Ever hear someone say “What is going on with music now?” The talent level seems to be dropping. Artists seem to have less things to say and most of them are saying the same things. There seems to be a deficit of polished artists and more and more independents.

The answer to that is that with the advent of the new technologies, specifically the Cd burner and Software that allows virtually anyone to have the ability to produce their own music, the quality of the acts has suffered.

This can be explained by looking at the way the major labels have given up a lot of the development they used to give to artists.

There was a time when an artist went to a label they would find distribution, A and R, Management, studios for recording, promotion, artist development and just about anything else one might need to produce a quality Artist.

Now an artist is lucky if he/she finds a distribution deal with a major label. Artist development seems to be a thing of the past. Pressing (or Burning is done off site by an independent contractor in a lot of cases. You may find an A and R ( artist and recording) rep at the label.

All of this can be blamed for the “something missing” in music today. For all of the advances technology has brought to the industry, it also seems to have set it back also. Though I’m sure the artists will catc up eventually. Luckily, music seems to be inate to human beings and we will always strive to improve on what is going on at he moment.

What do YOU think?

I cannot tell you how many times I have been around rap/hip hop fans while listening to an Old Skool R&B song and heard them say ‘wow, I didn’t know that song was out before. Or “I didn’t know that was where a certain rapper got that beat, I thought that he made that up”.

The Amen Break, a 6 second piece of an Old Skool funk record named ‘Amen Brother’ by The Winstons is perhaps the most used piece of music ever in Rap/Hip Hop (see video  link below) along with certain songs by James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic (foreign words to many younger fans).

Although all samples in the genre don’t come from Soul and R&B, I would argue that the majority do and a knowledge of it as well as Old Skool music of many other genres is a necessity in order to be a well informed and knowledgeable fan.

 
Here is a playlist of R&B songs and Hip Hop songs that have sampled them*.

PLAYLIST: R&B to Hip Hop

*Player will open in new tab

Have you ever had a favorite record that you liked so much that you went out and bought the album? Having bought the album, you found out that you really liked it too.

Then you find out that they are going to be performing near you. You watch the show only to be stunned to find that they can’t sing or, if you’re lucky, they can’t sing nearly as well as you thought.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. No, this is not a gossip post. These two, very talented and world famous artists are, in my opinion, perfect examples of the difference between a Singer and a Recording Artist.

While it is true that Whitney Houston is a recording artist as well as a singer, I would argue that the same can’t be said of Bobby Brown.

Bobby Brown, is a studio singer who is greatly aided by technology (though, I will admit that he gave a great show).

Whitney Houston is a trained vocalist who had been singing in church choirs before she ever became famous.

There is where the difference lies. A singer can sing in or out of a studio. A recording artist is lost outside of a studio. Hopefully he/she has a strong live show where singing is not the only way to hold the audiences interest.

What do you think?