TheRoot.com: Rock is Black Music, Too

Interesting article on the state of black music via The Root contributor Rob Fields:

Know what the problem is with black folks? No imagination.
Sounds crazy, I know, but consider black music.Every significant moment in America’s history has been accompanied by its own soundtrack. And black musicians have often written the music and the lyrics. But what’s our soundtrack now?
The music industry has imposed the same low expectations on black artists and black life that politicians and pundits have imposed on black folks with respect to education, business and simply managing our daily lives. And we’ve let it happen.
The blues and jazz gave meaning to our lives in the 20th century, and it still enjoys a fringe following. But it doesn't fit this new age. R&B is formulaic and predictable. And hip-hop? In its commercial form—the stuff that hammers us from radio and video outlets—has painted itself and its fans into a corner, boxed in on all sides by what Brown professor Tricia Rose calls the pimp-gangsta-ho triumvirate.
Essentially, we've let a small group of hip-hop "artists" of limited experiences, education and vision set our cultural agenda. In this age of expanded possibilities, it is time to broaden our musical influences. Hip-hop is out of ideas. If you need convincing, consider this: The best-selling rapper of 2008—Lil Wayne—is doing a rock album. Yes, a rock album.
It’s time to give black rock another look. From artists as diverse as TV on the Radio, Shingai Shoniwa of The Noisettes, Gnarls Barkley, Santigold and The Family Stand, to performers at the recent South by Southwest Music Festival like Ben Harper, Whole Wheat Bread, BLK JKS, Janelle Monae and Ebony Bones, black rockers take to heart the idea that our imagination and creativity are boundless.
Take, for instance, Grammy winner Janelle Monae. She created a dystopian landscape in her album Metropolis: The Chase Suite, that is part Blade Runner, part Fritz Lang's Metropolis. It's a radical, yet accessible, departure from the “keep it real” orthodoxy that pervades most of what's on black radio's playlist. And having seen hundreds of fans flock to her Central Park SummerStage show in NYC last summer, I wasn't the only one who saw her bring something refreshing and exciting to music. The tagline on the signs that many fans waved underscored a simple truth: “Imagination Inspires Nations.”
Black rock artists have gotten past the fear that prevents many of us from fully following our interests, even when those interests aren't seen as "traditionally" black. "I grew up listening to Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure…." says TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. "I simply identified with something in the [white rock] music.” He took that music as inspiration and, along with his bandmates, created Dear Science, the sharp, angry and euphoric genre-mashing album that Rolling Stone and SPIN unanimously named their 2008 album of the year. It was also one of the blackest albums I've heard.
Black rock can change lives. It changed mine. In the 1980s, I was a regular, middle-class kid from the Midwest, who started listening to Top 40 radio in eighth grade as a reaction to the repetitive playlists and limited subject matter on black radio. Top 40 radio introduced me to artists like Journey ("Who's Cryin' Now") and Styx ("The Best of Times"), who moved me with their melancholy and soaring guitar solos. AC/DC's "Back in Black" gripped me with its signature opening riff. And I found it impossible to ignore the incredible songwriting and storytelling that went into The Eagles' "Hotel California." For me, rock was simply more creative and raw than the slick, synthy sounds on black radio. It still is.
To reclaim our place as musical innovators, we need music that's up to the task. We need artists who have the courage to explore new sounds and ideas. But there's no way today's artists can do that if their grasp of music history only extends to the latest ‘80s record Diddy sampled.
Just as Stevie Wonder counted Joni Mitchell and her experimental chord structures as one of his big music influences, Beyoncé now credits Etta James and the roots of rock 'n roll for helping her to find more expansive ways to be herself.
The Black Rock Coalition's manifesto says, "Rock is black music, and we are its heirs." These times call for substance, not swagger. Rock, America's subversive, anarchic, rebellious gift to the world, is ours, and we need to stop treating it like some bad four-letter word.

very insightful article, but I wouldn't go as far as to say Hip Hop is out of ideas, it's just being controlled by factions and conglomerates that are out of touch with the everyday listener. Their is still alot of great hip hop out there (Flying Lotus & Samiyam), record companies just gotta give underground acts a chance and a platform to shine.

Damien Hirst "Requiem Exhibition"

This exhibit just opened up in Kiev, Ukraine and features work of Damien Hirst ranging from 1998-2008. I believe Hirst is the most epic and transcendent painter/visual artist of our time. Check it out:

The Nature of a Pundit

So I was internet surfing the other day(as I do) and came across this interesting clip of Keith Olbermann on Youtube. He was venting about Fox News (as he does), but I found the most interesting quote from the clip to come from a Huffington Post contributor:

“There are two different kinds of people out there in the world: The Warriors…and then theirs the rest of us. I am like Sean Hannity, one of those cowards…who has refused throughout my life to enter the military and ever subject myself to anything dangerous occupationally were I might lose a tooth. That is exactly Sean Hannity’s approach to life, and he has exactly the same cowardly fear that I do of combat or submitting myself to anything of the kind of risk that the American military does. And so people who live where Sean Hannity lives, in those safe places…they think torture works because it would work on them. Because they are soft, they are weak people compared to our military service people and they would crack under torture…But…the people who have devoted their lives to destroying their enemies, the people who are willing to die in their exercises…Sean Hannity thinks torture is gunna work on them because he has never, never known the kind of commitment that those people have. Nothing he has done in his life measures that kind of commitment that the American military has or our enemies have…”

I think this quote speaks to the nature of a pundit. And when I say pundit, I mean both liberal pundits (like Keith Olbermann) and conservative pundits (like Sean Hannity). They’re both just close-minded talking heads that try to appeal to a targeted demographic. But in all reality, they’re just as blind to the truth as their political counterparts. It’s a shame that millions of Americans take what these pundits say seriously and even entertain their topics in public discourse. Anyone who blindly follows these cable news idiots are fucking sheep and deserve to be financially taken advantage of by the system. Grow some balls and stand up for what you believe, and don’t just follow anything these fuckin coward bitch made fuck boyz say.

--FIRST ENTRY--

I just wanna be successful...






The Chopped and Screwed version of Drake's "So Far Gone" is by far the best mixtape I've heard this year. Shout out to DJ Mr. Rogers, I prefer his chopping and screwing style over all the other interpretations I've heard on the web.


And now a lil bit about myself:




My name is Ssali, I'm a 23 year old senior at the University of South Florida. English-Literaure is my major, I intend on attending Law School sometime after I finish. Some of my hobbies include playing music, listening to music, reading, writing, paintng and working out. So, with that said:


What I'm Listening to at the moment is:




As previously mentioned, DJ Mr Rogers Chopped and Screwed version of Drake's "So Far Gone" mixtape is that fire. Click Here to download it. The original is good as well(via Drake's blog). My favorite tracks from the C & S version are Successful, Brand New and the Outro.


What I'm currently playing on the Piano:

"Truman Sleeps" by Phillip Glass is a beautiful song. Its rather easy to learn, you just have to adjust to the rhythm in which you have to play it.

What I'm currently Reading:

Ralph Ellison's 1951 classic "The Invisible Man" is a beautifully written portrayl of an annoymous story teller who struggles to defne his identity within a pre civil rights movement America. This book is quickly becoming my favorite, it presents an interesting dichotomy of reality (internal v. external realiy) and how these two realities fight to define us. I named this blog "The Invisible Man Theory" because of a forth-coming essay I am going to write that analyzes the philosophy of this novel. It's a great read of fiction :)

What I'm currently attempting to paint:

This is a recent skull painting by world renown painter Damien Hirst. His shit is dope, so ima try n imitate it.

Until next time...