Rob Jay

Remember Back In the Day...

                  Do you remember the days when you would turn on the radio and hear a different sound, a different vibe, voice, concept...I could go on but I think you get the point.  Music, especially Hip Hop and R&B has become so inundated with recycled sounds.  Many of the beats we here sound just like something else that's already in your playlist, partly because many artist are using the same producer or producers are using the same recycled beat patterns.  There is not nearly as much diversity in music today as there was in the "golden age" of Hip Hop and R&B.  If you're an 80s baby or simply were into the music of the 80's and 90s there was such a great mixture of sounds and styles in these two genres of music that there was plenty of room for every artist to grow and be successful.  We had solo artist like R. Kelly, Mary J, Toni Braxton, and Babyface and then we had the great groups like Boys II Men, Jodeci, TLC and Total, and on the Hip Hop side we had Kid-n-Play, Pharcyde, and Junior Mafia; again I could go on and on with this list. My point is, the music industry has gotten away from consistently creating new sounds and new artist and instead it has allowed just a few artist to monopolize the entire scope of popular music and I personally think this is a tragedy. 

                  Look around, there aren't any more R&B groups being pushed to the forefront of the industry and there are a few out here that are worth paying serious attention to, like Brotherly Love and Love Parq, two amazingly talented groups that despite interest from labels and strong fan bases they have yet to really break into the mainstream.   Even when you consider the R&B artist that have dominated the music scene for the 10 years there are only a few names that even matter, Chris Brown, Trey Songz,  Beyonce, and Rihanna.  Now granted we've had hits from the likes of K. Michelle, Keyshia Cole, Jhene Aiko, and every now and then Ciara resurfaces but there is no one who's given Beyonce, Rihanna or CB and Trey any serious competition as a rival.  As radio personalities it's our job to keep up with chart topping artist who dominate the music scene on a consistent basis and trust me, on the R&B side of things the dream pool is shallow at the moment.  However that doesn't mean that there aren't any viable candidates out here or an audience that wants to hear from them.  In my opinion the industry has become to obsessed with "the next Rihanna" or "the next Beyonce" and they've abandoned the idea of just producing and developing great talent period and making them the new household name.  That is why we had so many differing styles and sounds in the game "back in the day".  Back in the golden age we had R&B songs that made us want to party, fall in love, stay in love, make love, and build families together, but now most songs are either strictly about promiscuous sex with random partners with no feelings attached, bashing and proudly cheating on the opposite sex, or all about the money and material wealth.  It makes one beg to question...where is the LOVE? Afterall, isn't that what R&B music was all about?  I don't scoff at the notion of R&B music growing and broadening its spectrum of topics and subject matter but at some point we must get back to the basics of what made the genre great to begin with.

                  When you take a longer look at the scope of Hip Hop I believe the discrepancies are more blatant.  The 90's era saw the rise of "gangster rap" and the early 2000s brought about the emergence of "trap music" and somewhere along the way we lost the diversity and creativity to produce anything but trap music.  There was a time when Hip Hop was inclusive and welcoming to every condition and every concept of expression but that has all come to a screeching halt.  The dominance of the culture was shared by groups like De La Soul and Naughty By Nature, rappers like Heavy D and The Notorious BIG could easily command the attention of the industry, and we can't forget the vast diversity that a single artist like Tupac Shakur brought to the game.  If you look around the field of players in Hip Hop now at the mainstream level there are only 2 artist doing something different from the rest and in my opinion, and that's J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar; now some will argue Drake's difference and being a big fan of the guy I would agree BUT even he has conformed at times and fallen into the popular narrative of going with the flow.  I'm not totally against trap music at all, honestly sometimes I need it to get through the struggles of the day (LOL) but I believe it's imperative to have a broad spectrum of diversity and for the genre to be inclusive on a mainstream level.  Conscious rap has seemingly become taboo for industry execs now, no one seems to be willing to put much effort into promoting it or pushing its agenda.  I often remind people of the "feel good" music of the 90's and early 2000's that we've gotten away from.  That hip hop sound and content that was just all about the regular everyday situations that normal people find themselves in, how we dealt with problems, how we made life enjoyable without flashy cars and pockets full of money; because honestly the majority of us aren't walking around with $30,000 cash in our pockets or pulling up to the party in a Ferrari, but every rap song we're bouncing to today would have you believe that you're not living life without those things...it's really kinda sad.  Being a drug dealer, street dude, or a gang banger (on some level) has become the only aspiration for most young boys and being booed up with one of these guys, and stripping or twerking has become the only aspiration for young girls, and it can all attributed to Hip Hop music and the lifestyle it primarily inspires considering that nothing else is getting the spotlight. 

                  Many in the industry would place the blame for this condition on you, the fans!  There are those who believe that if the fan base did not crave the music as it is now that the current status quo wouldn't exist.  The music industry is generally controlled by the consumer as any industry is, you give your customer whatever they demand and that's how you stay in business.  The reality is that most times we force feed listeners what label execs want them to listen to.  Negotiations are made for a certain amount of radio spins in order to force recall in the minds of the listening audience and to "break" a particular record; so in essence people will gravitate and listen to whatever is presented to them in heavy doses right?  So whenever I have the discussion with people about the obvious change in the direction of Hip Hop and R&B music today I make it clear that we all may share some of the blame.  The music industry manufactures the product even with the emergence of the various vehicles for music through the internet, the industry at large dictates what is presented to the listening audience but that audience has the power of choice to decide what they will and will not accept as status quo.  So the next you have a conversation with someone that starts off with, "I remember back when music was..." remind yourself that everyone on both sides is collectively responsible for the state of Hip Hop and R&B as we hear it today...even you!

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