"Who's That..." Artists of the Day

Time for "Who's That..." Artists of the Day again! :

1) B.O.B: New and upcoming rapper from Atlanta. I saw him on a short MTV News clip and decided to check him out. He was the best out of all the rappers presented on it. His songs have hot beats and are catchy!!! Plus, he is one of the few new rappers who actually have something to say when they rap!!!

I'll Be In the Sky

Grip Your Body feat. Amy Winehouse

Mellow Fellow


2) Atmosphere: Independent rap group from Minnesota that have been around since the early nineties. The two members are Slug (Rapper) and Ant (DJ/Producer). Their style is very different from mainstream hip-hop today. It is more laidback and introspective. They sound almost like Everlast later in his career.

Guarentees

Sunshine

Yesterday

You

You (acoustic)


3) Brandi Carlile: A folk (with a hint of country) rock singer with an amazing voice (Pasty Cline mixed with Mellisa Etheridge)! I can't get her songs out of my head! Her lyrics are thought-provoking, and her songs sometimes makes me want to cry. She's definitely worth listening to! (BTW: Her videos are beautiful too, but I couldn't embed them, so check it out on youtube!)

The Story

Turpentine

Closer to You


4) Les Nubians: Two sisters from France and Chad (Africa) who have a Sade meets Floetry vibe. I love their songs!

Makeda

Sweetest Taboo ft. the Roots

Temperature Rising


5) Joanna Cotten: She's a soulful, bluesy country girl and I like her sassiness when she sings!

Funkabilly

High Maintenance 


6) The Knux: Brothers from New Orleans with an old school hip-hop flava. I basically call them a cooler version of Kid N Play and if you don't know who they are look them up!!! Cool Nerds, yeah!!!

Bang Bang

Cappuccino 

"Click-It Concert" Series

Are you the type of person who hates going to concerts because you hate live performances (sounds terrible or can't see the artists), hate some of the songs played during the concert or just to lazy to go (maybe you can't go at all because the artists are dead, LOL, or no longer performing)? Maybe it is not possible for you to get to a concert? Or maybe you are the type of person who get tired of having to search around for songs of your favorite artists on youtube? Well, your in luck!!!

"Click-It Concert" is my version of a mini-concert online in which there will be several songs and videos from an artist in one spot. And you get to pick which songs you want to listen to. All you have to do is click.

The first " Click-It Concert" will be from one of my favorite funk groups of all time:

RUFUS AND CHAKA KHAN

So Enjoy!

Do You Love What You Feel



Once You Get Started



You Got the Love



Masterjam



Any Love



Ain't Nobody



Tell Me Something Good

"Who's That..." Artists of the Day

Time again for some new artists.... Jah Cure and James Morrison

1) Jah Cure: He is a Jamaican reggae singer who's songs have inspiring lyrics (some influenced by his jail sentence of 15 years for rape, robbery and gun possession, but released eight years later on parole and he still claims his innocence) and beautiful melodies (as a lot of reggae songs do). He might be this generation's Bob Marley. Cure has worked with other reggae artists, like Beres Hammond (one of my favorite reggae singers).

Longing For

As Long As I Live

Woman I Love You

Freedom



2) James Morrison: He is a successful UK artist, who I wish I had found about earlier. James has a beautiful voice and the song with Nelly Furtado should be a hit here! Mr. Jason Mraz even worked with him. Make him a success over here!!!

Broken Strings ft. Nelly Furtado

Wonderful World

"Earworm 2"

Kings of Leon- Sex on Fire

This song has some of the silliest lyrics ever, but the lead singer, Caleb Followill's voice and the melody makes you forget how corny the lyrics are. On the other hand the video...what's with the chicken and the guy eating food? I guess food=sex?

Music Note # 2: To make money or to make art, that is the question? ....

Commercialization vs. Art in the Industry

In today's music world, particularly in the U.S., it's all about making the big money. Music is treated like a fad and fans have a habit of being very fickle. Once you get tired of a singer, rapper or group, you move on to the next new thing and forget about them, letting them fade away slowly. This has always been happening, but now it seems to be happening faster and faster. 

The mass production or assembly line style of creating music today leaves little room for creativity. Songs today have very little chance of becoming classics as the songs that came decades before us. Moreover, artists are expected to fit into some kind of box instead of being themselves. Has anyone noticed how many singers or rappers sound similar?

This makes it hard for underground artists who are different from the norm to become mainstream or for artists to change their style (unless you're Madonna, Janet Jackson or Prince, then you fit into the box of being unpredictable and constantly having to change your style). Besides that, some popular artists can't even release certain songs that they want because the industry thinks it won't sell (e.g. Rappers are often forced to release club banger singles  but not intellectual based singles or conscious rappers, like Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and others are told to sound more like more popular rappers, such as Soulja Boy). 

People are unwilling to give these artists a chance because they are stuck in the never ending loop of being too close-minded or too LAZY to listen to something new since it might require them to think. For example, recently I posted about Heavy D, a popular rapper in the 90s, becoming a reggae singer now. I was open to the idea, but automatically people did not like it because it did not fit the mold of what he usually was, a rapper.

Unlike the U.S., other countries have a greater appreciation for music as an art not just to make money. When I listen to British singers, for instance, they are more artistic or more willing to take risks in music and I can hear the strong influence of previous artists in them. Also, other countries tend not to forget artists that came before and continue to listen to them even after we in America basically put a middle finger up to them. That is why man artists go to and still remain popular in Europe when they are basically non-existent here, such as in the career of Muddy Waters and other blues artists. 

However, the state of the music industry is the fans' fault. Like any other business, it bases its actions on demand. It gives us what it thinks we want based on what we buy. So the only way the industry can change is if we change ourselves. I'm still hopeful for the future.