that all you appreciate how special a time this is(as I do) and I hope this spirit continues. Have a great holiday season.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
You mean, Beyoncé can't be Human? *sigh*
Here I am, with yet another blog entry. This time, it will be a bit shorter than normal because to me, this is one of the reasons why I made this blog. The media can be so manipulative in twisting things that it's not funny. And because of this, I am going to be the one to put them in their place, especially when it concerns my fave female entertainer/artists.
Well, you all see the title of the thread so you know the basis for this post: http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/lipgoss-beyonce-s-life-sucks-3918320 And let me tell you that the motivation for this thread is to get people to talk. And as we all know, the name of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter can draw blood on both sides. There is no middle ground, it's as bad as the Yankees vs the Red Sox. And the media knows these things which is why they trod out the same BS articles from before: She's preggo, the DC split, Rihanna vs Bey stan wars(that's bloggers' fave) and etc.
Nevertheless, my point is to address something that people need to understand: Just because you're famous, don't mean you automatically lose your humanity. In fact, and I am not one to qoute scripture from the Bible but it is appropiate in this case: To whom much is given, much is required.
There is a reason why some have riches and some do not and that's my opinion. If more people in the world would ponder things like Bey did in this article, then this world would be in a better place. A much better place.
BTW, if you read the context of that statement, you will see that the comment Bey made was from a place of gratitude anyway. Not complaining at all. How many of us have look at people who are in worse positions in life and say, "By the Grace of God, there go I"? It allows you to put things in perspective so you don't make the kind of choices that would lose those things which is why I believe Bey is here to stay in this industry. She gets it. That's where the comments of her saying that she will not lose herself when speaking of Lauryn, Mariah and Whitney are brought into perspective.
And then the author said, it's annoying to see a celeb "complain" about their lives. See, this is why I couldn't be a celeb because they can't win and get analyzed too much over the things they say. If they always talk about how blessed their lives are, then it's they are bragging too much because only a few people in live can have what they have, but then when they talk about their problems, then they are ungrateful and should shut up.
Here is the thing, I am one of those who could careless about an entertainers personal stand or things. For example: If my fave entertainer is a Republican, it won't make me vote the same way and vice-versa. Entertainers are that, entertainers to me and I don't know them to be a role model for me. Image is everything and articles like these are why. I remember Bey in an interview talking about people calling her fake during the Destiny's Child days and it's on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SURSjYhudtI She talked being happy all the time and she relates a story that she has told many times about someone close to her dying and she had to paste on a smile even after then because a kid asked for her autograph.
And I applaud her thinking like this because it shows she actually cares about her fans. And you can tell that's not an act because I remember the video when PETA did that dirty and low thing to make her look bad and you can tell Bey's face was "swoll"(mad for all those who aren't slang literate) but she kept her cool but looked genuinely sad when one of them talked about her being an bad example for her fans by wearing fur. Like I said, I try not to analyze her or any celeb like this, and I don't need her to be the nicest or "lady-like" to like her music. But what I am saying is that I believe that those things were geniune moments for the fans because remember, the girl don't have Twitter or Facebook and that moment is probably she don't do those things.
Well, as I said on Bwboard, you're not going to please everyone, when you're a celeb. Every person is not going to be a fan of yours. If it was up to me, every person would be a fan of hers because that's how talented she is and I can't understand how anyone can't see what she has meant to her craft. But it is what it is. However, the media has to stop the BS. Stop twisting things out of context for attention grabbing like this author was doing(Good job, author). Stop reaching for things that aren't there. I could say the thing that you just say about celebs complaining. Who are you, to tell a someone to complain or to speak for me in saying that we as a society don't want to hear a celeb "complain".
I am not the most intelligent man in the world but I do know every person is not going to be happy every moment whether with riches or in poverty. That when an entertainer is off that stage, they go through things just like I do and a lot of times, it's even harder because many people are jealous of what you have and can't wait to see you fail. It's misery loves company and "craps in a barrel" and yes, the media will play off that too if it will get them ratings. There are a lot of jealous, pathetic losers that will vent on celebs because of their jealousy and again, the media know this.
But one of these days, I would love to people to use common sense, see the games that the media play and put aside their viewpoint of a particular celeb so that can know that they are manipulated to think a certain way. To view them in this way and they think that they have the power to make you or break you. But the beautiful thing is, my fave knows this and no matter how many games that are played by the media, as I said, she is here to stay and the moment that the media knows that they are her foostool, then they just might stop looking as foolish as they do making these kinds of article. Nah, maybe not. Anyway, I hope everyone's Thanksgiving Holiday was great and I hope that all of you are looking forward to the I...Am Tour DVD as I am.
Well, you all see the title of the thread so you know the basis for this post: http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/lipgoss-beyonce-s-life-sucks-3918320 And let me tell you that the motivation for this thread is to get people to talk. And as we all know, the name of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter can draw blood on both sides. There is no middle ground, it's as bad as the Yankees vs the Red Sox. And the media knows these things which is why they trod out the same BS articles from before: She's preggo, the DC split, Rihanna vs Bey stan wars(that's bloggers' fave) and etc.
Nevertheless, my point is to address something that people need to understand: Just because you're famous, don't mean you automatically lose your humanity. In fact, and I am not one to qoute scripture from the Bible but it is appropiate in this case: To whom much is given, much is required.
There is a reason why some have riches and some do not and that's my opinion. If more people in the world would ponder things like Bey did in this article, then this world would be in a better place. A much better place.
BTW, if you read the context of that statement, you will see that the comment Bey made was from a place of gratitude anyway. Not complaining at all. How many of us have look at people who are in worse positions in life and say, "By the Grace of God, there go I"? It allows you to put things in perspective so you don't make the kind of choices that would lose those things which is why I believe Bey is here to stay in this industry. She gets it. That's where the comments of her saying that she will not lose herself when speaking of Lauryn, Mariah and Whitney are brought into perspective.
And then the author said, it's annoying to see a celeb "complain" about their lives. See, this is why I couldn't be a celeb because they can't win and get analyzed too much over the things they say. If they always talk about how blessed their lives are, then it's they are bragging too much because only a few people in live can have what they have, but then when they talk about their problems, then they are ungrateful and should shut up.
Here is the thing, I am one of those who could careless about an entertainers personal stand or things. For example: If my fave entertainer is a Republican, it won't make me vote the same way and vice-versa. Entertainers are that, entertainers to me and I don't know them to be a role model for me. Image is everything and articles like these are why. I remember Bey in an interview talking about people calling her fake during the Destiny's Child days and it's on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SURSjYhudtI She talked being happy all the time and she relates a story that she has told many times about someone close to her dying and she had to paste on a smile even after then because a kid asked for her autograph.
And I applaud her thinking like this because it shows she actually cares about her fans. And you can tell that's not an act because I remember the video when PETA did that dirty and low thing to make her look bad and you can tell Bey's face was "swoll"(mad for all those who aren't slang literate) but she kept her cool but looked genuinely sad when one of them talked about her being an bad example for her fans by wearing fur. Like I said, I try not to analyze her or any celeb like this, and I don't need her to be the nicest or "lady-like" to like her music. But what I am saying is that I believe that those things were geniune moments for the fans because remember, the girl don't have Twitter or Facebook and that moment is probably she don't do those things.
Well, as I said on Bwboard, you're not going to please everyone, when you're a celeb. Every person is not going to be a fan of yours. If it was up to me, every person would be a fan of hers because that's how talented she is and I can't understand how anyone can't see what she has meant to her craft. But it is what it is. However, the media has to stop the BS. Stop twisting things out of context for attention grabbing like this author was doing(Good job, author). Stop reaching for things that aren't there. I could say the thing that you just say about celebs complaining. Who are you, to tell a someone to complain or to speak for me in saying that we as a society don't want to hear a celeb "complain".
I am not the most intelligent man in the world but I do know every person is not going to be happy every moment whether with riches or in poverty. That when an entertainer is off that stage, they go through things just like I do and a lot of times, it's even harder because many people are jealous of what you have and can't wait to see you fail. It's misery loves company and "craps in a barrel" and yes, the media will play off that too if it will get them ratings. There are a lot of jealous, pathetic losers that will vent on celebs because of their jealousy and again, the media know this.
But one of these days, I would love to people to use common sense, see the games that the media play and put aside their viewpoint of a particular celeb so that can know that they are manipulated to think a certain way. To view them in this way and they think that they have the power to make you or break you. But the beautiful thing is, my fave knows this and no matter how many games that are played by the media, as I said, she is here to stay and the moment that the media knows that they are her foostool, then they just might stop looking as foolish as they do making these kinds of article. Nah, maybe not. Anyway, I hope everyone's Thanksgiving Holiday was great and I hope that all of you are looking forward to the I...Am Tour DVD as I am.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The The Jermaine Durpi Curse(An Bey Party Member's Olive Branch to Janet Stans)
Hello. Today, I make yet another entry. I was *this close* to doing addressing the Britney vs Beyoncé debate/discussion. Then I thought, "Nah. I will save that for another time and entry." So I thought of this topic to blog on. Yes, it is a weird title thread especially since this is a Beyoncé blog and JD has nothing to do her music, performing and is not connected to her in any way.
When you see the content of my entry, it will become crystal clear why I titled this as I did. One of the things that is my passion is history and especially the history of music and entertainment. Especially mainstream entertainment. For as long as the industry has been in existed, there has always been the dynamic of the older established veteran artist/entertainer being pitted against the younger one. For example, the media back in the day tried to pit Lena Horne vs. Dorothy Dandridge against each other as if both of them couldn't be stars at the same time. This is done to black female stars all the time. So with that in mind, let me set the stage for the beginning of the Janet/Beyoncé stan wars.
Beyoncé was coming off the DIL and Destiny's Fulfilled Era, and was about to release the album that I consider the standard of "Hip Pop Soul"(B'day). Meanwhile, Janet was coming off the backlash of what happened at the Super Bowl Halftime performance in ironically, Bey's Hometown, Houston. We all know what happened. It's a date that will live in infamy. But Janet had not released any music from that time until 20 Y.O.
They were both going to be released around the same time, and a certain man, a record label executive who was the boyfriend of Janet said things that would set the tone for that whole era in a bad way: "Only Janet records sound like her. I always look and think where is Beyoncé going to be in 20 years? It's hard for me to visualize. I don't put them on the same plane. "
Now to be fair, he went in on Britney and Christina too. But what was the point of mentioning all three of them especially Beyoncé? Think about this for a minute, Bey had already proven her potential for longevity with the fact that she had already been in the industry for a decade going back to 1997 with Destiny's Child. But let's take it even further, this girl has been performing(like Janet) since she was 7. She was on Star Search at 12 and Monica said so eloquently in detail of her relationship with Bey, already had a recording deal with Darryl Simmons and Electra Records before DC's deal with Sony/Columbia records.
Bey was no overnight success, this was a girl who worked and worked to get where she was at the point of the B'day era. And JD knew ALL of this. Which is why what he said was so baffling. It made him seem pressed and desparate. And what it did create an unnecessary stan war that has been going on to this day and set the tone for how he would ruin everything that Janet built up that point. And I will get into how pretty much destroyed her but the thing that makes me love Bey so much was her classy responses in the aftermath of Jermaine's tomfoolery.
We all know how when Angie Martinez in an audio interview with her asked her about JD's comments how she said that famous comment in the speaking voice that all Bey Party members love to hear: God bless you, Jermaine. How can't you not love her? *Chuckles* Anyway, after all of this, she said that Janet was not her peer, that Janet was above her and spoke on her were her peers. Then, she did subsequent Ring The Alarm performances with Rhythm Nation Nods in the performance. Not to mention, she also has Frank Gatson as her choreographer who all Jackson stans know was a choregrapher for Janet and her big bro[I don't need to speak his name, you know who I am talking about].
So if there is anyone who understands and respects the Jackson legacy, it's Beyoncé Gisselle Knowles-Carter. That's why her comments about Joe Jackson in distinguishing the differences between her dad and Joe shouldn't have been taken offense by Janet stans especially in light of the relationship between him and the Jackson children which is on record. Even Sandra Rose who has built her blogging career off of hating Bey even acknowledge what Bey's intent was: (http://www.sandrarose.com/2008/12/in-defense-of-beyonce/) So if there is any artist who should been given the benefit of the doubt by the JanHova Stan base, it should be Beyoncé.
Of course, the stan war got too deep then...with some Bey Party Members who are going to defend Bey when someone "comes for her wig" retaliating and then Jan stans doing the them. But the thing I need to tell Janet stans everywhere is that this dynamic is part of the legacy that Jermaine created. It's a legacy that Janet have finally gotten rid of(Praise the Lord!!!!). So with that in mind, why not push that aside that nasty part of it too? I am willing to extend a olive branch to all of the Janet stan base knowing that not all who don't like Bey are going to take it, but at the least give some who don't something to ponder.
As I said, I am going to get into the Jermaine Dupri Curse and how it affected Janet to the point where she is now. I just mention the foolish comments he made about Bey in an effort to create a war for the sole purpose of promotion. Then he tried to completely urbanize her. What?!!!! Yes, Janet is a legend especially when it comes to Urban Pop. She has classic in that genre that has and will forever stand the test of time. In fact, and this is coming a Bey stan who love this album, but I view RN1812 being better than B'day and as you can see in an earlier paragraph, I proclaimed B'day as the standard for "Hip Pop Soul". So that right there should tell of what I think of Janet's brilliance over the years. In fact, I find it a crime that Janet was not on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists list. Just criminal. She's one of the greatest video artists of all time and her sound is even a nice little template for Bey and DC to build off because she was the standard for Urban Pop. To have Madonna on the list and not her counterpart, Janet was indeed should be a misdemeanor at the least.
Many would disagree with me, but I don't feel the Super Bowl incident would have affected her as affected her as much. Janet even in her military suit wearing days all straddle the line with her sexuality. My fave songs from her are songs where she's taking it there. I have a confession to make: Hearing Janet Jackson speak in French with her soft, girlish voice is very erotic, I have to admit. It's one of the reasons why Funny How Time Flies is my fave Janet song of all time. So sexuality and Janet is nothing new. She was straddling further and further by the time of the Super Bowl incident but a lot of music/entertainment fans was heated when Janet got all that bad publicity and Justin got nothing as if he wasn't there.
So in 2006, this is two--in fact--almost 3 years later. Even if Janet wasn't going to move the number of units that she did with Control and RN1812(no one is doing that these days even back in 2006), she could still establish herself as a force for Urban Pop with her strong fan base. Then Call on Me was released as the first single. Bad move. The worst. Because even though Janet had an Urban Influence in her sound[her bro is MJ, so that's understandable] but she is pop. Janet does not have the timbre/voice to do what Bey has been doing with her sound her whole career. Bey's sound is Aretha Franklin-esqe rhythmic vocal stylings bringing the funk with an interpretative flair, that's not Janet's style. With that in mind, Bey can bring more urban/ hip hop swag and make it more believable than Janet ever could. And yes, I do know about the song she did with Q-Tip but that's a song that is still different than what Bey does with her sound. Janet could never do B'day. Never!!!!
That's the truth, Janhova stans and this is not me saying as a Bey Party Member saying this. Look at this blog comment: There is a world of difference between a good soul singer, and a good funk singer. Mariah Carey, for example, is a good sweet sould singer, but if she were to start grunting into the mic and demanding snare kicks from the drummer, her people would rush the stage within seconds to take her off to the mad house. Presumed breakdown. She hasn't got the Funk. Sadly, neither of today's fine young singers, with the possible exceptions of Mary J., Beth Ditto and Beyonce, and that's about it. Even the greatest soul singer of them all, Aretha Franklin, don't quite have the funk chops to be a bold soul sister.
So you see, that's not the Janet sound even though she is one of the rhythmic dance artists of all time. To completely Urbanize Janet was the most foolish thing that JD ever did with her. It turned off many Janet stans who loved her from the time she was singing Control at 17, it made her seem as if she was trying to compete with the very ones that Jermaine attacked in order to build Janet as the Icon and legend that we already knew she was. He didn't have to say or do anything. If anything, he turned the Janet buying public off with what he did.
Then by the time Janet put out Discipline(not a bad album at all), she was already in a funk(no pun intended) that the point that she has not quite recover from. But the thing is, even with that, her legacy speaks for itself. One thing about the Bey Party, we respect the legends. We don't come at their wig. Why is that? Because we respect what they meant to music and entertainment. We don't attack them to build Bey up. We don't have to. We understand her place in the industry and the lane in which she has made for herself. So why, would we come at Janet, who most of us would consider a legend and icon?
It all goes back to 2006 and the JD comments. It gave some who probably wanted a reason to go at Jan's wig, especially with both artists releasing at the same time, that green-light to do so and then instead of both stan bases basking in the fruit of both of their legacies, we go at each other's throats. It's ridiculous. They aren't of the same generation or peer group. Janet was entertaining before Bey was born. As a stan, I know this and respect it. So I would never call Janet names like Trannet or anything of that nature.
I respect the Jackson legacy with true reverence. I know not everyone does, but I do. And with that respect and understanding, I have to state this as honest as I can: Bey will take the Jackson legacy further than Janet could ever do it. It is what it is. And it's not about sales, or even popularity but the impact that an artist has on their craft for years to come. To make this point clear, Bey's DVD is produced, directed and edited by her. She has the kind of control of her career that MJ would want every artist to have. Not to mention, Bey has youth on her side; the talent; and more importantly, the history of knowing the past so that she can shape its future.
And if you're an honest Janet stan, you're ok with this. Who else could do this, if Janet couldn't do it. Bey is a daughter of the legacy that the Jackson set forth. Her sound is the 2000s, she's to that decade what the Beatles and Motown(a legacy that helped to shape the Jacksons) to the 60s. If you're not convinced, look at my entry on Beyonce and Electro Pop and you see what I am talking about. I can say these things confidently. They are both legends even if they aren't of the same generation. So let's bury the hatchet and make a truce. I hope that Janhova stans will accept this entry in the spirit given.
When you see the content of my entry, it will become crystal clear why I titled this as I did. One of the things that is my passion is history and especially the history of music and entertainment. Especially mainstream entertainment. For as long as the industry has been in existed, there has always been the dynamic of the older established veteran artist/entertainer being pitted against the younger one. For example, the media back in the day tried to pit Lena Horne vs. Dorothy Dandridge against each other as if both of them couldn't be stars at the same time. This is done to black female stars all the time. So with that in mind, let me set the stage for the beginning of the Janet/Beyoncé stan wars.
Beyoncé was coming off the DIL and Destiny's Fulfilled Era, and was about to release the album that I consider the standard of "Hip Pop Soul"(B'day). Meanwhile, Janet was coming off the backlash of what happened at the Super Bowl Halftime performance in ironically, Bey's Hometown, Houston. We all know what happened. It's a date that will live in infamy. But Janet had not released any music from that time until 20 Y.O.
They were both going to be released around the same time, and a certain man, a record label executive who was the boyfriend of Janet said things that would set the tone for that whole era in a bad way: "Only Janet records sound like her. I always look and think where is Beyoncé going to be in 20 years? It's hard for me to visualize. I don't put them on the same plane. "
Now to be fair, he went in on Britney and Christina too. But what was the point of mentioning all three of them especially Beyoncé? Think about this for a minute, Bey had already proven her potential for longevity with the fact that she had already been in the industry for a decade going back to 1997 with Destiny's Child. But let's take it even further, this girl has been performing(like Janet) since she was 7. She was on Star Search at 12 and Monica said so eloquently in detail of her relationship with Bey, already had a recording deal with Darryl Simmons and Electra Records before DC's deal with Sony/Columbia records.
Bey was no overnight success, this was a girl who worked and worked to get where she was at the point of the B'day era. And JD knew ALL of this. Which is why what he said was so baffling. It made him seem pressed and desparate. And what it did create an unnecessary stan war that has been going on to this day and set the tone for how he would ruin everything that Janet built up that point. And I will get into how pretty much destroyed her but the thing that makes me love Bey so much was her classy responses in the aftermath of Jermaine's tomfoolery.
We all know how when Angie Martinez in an audio interview with her asked her about JD's comments how she said that famous comment in the speaking voice that all Bey Party members love to hear: God bless you, Jermaine. How can't you not love her? *Chuckles* Anyway, after all of this, she said that Janet was not her peer, that Janet was above her and spoke on her were her peers. Then, she did subsequent Ring The Alarm performances with Rhythm Nation Nods in the performance. Not to mention, she also has Frank Gatson as her choreographer who all Jackson stans know was a choregrapher for Janet and her big bro[I don't need to speak his name, you know who I am talking about].
So if there is anyone who understands and respects the Jackson legacy, it's Beyoncé Gisselle Knowles-Carter. That's why her comments about Joe Jackson in distinguishing the differences between her dad and Joe shouldn't have been taken offense by Janet stans especially in light of the relationship between him and the Jackson children which is on record. Even Sandra Rose who has built her blogging career off of hating Bey even acknowledge what Bey's intent was: (http://www.sandrarose.com/2008/12/in-defense-of-beyonce/) So if there is any artist who should been given the benefit of the doubt by the JanHova Stan base, it should be Beyoncé.
Of course, the stan war got too deep then...with some Bey Party Members who are going to defend Bey when someone "comes for her wig" retaliating and then Jan stans doing the them. But the thing I need to tell Janet stans everywhere is that this dynamic is part of the legacy that Jermaine created. It's a legacy that Janet have finally gotten rid of(Praise the Lord!!!!). So with that in mind, why not push that aside that nasty part of it too? I am willing to extend a olive branch to all of the Janet stan base knowing that not all who don't like Bey are going to take it, but at the least give some who don't something to ponder.
As I said, I am going to get into the Jermaine Dupri Curse and how it affected Janet to the point where she is now. I just mention the foolish comments he made about Bey in an effort to create a war for the sole purpose of promotion. Then he tried to completely urbanize her. What?!!!! Yes, Janet is a legend especially when it comes to Urban Pop. She has classic in that genre that has and will forever stand the test of time. In fact, and this is coming a Bey stan who love this album, but I view RN1812 being better than B'day and as you can see in an earlier paragraph, I proclaimed B'day as the standard for "Hip Pop Soul". So that right there should tell of what I think of Janet's brilliance over the years. In fact, I find it a crime that Janet was not on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists list. Just criminal. She's one of the greatest video artists of all time and her sound is even a nice little template for Bey and DC to build off because she was the standard for Urban Pop. To have Madonna on the list and not her counterpart, Janet was indeed should be a misdemeanor at the least.
Many would disagree with me, but I don't feel the Super Bowl incident would have affected her as affected her as much. Janet even in her military suit wearing days all straddle the line with her sexuality. My fave songs from her are songs where she's taking it there. I have a confession to make: Hearing Janet Jackson speak in French with her soft, girlish voice is very erotic, I have to admit. It's one of the reasons why Funny How Time Flies is my fave Janet song of all time. So sexuality and Janet is nothing new. She was straddling further and further by the time of the Super Bowl incident but a lot of music/entertainment fans was heated when Janet got all that bad publicity and Justin got nothing as if he wasn't there.
So in 2006, this is two--in fact--almost 3 years later. Even if Janet wasn't going to move the number of units that she did with Control and RN1812(no one is doing that these days even back in 2006), she could still establish herself as a force for Urban Pop with her strong fan base. Then Call on Me was released as the first single. Bad move. The worst. Because even though Janet had an Urban Influence in her sound[her bro is MJ, so that's understandable] but she is pop. Janet does not have the timbre/voice to do what Bey has been doing with her sound her whole career. Bey's sound is Aretha Franklin-esqe rhythmic vocal stylings bringing the funk with an interpretative flair, that's not Janet's style. With that in mind, Bey can bring more urban/ hip hop swag and make it more believable than Janet ever could. And yes, I do know about the song she did with Q-Tip but that's a song that is still different than what Bey does with her sound. Janet could never do B'day. Never!!!!
That's the truth, Janhova stans and this is not me saying as a Bey Party Member saying this. Look at this blog comment: There is a world of difference between a good soul singer, and a good funk singer. Mariah Carey, for example, is a good sweet sould singer, but if she were to start grunting into the mic and demanding snare kicks from the drummer, her people would rush the stage within seconds to take her off to the mad house. Presumed breakdown. She hasn't got the Funk. Sadly, neither of today's fine young singers, with the possible exceptions of Mary J., Beth Ditto and Beyonce, and that's about it. Even the greatest soul singer of them all, Aretha Franklin, don't quite have the funk chops to be a bold soul sister.
So you see, that's not the Janet sound even though she is one of the rhythmic dance artists of all time. To completely Urbanize Janet was the most foolish thing that JD ever did with her. It turned off many Janet stans who loved her from the time she was singing Control at 17, it made her seem as if she was trying to compete with the very ones that Jermaine attacked in order to build Janet as the Icon and legend that we already knew she was. He didn't have to say or do anything. If anything, he turned the Janet buying public off with what he did.
Then by the time Janet put out Discipline(not a bad album at all), she was already in a funk(no pun intended) that the point that she has not quite recover from. But the thing is, even with that, her legacy speaks for itself. One thing about the Bey Party, we respect the legends. We don't come at their wig. Why is that? Because we respect what they meant to music and entertainment. We don't attack them to build Bey up. We don't have to. We understand her place in the industry and the lane in which she has made for herself. So why, would we come at Janet, who most of us would consider a legend and icon?
It all goes back to 2006 and the JD comments. It gave some who probably wanted a reason to go at Jan's wig, especially with both artists releasing at the same time, that green-light to do so and then instead of both stan bases basking in the fruit of both of their legacies, we go at each other's throats. It's ridiculous. They aren't of the same generation or peer group. Janet was entertaining before Bey was born. As a stan, I know this and respect it. So I would never call Janet names like Trannet or anything of that nature.
I respect the Jackson legacy with true reverence. I know not everyone does, but I do. And with that respect and understanding, I have to state this as honest as I can: Bey will take the Jackson legacy further than Janet could ever do it. It is what it is. And it's not about sales, or even popularity but the impact that an artist has on their craft for years to come. To make this point clear, Bey's DVD is produced, directed and edited by her. She has the kind of control of her career that MJ would want every artist to have. Not to mention, Bey has youth on her side; the talent; and more importantly, the history of knowing the past so that she can shape its future.
And if you're an honest Janet stan, you're ok with this. Who else could do this, if Janet couldn't do it. Bey is a daughter of the legacy that the Jackson set forth. Her sound is the 2000s, she's to that decade what the Beatles and Motown(a legacy that helped to shape the Jacksons) to the 60s. If you're not convinced, look at my entry on Beyonce and Electro Pop and you see what I am talking about. I can say these things confidently. They are both legends even if they aren't of the same generation. So let's bury the hatchet and make a truce. I hope that Janhova stans will accept this entry in the spirit given.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Beyoncé and Electro-Pop
It's been a long since I have made an entry. This entry is inspired by Erykah Badu's comments on the "fad" of electro-pop and pretty much her criticism of it. For those who have not seen it, here is her comments: "y’all gone stand by and let our music turn into pop techno cornball ass music? We don’t own our music no more. Come to think of it , did we EVER own it? Where is the funk AT? They playd 6 in a row today – pop techno songs back to back. With so called R&B and rap artist on the Hip Hop station.
Where [have] I been? I wanna hear from the young people. [It's] easy for me to complain about this techno-pop cause I have a taste for something else. But how do YOU feel? I definitely don’t want to offend anyone. Young people, I know this is the music of your generation. These rappers ought to be ashamed of their damn selves. I’m talking about the mc’ s rappin over this pop techno music. I believe in pimpin the system [but] got DAMN! Not like this!”http://twitter.com/FATBELLYBELLA
Okay, Erica, tell us how you really feel about artists, labels and the dynamics of techno-pop. *chuckles* Anyway, with comments like this, I feel to make a long post that will probably make you feel like you're reading a distertation or thesis. Oh well, that's how I do it sometimes. But anyways, these comments had me thinking especially remember all those discussions of Bey's upcoming 4th album as well as her last album era where she did in fact record Electro Pop songs on it, like Radio, Why Don't You Love Me? and Sweet Dreams and as well as unreleased songs like Control.
Now, I have spoken my mind on her doing songs like that and I kind of lukewarm about it because yes, electro-pop has become a fad and it's already enough that some think Bey will do record anything and do anything to "keep her relevant" in the spotlight. Even make-up preggo stories about herself, like some tried to insinuate after another irresponsible gossip report was made and then back-tracked to make Bey jealous of Alicia Keys who just had a baby(Congrats to her, btw). Unbelievable. So with everything about her being scrutinized, I wasn't sure about this and especially since Bey is The Standard-Bearing Artist of Contemporary R&B.
Nevertheless, as I saw on a blogger's post on Erykah's comments some educated Bey stans explained that Bey was doing this before the "electro-pop" craze began and they are right. I remember Bey doing a Ring The Alarm remix by the Freemasons who we all know are a big part of why Electro Pop is in Urban Music. This is way back in 2006. Then also, Bey has also done dance remixes of songs which is one of the reason why Bey was 2nd in the Decade End Billboard Dance Charts behind Madonna(http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/decadeendcharts/chart_display.jsp?&f=Dance/Club+Play+Artists&g=Decade-end+Artists), having 14 # 1s on the dance charts in the decade and FYI, as you can see, artists like MJB and Whitney are also on this chart also so Urban Dance Music is a big part of the industry. Like it or not.
But I won't even get into her solo catalogue. Nope. Instead, I will take it back further than that and give a nice little history lesson in the process. Yep, all the way back to Destiny's Child. Yep, all the way back to the No, No, No remix back in 1997. We all know how big a song that was, and that song pretty much launch DC into the powerhouse group that we know them to be(whether as DC4 or DC3 later). Then we all know about the Classic Album known as Writings On the Wall which stamped Destiny's Child imprint on the industry and in music/entertainment. What people don't fully realize is: Just how massively influential their sound is for the music of today. For R&B and Pop music, especially today's pop music. Now as we also know, TWOTW wasn't pretty dominantly Uptempo Dance Album. But their singles especially are a big part of the reason why dance pop is how it is today.
How? Look at how artists, artists like Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguliera and Britney Spears tried to a more edgier, urban sound to their music. Especially JT, CA and Britney. Justin came from a boy band which was not super edgy at all. But by 2002, you see him hooking up with The Neptunes to get a more edgy sound to separate what he did with N'Sync. No coincidence there. Christina's first album was very "Celine-ish". Next album, here she is trying to be edgy to go along with her Sex Kitten image for the album era using a more Urban sound to give her that edge. Look at even Pink. She came into the industry with an R&B sound who she said was forced on her. Now keep in mind she was trying to make into the industry being part of a group that was Contemporary R&B in their sound, but now she's not doing that.
Then look at Lady Gaga. If you listen to many critics, it's like she discovered the Holy Grail and bringing Dance Pop back into the mainstream. Umm, ladies and gentleman. Keep in mind that the person who help to craft her image and sound is a man who worked with Destiny's Child Himself almost a decade earlier, in fact on one of their biggest songs(Bootylicious), Rob Fusari. We all know the drama that happened a few months ago, with his comments about Matthew and Lady Gaga but the thing that everyone needs to know is that he's a big part in helping to craft the sound that Destiny's Child brought not only with TWOTW but with Survivor also. It is no coincidence that Telephone, a song with Bey featured in it, is ironically produced by Rodney Jerkins who produced, Say My Name. Look at how many producers, especially Urban Producers who dabbling with Euro-pop, Techno-Pop Sound. That's not a coincidence, people. This is the legacy of Bey/DC, which is why I will always love this quote from the BlackYouthProject speaking on Bey's artistic contribution to the industry: (Musically, Beyonce’s best work takes the Hip Hop-meets-60’s soul sound pioneered by Lauryn Hill, and makes it danceable, club-ready, and pop-oriented. http://www.blackyouthproject.com/blog/2010/02/no-passengers-on-her-plane-beyonce/)
In fact, the comments before that explains my blog post even further: The genius of Beyonce, as with any great artist, begins with the aspects of her music that have stylistically set her apart, and thus influenced her peers. Like Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill before her, Beyonce mixes Soul and R&B with elements of Hip Hop in a way that is neither forced nor haphazard. She can move seamlessly and assuredly between both aesthetically, attaining a certain level of believability that someone like Amerie never seems to reach in that arena. The core of what makes Beyonce’s take on Hip Hop/Soul so unique is her hiccupping, rapid-fire vocal style. Rather than going the Mary J. route, and basically utilizing a classically Soulful vocal style over Hip Hop-inflected beats, or the L-Boogie route, and both singing and rapping masterfully (but separately), Beyonce combines the two, delivering her soulful, R&B vocals in a stuttering, rhythmic fashion that almost sounds like rapping.
The impact of what she and DC made on the industry is this, it combined the Urban sound, something MJ did similarly with Off The Wall and Thriller, brought it to the Clubs which is part of how Uptempo songs become hits because DJs spin those songs and now mainstream artists who wanted to get hits had to get to Urban Producers to give their sound more edge to either keep their demographic and expand their demographic. In fact, DC was so big at one point that Tommy Matolla, who is known for "legal payola" didn't do that for them because he felt that they didn't need it and he wanted to teach indie stations a lesson because he had beef with them. Which is one of the reason why Bootylicious was only #1 for two weeks even though it was such a big song on the radio and we all know how big Bey's songs are on radio: In May 2001, Columbia Records declared that itwould curb indie payments on behalf of the new single “Bootylicious”from the girl group phenomenon Destiny’s Child. 167 Albeit a minordistinction, the label declared that it would pay the minimum $1,000 toindies whose radio stations were in the large markets, but it would refuse topay indies for the adds in “smaller-market stations.”168 The result of Columbia’s risky endeavor was that two weeks after pop-sensation Destiny’s Child released the “Bootylicious” single, 113 pop stations addedthe song to their playlists. 169 However, the 113 stations playing the“Bootylicious” single was a drop off from the 150 radio stations that wereplaying Destiny’s Child’s prior single “Survivor” two weeks after thatsong’s release only a few months earlier. 170 It was speculated that“Bootylicious” was kept off the air in markets where indies still maintainexceptional influence as retaliation against Columbia’s move to limitindependent promotion. 171 Despite Destiny’s Child’s popularity, Columbia’s decision to limit theuse of indies in such a fashion is virtually unheard of. 172 Some industry insiders speculated that Columbia made this move to test the waters for a challenge to the future of independent promoters. 173 Although“Bootylicious” did incredibly well on the radio, the drop off of nearly fortystations adding the song to the station rotation is a sobering reminder of the power that indies exercise over the industry. Furthermore, the somewhat successful curtailment of indie promotion for artists as popular as Destiny’sChild do not reflect the likely outcome if other less popular artists fail topay indie fees. 174
http://elr.lls.edu/issues/v22-issue3/katunich.pdf
So even though Britney and artists in her lane sold more than TWOTW and Survivor in that time period[keep in mind that DC was Billboard Artist of the Year in 2000 and 2001, though], yet if these artists wanted to do well on the charts, they were going to do their thing on the Urban/Rhythmic Charts to keep their success. Is it a wonder that Britney stans always complain about some of her "Urban" Songs don't get the spins on those formats that Bey and even Rihanna don't get? Think about it: As many albums and records that Britney has sold in her career, you would think that her stans could care less about that because it has worked for her all of these years. Gaga stans care more about her songs being #1 on Pop than anything else. Why? Because they know her lane and Gaga still tries to expand her demographic audience through Urban Music which is why I mentioned Rob Fusari in the first place.
Not only this, look at the top 10 artists on Billboard's Artist of the Decade charts. 9 of the 10 are Urban Based artists in their sound as I have said before, so it's no deep mystery to say that Urban Music dominated the decade. It's why artists like Fergie, Christina, Nicole Scherzinger, Nelly Furtado, and etc all experiment with the Urban Sound. If anything, Urban Music is the reason why Electro-Pop is out in the forefront in R&B/Pop and Pop Music period. It's the thing that Grace Jones wanted to do, it's what Jody Watley wanted to do with New Jack Swing, it's what Paula Abdul wanted to do and even what Prince really wanted to do with Vanity and Appolonia on a smaller level. And the reason why DC was able to get it done because not only was the production in that area was strong, but the vocal arrangements and even more importantly, the performing was on point. Not to mention, that package appealed to the younger generation which has grown with Bey, Kelly and Michelle(and yes, Bey is much bigger than both of them but they both have fans). In fact, LeToya benefits from her time with DC. So artists(even the big young pop artists from that time period) who wanted to get a piece of it had to get a piece of what DC did in order to keep their success and last in the industry.
So what does that all means? It means that the critics fail when they talk about Bey jumping on a bandwagon with regards to Electro Pop. DC is the reason why Electro Pop exists. To make this point further...when I first heard DC4 and No, No, No and other songs with this sound afterwards, I hated them. I thought of them as gimmicky as Das EFX; Bones, Thugs and Harmony; and Nelly. And they were bringing this sound to R&B? And yes, I know that Mariah did the rap singing style with BT&H, but I looked at that like I did with Biggie recording with the same group, like it was a novelty. With my 90s thinking of what R&B was to sound like, even Uptempo songs(remember, Teddy Riley was extremely influently with his New Jack Swing sound and female artists who did it, the sound was called New Jill which set the stage for MJB's sound). I was wrong. DC and their team was genius and then they had the nerve when they could have just keep that sound, like the artists I named because it was such a success for them, they switched up, put a variety of sounds that has shaped Today's Contemporary R&B.
So with that in mind, as much as I am not really enthused about Electro Pop as a whole, I can deal with Bey especially doing a electro pop song or two, next album era. Like it or not, it's part of Urban Music and Pop Music in general. Actually, what I would love for her to do is bring Suga Mama into the studio and put some real ascoustic instrumentation along with the electronic sound. Watch how that works. Look at this article in which the author talks about contemporary R&B and why he has a hard time getting into it: I’ve been slow to warm to much contemporary R&B. I tend to gravitate toward the genre’s past, when a group of people sat in a studio with instruments and played them while a singer gave voice to the song. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/6841971.html) As some might know, this was an article about Bey and this author even with everything he said about Contemporary R&B, he is much more open to Bey than any other contemporary R&B artist.
Look at the fact that Bey submitted her Live DVD at the Wynn for to be nominated in Contemporary R&B. This is a good thing and I am rooting for it to get nominated and win. Not just because I am a member of the "BeyParty" but also because Contemporary R&B needs this. All of you remember in my blog the quote from The Guardian where the interview was so amazed at how raw Bey's performances are and Bey's comments toward that. My thing is not to attack Electro-pop and the fact that it is so successful. Electro-Pop actually has more edge than your typical dance-pop song from the 80s. No, what I would like to see is what Bey did with Why Don't You love Me? That song is electro-pop but that song has edge. Solo, the Bama Boys and Bey did an awesome job of bringing a funky Urban swag to that song that pretty much no one in her age group can do. If Gloria Gaynor, a woman who in the 60s was in the "Chitlin Circuit" doing Classic R&B did disco and that song is her singature song then Bey, a woman who is big part of what Urban Dance is what it is today, can and should do it if that she wants to do. Thank you for reading this. I know the length of this blog probably testing your patience, but I had a lot on my mind and I hadn't blogged in a while. I hope that everyone have a great weekend.
Where [have] I been? I wanna hear from the young people. [It's] easy for me to complain about this techno-pop cause I have a taste for something else. But how do YOU feel? I definitely don’t want to offend anyone. Young people, I know this is the music of your generation. These rappers ought to be ashamed of their damn selves. I’m talking about the mc’ s rappin over this pop techno music. I believe in pimpin the system [but] got DAMN! Not like this!”http://twitter.com/FATBELLYBELLA
Okay, Erica, tell us how you really feel about artists, labels and the dynamics of techno-pop. *chuckles* Anyway, with comments like this, I feel to make a long post that will probably make you feel like you're reading a distertation or thesis. Oh well, that's how I do it sometimes. But anyways, these comments had me thinking especially remember all those discussions of Bey's upcoming 4th album as well as her last album era where she did in fact record Electro Pop songs on it, like Radio, Why Don't You Love Me? and Sweet Dreams and as well as unreleased songs like Control.
Now, I have spoken my mind on her doing songs like that and I kind of lukewarm about it because yes, electro-pop has become a fad and it's already enough that some think Bey will do record anything and do anything to "keep her relevant" in the spotlight. Even make-up preggo stories about herself, like some tried to insinuate after another irresponsible gossip report was made and then back-tracked to make Bey jealous of Alicia Keys who just had a baby(Congrats to her, btw). Unbelievable. So with everything about her being scrutinized, I wasn't sure about this and especially since Bey is The Standard-Bearing Artist of Contemporary R&B.
Nevertheless, as I saw on a blogger's post on Erykah's comments some educated Bey stans explained that Bey was doing this before the "electro-pop" craze began and they are right. I remember Bey doing a Ring The Alarm remix by the Freemasons who we all know are a big part of why Electro Pop is in Urban Music. This is way back in 2006. Then also, Bey has also done dance remixes of songs which is one of the reason why Bey was 2nd in the Decade End Billboard Dance Charts behind Madonna(http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/decadeendcharts/chart_display.jsp?&f=Dance/Club+Play+Artists&g=Decade-end+Artists), having 14 # 1s on the dance charts in the decade and FYI, as you can see, artists like MJB and Whitney are also on this chart also so Urban Dance Music is a big part of the industry. Like it or not.
But I won't even get into her solo catalogue. Nope. Instead, I will take it back further than that and give a nice little history lesson in the process. Yep, all the way back to Destiny's Child. Yep, all the way back to the No, No, No remix back in 1997. We all know how big a song that was, and that song pretty much launch DC into the powerhouse group that we know them to be(whether as DC4 or DC3 later). Then we all know about the Classic Album known as Writings On the Wall which stamped Destiny's Child imprint on the industry and in music/entertainment. What people don't fully realize is: Just how massively influential their sound is for the music of today. For R&B and Pop music, especially today's pop music. Now as we also know, TWOTW wasn't pretty dominantly Uptempo Dance Album. But their singles especially are a big part of the reason why dance pop is how it is today.
How? Look at how artists, artists like Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguliera and Britney Spears tried to a more edgier, urban sound to their music. Especially JT, CA and Britney. Justin came from a boy band which was not super edgy at all. But by 2002, you see him hooking up with The Neptunes to get a more edgy sound to separate what he did with N'Sync. No coincidence there. Christina's first album was very "Celine-ish". Next album, here she is trying to be edgy to go along with her Sex Kitten image for the album era using a more Urban sound to give her that edge. Look at even Pink. She came into the industry with an R&B sound who she said was forced on her. Now keep in mind she was trying to make into the industry being part of a group that was Contemporary R&B in their sound, but now she's not doing that.
Then look at Lady Gaga. If you listen to many critics, it's like she discovered the Holy Grail and bringing Dance Pop back into the mainstream. Umm, ladies and gentleman. Keep in mind that the person who help to craft her image and sound is a man who worked with Destiny's Child Himself almost a decade earlier, in fact on one of their biggest songs(Bootylicious), Rob Fusari. We all know the drama that happened a few months ago, with his comments about Matthew and Lady Gaga but the thing that everyone needs to know is that he's a big part in helping to craft the sound that Destiny's Child brought not only with TWOTW but with Survivor also. It is no coincidence that Telephone, a song with Bey featured in it, is ironically produced by Rodney Jerkins who produced, Say My Name. Look at how many producers, especially Urban Producers who dabbling with Euro-pop, Techno-Pop Sound. That's not a coincidence, people. This is the legacy of Bey/DC, which is why I will always love this quote from the BlackYouthProject speaking on Bey's artistic contribution to the industry: (Musically, Beyonce’s best work takes the Hip Hop-meets-60’s soul sound pioneered by Lauryn Hill, and makes it danceable, club-ready, and pop-oriented. http://www.blackyouthproject.com/blog/2010/02/no-passengers-on-her-plane-beyonce/)
In fact, the comments before that explains my blog post even further: The genius of Beyonce, as with any great artist, begins with the aspects of her music that have stylistically set her apart, and thus influenced her peers. Like Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill before her, Beyonce mixes Soul and R&B with elements of Hip Hop in a way that is neither forced nor haphazard. She can move seamlessly and assuredly between both aesthetically, attaining a certain level of believability that someone like Amerie never seems to reach in that arena. The core of what makes Beyonce’s take on Hip Hop/Soul so unique is her hiccupping, rapid-fire vocal style. Rather than going the Mary J. route, and basically utilizing a classically Soulful vocal style over Hip Hop-inflected beats, or the L-Boogie route, and both singing and rapping masterfully (but separately), Beyonce combines the two, delivering her soulful, R&B vocals in a stuttering, rhythmic fashion that almost sounds like rapping.
The impact of what she and DC made on the industry is this, it combined the Urban sound, something MJ did similarly with Off The Wall and Thriller, brought it to the Clubs which is part of how Uptempo songs become hits because DJs spin those songs and now mainstream artists who wanted to get hits had to get to Urban Producers to give their sound more edge to either keep their demographic and expand their demographic. In fact, DC was so big at one point that Tommy Matolla, who is known for "legal payola" didn't do that for them because he felt that they didn't need it and he wanted to teach indie stations a lesson because he had beef with them. Which is one of the reason why Bootylicious was only #1 for two weeks even though it was such a big song on the radio and we all know how big Bey's songs are on radio: In May 2001, Columbia Records declared that itwould curb indie payments on behalf of the new single “Bootylicious”from the girl group phenomenon Destiny’s Child. 167 Albeit a minordistinction, the label declared that it would pay the minimum $1,000 toindies whose radio stations were in the large markets, but it would refuse topay indies for the adds in “smaller-market stations.”168 The result of Columbia’s risky endeavor was that two weeks after pop-sensation Destiny’s Child released the “Bootylicious” single, 113 pop stations addedthe song to their playlists. 169 However, the 113 stations playing the“Bootylicious” single was a drop off from the 150 radio stations that wereplaying Destiny’s Child’s prior single “Survivor” two weeks after thatsong’s release only a few months earlier. 170 It was speculated that“Bootylicious” was kept off the air in markets where indies still maintainexceptional influence as retaliation against Columbia’s move to limitindependent promotion. 171 Despite Destiny’s Child’s popularity, Columbia’s decision to limit theuse of indies in such a fashion is virtually unheard of. 172 Some industry insiders speculated that Columbia made this move to test the waters for a challenge to the future of independent promoters. 173 Although“Bootylicious” did incredibly well on the radio, the drop off of nearly fortystations adding the song to the station rotation is a sobering reminder of the power that indies exercise over the industry. Furthermore, the somewhat successful curtailment of indie promotion for artists as popular as Destiny’sChild do not reflect the likely outcome if other less popular artists fail topay indie fees. 174
http://elr.lls.edu/issues/v22-issue3/katunich.pdf
So even though Britney and artists in her lane sold more than TWOTW and Survivor in that time period[keep in mind that DC was Billboard Artist of the Year in 2000 and 2001, though], yet if these artists wanted to do well on the charts, they were going to do their thing on the Urban/Rhythmic Charts to keep their success. Is it a wonder that Britney stans always complain about some of her "Urban" Songs don't get the spins on those formats that Bey and even Rihanna don't get? Think about it: As many albums and records that Britney has sold in her career, you would think that her stans could care less about that because it has worked for her all of these years. Gaga stans care more about her songs being #1 on Pop than anything else. Why? Because they know her lane and Gaga still tries to expand her demographic audience through Urban Music which is why I mentioned Rob Fusari in the first place.
Not only this, look at the top 10 artists on Billboard's Artist of the Decade charts. 9 of the 10 are Urban Based artists in their sound as I have said before, so it's no deep mystery to say that Urban Music dominated the decade. It's why artists like Fergie, Christina, Nicole Scherzinger, Nelly Furtado, and etc all experiment with the Urban Sound. If anything, Urban Music is the reason why Electro-Pop is out in the forefront in R&B/Pop and Pop Music period. It's the thing that Grace Jones wanted to do, it's what Jody Watley wanted to do with New Jack Swing, it's what Paula Abdul wanted to do and even what Prince really wanted to do with Vanity and Appolonia on a smaller level. And the reason why DC was able to get it done because not only was the production in that area was strong, but the vocal arrangements and even more importantly, the performing was on point. Not to mention, that package appealed to the younger generation which has grown with Bey, Kelly and Michelle(and yes, Bey is much bigger than both of them but they both have fans). In fact, LeToya benefits from her time with DC. So artists(even the big young pop artists from that time period) who wanted to get a piece of it had to get a piece of what DC did in order to keep their success and last in the industry.
So what does that all means? It means that the critics fail when they talk about Bey jumping on a bandwagon with regards to Electro Pop. DC is the reason why Electro Pop exists. To make this point further...when I first heard DC4 and No, No, No and other songs with this sound afterwards, I hated them. I thought of them as gimmicky as Das EFX; Bones, Thugs and Harmony; and Nelly. And they were bringing this sound to R&B? And yes, I know that Mariah did the rap singing style with BT&H, but I looked at that like I did with Biggie recording with the same group, like it was a novelty. With my 90s thinking of what R&B was to sound like, even Uptempo songs(remember, Teddy Riley was extremely influently with his New Jack Swing sound and female artists who did it, the sound was called New Jill which set the stage for MJB's sound). I was wrong. DC and their team was genius and then they had the nerve when they could have just keep that sound, like the artists I named because it was such a success for them, they switched up, put a variety of sounds that has shaped Today's Contemporary R&B.
So with that in mind, as much as I am not really enthused about Electro Pop as a whole, I can deal with Bey especially doing a electro pop song or two, next album era. Like it or not, it's part of Urban Music and Pop Music in general. Actually, what I would love for her to do is bring Suga Mama into the studio and put some real ascoustic instrumentation along with the electronic sound. Watch how that works. Look at this article in which the author talks about contemporary R&B and why he has a hard time getting into it: I’ve been slow to warm to much contemporary R&B. I tend to gravitate toward the genre’s past, when a group of people sat in a studio with instruments and played them while a singer gave voice to the song. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/6841971.html) As some might know, this was an article about Bey and this author even with everything he said about Contemporary R&B, he is much more open to Bey than any other contemporary R&B artist.
Look at the fact that Bey submitted her Live DVD at the Wynn for to be nominated in Contemporary R&B. This is a good thing and I am rooting for it to get nominated and win. Not just because I am a member of the "BeyParty" but also because Contemporary R&B needs this. All of you remember in my blog the quote from The Guardian where the interview was so amazed at how raw Bey's performances are and Bey's comments toward that. My thing is not to attack Electro-pop and the fact that it is so successful. Electro-Pop actually has more edge than your typical dance-pop song from the 80s. No, what I would like to see is what Bey did with Why Don't You love Me? That song is electro-pop but that song has edge. Solo, the Bama Boys and Bey did an awesome job of bringing a funky Urban swag to that song that pretty much no one in her age group can do. If Gloria Gaynor, a woman who in the 60s was in the "Chitlin Circuit" doing Classic R&B did disco and that song is her singature song then Bey, a woman who is big part of what Urban Dance is what it is today, can and should do it if that she wants to do. Thank you for reading this. I know the length of this blog probably testing your patience, but I had a lot on my mind and I hadn't blogged in a while. I hope that everyone have a great weekend.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Dear Aaliyah Fans/Stans:
It's been almost a decade before Aaliyah tragic death. Being that I was a teen(actually older she would be if she is alive) when she first debuted, I can honestly speak on her music and the impact of her music within Contemporary R&B/Urban Top 40. I remember the first time I saw the Back and Forth video. I loved her voice and her artistic style. I think One in A Million is one of the Classic Contemporary R&B albums of all time. So this is letter is coming from a sincere place and I hope that Aaliyah stans take what I say with that in mind though I have a feeling that the "hardcore" stans won't.
First of all, I am tired of seeing bloggers exploiting you and Aaliyah's death by whipping you into a frenzy whenever they ask questions like, "If Aaliyah was alive, would be Beyoncé be a big superstar?" You all fall for it: Hook, line and sinker. NONE of you even think,"Why is the point of having this question, a decade after her death? Wouldn't it be better to celebrate her music and legacy and appreciating that? Rather than debating what would haves and could have." I would agree with you. Especially being a fan myself. But I know it's not intelligent Aaliyah fans thinking this way. It's pressed Aaliyah "fans" some of them probably not even real fans. Only because fans after her death or even worse using Aaliyah to bash Beyoncé.
I could get into the fact that Bey, as being part of DC, was much more mainstream than Aaliyah ever could be. I also could get into the fact, for all of those silly misguided ones who said the only reason Bey was a success as a solo artist is because people were looking for someone to fill the void that Aaliyah left, that when Bey blew up as a solo artist, she wasn't even a solo artist. Nope, she was still apart of DC when that happen and all of them went "solo". It wasn't about Bey becoming a big solo artist. It was about the Destiny's Child brand and Bey blew up bigger than anyone would have imagined her to.
It wasn't until DC disbanded was when Bey "officially" became a "true" solo artist. Why do you think Michelle did Gospel, Kelly did the Urban/Alternative and Bey had the more commercial sound out of the other 3 when they were still apart of DC? Everything they did was about the success and the expansion of the group. Aaliyah, dead or alive, would have had nothing to do with what happened for Bey during the DIL era because Bey was Destined(yes, pun intended) to be the star that she is.
And any Aaliyah stan who wants to debate how Liyah's music is much more "substantial" in that Bey is...is going to look stupid. Lyrical Depth is not exactly Aaliyah's strength when it comes to her music. And I am a fan of her music saying that.
I mean, I said more than I really wanted on this to while not getting deep into why delving into why Beyoncé would have the career that she has if Aaliyah is alive. But I could drop all of these facts and it would not mean nothing to some of you because it masks a bigger problem. To me, it is seems that you're jealous of Bey's success and for no reason. I have seen some of you, while foaming at the mouth like you're possessed by a demon, wished Beyoncé was on the plane that crash rather than Aaliyah. Sick!!!! Really sick!!!! Not liking someone's music is one thing. Wishing death on them, is very extreme and a horrible thing to do. Surely, you can't be that passionate over Aaliyah to wish death on Bey because you wish that Aaliyah had the same mainstream success that Bey has now. Come on, now!!!
And don't blame the Beyhive(the Bey Stan Base) for your behavior. I know for a fact that the Liyah stan base go at it with Brandy and Monica stans and I have never seen any member of your stan base wish that it was Brandy or Monica on the plane rather than Liyah. There is no excuse. Absolutely, none. No matter how much I don't like an artist's music, going that far is way too extreme. I love music but it's not that serious. And normally, I wouldn't even bother addressing this kind of behavior but...it's sad that whenever the anniversary of Aaliyah comes around, these are the topics that bloggers use to pull you Aaliyah stans in because you can't let it go.
Aaliyah is dead, as sad as it is, she's dead. It wasn't meant for her to have the kind of success that some of you covet for her. And it's stupid to hate on Bey because of it. Let it go!!! Celebrate her music, her memory and appreciate what she was about as an artist and I say as an artist because most people don't know what she was about as a person. We didn't know her personally, but the art could and should be appreciated. I think that where Aaliyah is...I don't think she would care less about fame and music legacy and status. Thank you to all who have read this.
First of all, I am tired of seeing bloggers exploiting you and Aaliyah's death by whipping you into a frenzy whenever they ask questions like, "If Aaliyah was alive, would be Beyoncé be a big superstar?" You all fall for it: Hook, line and sinker. NONE of you even think,"Why is the point of having this question, a decade after her death? Wouldn't it be better to celebrate her music and legacy and appreciating that? Rather than debating what would haves and could have." I would agree with you. Especially being a fan myself. But I know it's not intelligent Aaliyah fans thinking this way. It's pressed Aaliyah "fans" some of them probably not even real fans. Only because fans after her death or even worse using Aaliyah to bash Beyoncé.
I could get into the fact that Bey, as being part of DC, was much more mainstream than Aaliyah ever could be. I also could get into the fact, for all of those silly misguided ones who said the only reason Bey was a success as a solo artist is because people were looking for someone to fill the void that Aaliyah left, that when Bey blew up as a solo artist, she wasn't even a solo artist. Nope, she was still apart of DC when that happen and all of them went "solo". It wasn't about Bey becoming a big solo artist. It was about the Destiny's Child brand and Bey blew up bigger than anyone would have imagined her to.
It wasn't until DC disbanded was when Bey "officially" became a "true" solo artist. Why do you think Michelle did Gospel, Kelly did the Urban/Alternative and Bey had the more commercial sound out of the other 3 when they were still apart of DC? Everything they did was about the success and the expansion of the group. Aaliyah, dead or alive, would have had nothing to do with what happened for Bey during the DIL era because Bey was Destined(yes, pun intended) to be the star that she is.
And any Aaliyah stan who wants to debate how Liyah's music is much more "substantial" in that Bey is...is going to look stupid. Lyrical Depth is not exactly Aaliyah's strength when it comes to her music. And I am a fan of her music saying that.
I mean, I said more than I really wanted on this to while not getting deep into why delving into why Beyoncé would have the career that she has if Aaliyah is alive. But I could drop all of these facts and it would not mean nothing to some of you because it masks a bigger problem. To me, it is seems that you're jealous of Bey's success and for no reason. I have seen some of you, while foaming at the mouth like you're possessed by a demon, wished Beyoncé was on the plane that crash rather than Aaliyah. Sick!!!! Really sick!!!! Not liking someone's music is one thing. Wishing death on them, is very extreme and a horrible thing to do. Surely, you can't be that passionate over Aaliyah to wish death on Bey because you wish that Aaliyah had the same mainstream success that Bey has now. Come on, now!!!
And don't blame the Beyhive(the Bey Stan Base) for your behavior. I know for a fact that the Liyah stan base go at it with Brandy and Monica stans and I have never seen any member of your stan base wish that it was Brandy or Monica on the plane rather than Liyah. There is no excuse. Absolutely, none. No matter how much I don't like an artist's music, going that far is way too extreme. I love music but it's not that serious. And normally, I wouldn't even bother addressing this kind of behavior but...it's sad that whenever the anniversary of Aaliyah comes around, these are the topics that bloggers use to pull you Aaliyah stans in because you can't let it go.
Aaliyah is dead, as sad as it is, she's dead. It wasn't meant for her to have the kind of success that some of you covet for her. And it's stupid to hate on Bey because of it. Let it go!!! Celebrate her music, her memory and appreciate what she was about as an artist and I say as an artist because most people don't know what she was about as a person. We didn't know her personally, but the art could and should be appreciated. I think that where Aaliyah is...I don't think she would care less about fame and music legacy and status. Thank you to all who have read this.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Uptempo vs Ballads: What Defines Classic or Great Music?
Hello, everyone. I am a little tired because I have been sitting in front of the computer watching Bey performances on YouTube all day, but I feel like posting an entry while on the PC. The argument that always happens when it comes to Bey's music is her " lyrical depth" and part of it is...due to the fact that she does up-tempos and club-bangers. A lot.
Now I don't know about you...but as I have said many times, I love all kinds of music. Ballads, Mid and Up-tempos from a huge variety of genres. It's not serious that a song has to be the deepest lyrically to be a great or classic song. Musical Production>>>>>>Lyrical Content. If the music production is bad, it makes the lyrical content seem worse. If it is bad. And the worst lyrics can be "hidden" with great melodies and production. They are songs, not theses and State of the Union speeches.
Now keep in mind that if we go through Bey's catalogue, she actually have more ballads than even uptempos. That's a big stereotype with Bey's music. That she's all catchy anthems. Forgetting that she has gone into the top 5 with Ballads, Mids and Uptempos. But yes, it is a stereotype of hers.
I mean, look at now. Bey has already attracted producers of genres for the next album and even though you have the familiar producers, you have producers like The Script and Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal wanting to work with her. So who knows what Bey will do next album with her sound? We can guess and speculate but unless we aren't in the studio, no one knows.
But I think we should give the Queen of Pop & Soul the benefit of the doubt. I don't think she has anything to prove. She's a staple in her craft, nothing will take away from that. I want the best album Bey has to offer, but not to make her legacy bigger. But because she has the talent to do nothing less. I mean, with what's out there in Radio Land, do we have any choice but to give Bey the benefit of the doubt?
Now I don't know about you...but as I have said many times, I love all kinds of music. Ballads, Mid and Up-tempos from a huge variety of genres. It's not serious that a song has to be the deepest lyrically to be a great or classic song. Musical Production>>>>>>Lyrical Content. If the music production is bad, it makes the lyrical content seem worse. If it is bad. And the worst lyrics can be "hidden" with great melodies and production. They are songs, not theses and State of the Union speeches.
Now keep in mind that if we go through Bey's catalogue, she actually have more ballads than even uptempos. That's a big stereotype with Bey's music. That she's all catchy anthems. Forgetting that she has gone into the top 5 with Ballads, Mids and Uptempos. But yes, it is a stereotype of hers.
I mean, look at now. Bey has already attracted producers of genres for the next album and even though you have the familiar producers, you have producers like The Script and Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal wanting to work with her. So who knows what Bey will do next album with her sound? We can guess and speculate but unless we aren't in the studio, no one knows.
But I think we should give the Queen of Pop & Soul the benefit of the doubt. I don't think she has anything to prove. She's a staple in her craft, nothing will take away from that. I want the best album Bey has to offer, but not to make her legacy bigger. But because she has the talent to do nothing less. I mean, with what's out there in Radio Land, do we have any choice but to give Bey the benefit of the doubt?
Friday, August 27, 2010
When will contemporary artists get more respect?
Well, we all saw the VH1 100 Greatest Artists' List and with lists of this nature, there is always going to be controversial. It's ironic that in my last entry, I talked about the Rolling Stones' 100 Greatest Singers list in regards to the C-Tina vs Bey vocals arguments and this list came about. And usual, you have people up in arms over Bey's position in it or that she's even on the list. Well, I have my thoughts on that and you know I am going to speak my mind so here it is....
First of all, congrats to everyone on the list. This list was made by people who are actually in the industry so this shows the respect that these artists have in the industry, both past artists and contemporary artists. Making a list of only 100 greatest acts when there have been 1000s of great acts that have entered the industry is hard. So many genres to choose from.
With that in mind, when lists like these are made, it is usually the 60s-early 90s artists who get respect that contemporary artists won't. Don't get me wrong, these acts longevity and their work have influenced the music that is out today. Okay, I get that. So there won't be much contemporary acts on lists like these. That's the way it goes. And BTW, there are many acts who should have been on the list but were not. Bob Marley not on the list? Barbra Streisand not on the list? Only 11 women on this list? Strange.
However, my problem is that people complain about the comtemporary acts that are on the list. Especially Bey and Jay. It's okay that people want to remember the geniuses of the past and give them their due but ladies and gentleman, both of them are great in the lanes that they are in and big, make that huge influences on the artists of today in their genres. I have said this many times on this blog: Bey/DC is the Sound of the '00s. Contemporary R&B which is a huge part of today's sound is made in her image. That's one of the many reasons why she's the only 3 time Best Contemporary R&B Album Grammy Winner. To diss her credentials for being on this list, whether you like her music or not is silly IMO.
If Contemporary Artists are going to be on it, she should be on it. Like it or not. And as for Jay, the man has more #1s than Elvis and Elvis is always on lists like these. Think about that, people. He has classic albums for Hip Hop, so many it would take me all day to speak on that. I would never defend Bey's husband on here. I am a fan of Bey, first. However, Jay not getting the respect he deserves as an artist after what he has done for his genre is sad. Even if he is not the Greatest MC alive, he's on the short list and if Hip Hop is a viable, respected genre then he should be on this list. Any Hip Hop who wants to be mainstream(and I understand a lot of hip hop heads don't like that) are influenced in some way by Mr. Carter. Like it or not. And this is coming from a Hip Hop fanatic, who knows underground acts as well as mainstream ones, who grew up watching "Beat Street".
But it goes back to my question: When will contemporary artists get more respect? Music didn't die in the early 90s. The industry is still past that era, people. And music will continue to go on until the world ends or whatever. The artists that are coming into the industry aren't just influenced by music from the jazz/blues era to the Michael Jackson, Whitney, Mariah, Mary, and etc era. There were artists, artists who have been in the industry over a decade, from the 90s who are still making music and influence the generation of new artists that are coming out today. That's why I understood it in one MB site that I go to when she said she was up in arms over Bey's spot. At first, I thought: Okay, she's contemporary and older acts gets more due than younger ones. But then I asked why especially consider how much the younger artists has contributed to the industry already? I got what the poster was saying, finally. Why that much deference toward to older acts? Just because it's older don't mean it is better.
Anyways, I don't even consider Bey with those artists, I put her above them because she's been doing this since the 90s. Toni B. set people str8 in the interview in which she also set people str8 on who is more talented between Ciara, Bey and Rihanna with this very thing.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IurMgMOmo08). She and Jay and artists like her have the respect of the industry and that's all the matters because they usually know more then critics and the posters on MBs who think that if they name drop older artists that makes them musically educated.
The real question is should be, Why don't female artists don't get the respect that they deserve? Why did only 11 female acts get on the list in the first place. Seems to me that Sasha Frere Jones is right: Young black female singers rarely get past the red rope and into the Genius Lounge—the moody, the male, and the dead crowd that room. ( http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/02/09/090209crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=all#ixzz0xq3hM0eH) I know that change is slow, but it seems to me that female artists still aren't given the respect that they deserve. Yet, instead of the fan bases of female artists arguing over the merit of the ones who are on it, they should complain about this. But the beautiful thing is I believe that this attitude is slowly changing and female artists like Beyoncé are helping to make it happen. Hopefully, people will see this and give contemporary artists like her the due that they deserve. I am proud of her and I hope that she always get the respect that the industry has obviously given her.
First of all, congrats to everyone on the list. This list was made by people who are actually in the industry so this shows the respect that these artists have in the industry, both past artists and contemporary artists. Making a list of only 100 greatest acts when there have been 1000s of great acts that have entered the industry is hard. So many genres to choose from.
With that in mind, when lists like these are made, it is usually the 60s-early 90s artists who get respect that contemporary artists won't. Don't get me wrong, these acts longevity and their work have influenced the music that is out today. Okay, I get that. So there won't be much contemporary acts on lists like these. That's the way it goes. And BTW, there are many acts who should have been on the list but were not. Bob Marley not on the list? Barbra Streisand not on the list? Only 11 women on this list? Strange.
However, my problem is that people complain about the comtemporary acts that are on the list. Especially Bey and Jay. It's okay that people want to remember the geniuses of the past and give them their due but ladies and gentleman, both of them are great in the lanes that they are in and big, make that huge influences on the artists of today in their genres. I have said this many times on this blog: Bey/DC is the Sound of the '00s. Contemporary R&B which is a huge part of today's sound is made in her image. That's one of the many reasons why she's the only 3 time Best Contemporary R&B Album Grammy Winner. To diss her credentials for being on this list, whether you like her music or not is silly IMO.
If Contemporary Artists are going to be on it, she should be on it. Like it or not. And as for Jay, the man has more #1s than Elvis and Elvis is always on lists like these. Think about that, people. He has classic albums for Hip Hop, so many it would take me all day to speak on that. I would never defend Bey's husband on here. I am a fan of Bey, first. However, Jay not getting the respect he deserves as an artist after what he has done for his genre is sad. Even if he is not the Greatest MC alive, he's on the short list and if Hip Hop is a viable, respected genre then he should be on this list. Any Hip Hop who wants to be mainstream(and I understand a lot of hip hop heads don't like that) are influenced in some way by Mr. Carter. Like it or not. And this is coming from a Hip Hop fanatic, who knows underground acts as well as mainstream ones, who grew up watching "Beat Street".
But it goes back to my question: When will contemporary artists get more respect? Music didn't die in the early 90s. The industry is still past that era, people. And music will continue to go on until the world ends or whatever. The artists that are coming into the industry aren't just influenced by music from the jazz/blues era to the Michael Jackson, Whitney, Mariah, Mary, and etc era. There were artists, artists who have been in the industry over a decade, from the 90s who are still making music and influence the generation of new artists that are coming out today. That's why I understood it in one MB site that I go to when she said she was up in arms over Bey's spot. At first, I thought: Okay, she's contemporary and older acts gets more due than younger ones. But then I asked why especially consider how much the younger artists has contributed to the industry already? I got what the poster was saying, finally. Why that much deference toward to older acts? Just because it's older don't mean it is better.
Anyways, I don't even consider Bey with those artists, I put her above them because she's been doing this since the 90s. Toni B. set people str8 in the interview in which she also set people str8 on who is more talented between Ciara, Bey and Rihanna with this very thing.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IurMgMOmo08). She and Jay and artists like her have the respect of the industry and that's all the matters because they usually know more then critics and the posters on MBs who think that if they name drop older artists that makes them musically educated.
The real question is should be, Why don't female artists don't get the respect that they deserve? Why did only 11 female acts get on the list in the first place. Seems to me that Sasha Frere Jones is right: Young black female singers rarely get past the red rope and into the Genius Lounge—the moody, the male, and the dead crowd that room. ( http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/02/09/090209crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=all#ixzz0xq3hM0eH) I know that change is slow, but it seems to me that female artists still aren't given the respect that they deserve. Yet, instead of the fan bases of female artists arguing over the merit of the ones who are on it, they should complain about this. But the beautiful thing is I believe that this attitude is slowly changing and female artists like Beyoncé are helping to make it happen. Hopefully, people will see this and give contemporary artists like her the due that they deserve. I am proud of her and I hope that she always get the respect that the industry has obviously given her.
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