Cyrus Langhorne
Grammy-winning singer The-Dream recently gave his take on today’s music industry, notably the struggles African American artists go through for survival.
In Dream’s perspective, the music biz is much tougher for black musicians as opposed to whites.
“If you got a hit and you’re white, there are no limits to what you can do. If you’re black and you have a hit today but can’t do it again tomorrow, then your ass is out of here. When the industry uses you up, that’s it. You’re gone. It’s a constant battle for our culture. We can’t say no to radio, we can’t say no to Spotify, and we can’t have a concert because nobody will come. And the whole time, everybody is taking from our culture to enhance the pop side of things. By the way, the pop side doesn’t mean you have to be white. Bruno Mars is pop. Nobody listens to Bruno Mars like he’s a black artist. Which I’m sure for him, he’s like, “Thank God.” There are urban artists and then there are pop artists, and urban artists get things taken from them. We create the swag, and everybody knows it.” (Billboard)
Dream also weighed in on the buzz surrounding close pal Jay Z‘s popular Tidal music streaming service.
“I think my good friend Jay Z said it best: Apple makes a billion dollars doing something; we have no problem with it. We’ll buy 8,000 iPhones. But if a black man does it, immediately people say, “Wait, hasn’t he already made enough money?”” (Billboard)
Last weekend, rap star Lil Wayne revealed his alignment with Jay’s Tidal.
Wayne’s manager Cortez Bryant tells TMZ, people jumped to the wrong conclusion after Wayne took the stage at KMEL’s Summer Jam in Oakland and said he was partnering with Jay. Bryant says Wayne was referring to the partnership with TIDAL as an artist and owner. So there’s no Roc Nation deal. Still …the collaboration is a big step considering the bad blood between Birdman and Wayne. Wayne’s next album will be released on TIDAL. (TMZ)
Footage of Weezy F. Baby breaking the major news to fans at radio station KMEL’s annual Summer Jam concert surfaced last weekend.
https://instagram.com/p/35yBpoSVzf/
I agree with everything he said! Our culture is being used and taken from us right under our nose. But we can’t blame anyone but ourselves! We allowed the white man and his devils to destroy our culture. Every race on this planet wanna be black! They wanna dress like us, talk like us, steal our music and swag. And we sit back and allow it to happen. Paul Mooney said it best on the Chappelle show everybody wanna be a nigga but don’t nobody wanna be a nigga!
Fuck niggers
Niggers for life
Your mother fucks niggers
Make 90 dollars a day for working on the net from your own home for few hr’s daily… Get regularly paid each week… All you need is a pc, internet access, along with a little free-time…
“Can’t blame anyone but ourselves” Cut the nonsense and learn about economics.
If you have talent you will endure as an artist…there are plenty of black artists, rapper, r&b singers and otherwise that have enjoyed a long, prosperous career. Make better music, or if you really think it’s racial, ask for more support from your black fans and community, but stop whining like a ho.
shut up
This.
Diana ross just had a wedding party…at her malibu estate!
wack ass dude. making it about race is the easy way out.
Sure was a nice ass wedding!!!
It’s not about race. It’s his crutch, and I’m saying this a black man. Rock ‘n roll and the genreal pop genres are just as fucked in the game. The only relevance it has to race is that the reason hip hop used to be so good is that the music was cultivated from the streets from the top down. That no longer happens since the labels are no longer simply distributed by a major, they are pretty much just a division of the majors and get their walking papers from up top with some square dude in a suit who doesn’t know waht the fuck is actually going on in the hood.
Let me run this by you, Data: You can have all the talent in the world with great music, but if you have no opportunity, I think its extremely hard to make it. Consider some Geographical and financial disadvantages some very talents artists that are not know are facing. Too bad for them, I know.
My friend, I don’t think Dream is talking about financial or geographical disadvantages, he’s talking strictly about race. If you want to switch topics, okay… And the fact of the matter is, there are more opportunities now in the last 10 years than ever before for artists to break through. There is this crazy thing now called the internet, maybe you’ve heard of it. Unless you’re in one of the very few regions left on planet without it, geographically the playing field has become more leveled in regards to opportunity. I’m a struggling artist myself. I was born in a small town in Pennsylvania, where the average household income for a family is around $20,000 a year. Someone in that condition faces both of the challenges you listed, financial and geographical. Who the hell is signing rappers out of a town with 1,500 people in it? Not many. There was zero opportunity musically, people are more concerned with survival…so…you can utilize the internet, or move to gain exposure. I moved to New York City, and now live in Los Angeles, where I have been for over 10 years. I finally have my first show this weekend on Sunset Blvd, I started my own label this year, and have an album coming out this year as well. I also own the rights to all of my music. I don’t know which label Dream is signed to, I’m sure it’s a major, and I also don’t know anything about his rights to his music, so I won’t act like I do. He has earned a lot of money, and apparently has a lot of fans, so if this is a real worry of him, maybe he should start his own label, a la Jay Z, Diddy, Master P, and countless others. Nobody tells them what to release, when to release it, or who to sign as an artist. If he wants to step of this self imposed prison that is the music industry, he could be a little more industrious, wiser with his money, and rely on the fans he has made through his, what I’m assuming, amazing music. Or, he could make excuses when his new song doesn’t catch on, and is feeling the pressure from the label that he himself has chosen to sign with to make a hit. I mean, if the pitfalls of the industry are common knowledge, and it’s all based on race, sign with a label with a black exec like one of the ones I mentioned previously, and maybe they will treat him better, I wouldn’t know…. Personally, I believe the reason people have lasting careers (the person above me mentioned Diana Ross) is because they make quality music that people connect to. Most of the rap music today has zero substance, little message other than “pop some bottles” “she got a donk” “cake cake cake cake” “anacondas” etc etc etc etc… I listen almost exclusively to Motown and Jazz…because the music is beautiful and timeless…most of what is coming out today is not.. “OG Bobby Johnson” “I’m in love with the coco” “Gold all in my chain, gold all in my watch”…not much going on here if you ask me, and that’s why it’s cashed in on while it’s hot, and is as discarded just as quickly… Look at the emcees who have made classics ALBUMS, there is something to them that sets them apart, they have a story to be told…not recycling ideas and worshiping material objects…(maybe Jay Z is the only one to make a career of this, and like I said, he has his own label, among other things as we know). And lastly, to say people don’t listen listen to Bruno Mars like a “black artist”, I’m not sure what that means…what DOES that mean? Because he is black and makes pop music? Maybe you’ve heard of Michael Jackson….have a good day guys….stay up.
About my comment, the geographic and finacial disadvantage, that was a whole non-related topic to The Dream situation (I couldve made that more clear).
You know exactly what Im talkin about then about geo and financial restrictions. I still find the internet doesnt help if you are in one of those small places, if you dont have marketing and production budgets, it gets pretty futile b/c SO MANY people know about the internet, so rap simply isnt what it used to be. Rap used to be about talking about how you overcame some adversity and it simply isnt that anymore. Anybody can hop on a mic, and get rich, permitting they have production and marketing budgets. Anyhow, congrats on your label and getting up out nowhereville, Im currently there. Im actually pretty dope at rap. Listen to some polished raps of mine at masterconcepts dot org and click H. Master Ice. Natural High, Eye on the Prize are tight. The first two are something a little different.
son has made mad hits and mad cheddar so I dont think he is crying,,,but bottom line is black people are and have always been the engine that powers everything musically innovative,,,cool,,or relevant,,and the powers that be have always sought a way to profit and and at the same time limit those that make the music(magic),,,so fuc* you if u don’t understand that
We know that, but why wasn’t he saying shit or trying to turn it back the other direction to the 90s when all the independent labels just got distribution from the majors instead of being the urban pop division of the company as they operate today and have operated most of his time in the industry when he had some leverage because he was writing hits? This isn’t anything special he’s saying since we all can see, but when he was in a position to try to make some shit happen to reverse the trend, he was too busy tricking on hoes and contributing to the downfall because he liked those checks more than this new-found black unity he has.
The crust of the most influencing music executives are all white.We have Jay-Z,Diddy, Dr. Dee etc who are just a handful to have created their own lane so to speak.Even with them they are still subjected to some level of control by the white controlling machinery.Musically speaking I admire what Jay-Z is trying to achieve with his Tidal Streaming service.It immediately puts him in a unique position so powerful that the other streaming companies now have come up with ways to stop him.The Dream does have a point but You hardly find black artists positioning themselves to really own the music they make.
He’s right. But he is mad that he isnt able to producce hits at the moment. If he was producing hits, then he would have said that.
Didnt seem a problem about the time when Umbrella came out though.
Yep, this is my point. If you were knee deep in the shit and only want to speak out when they’ve used you up, stfu. Btw, this was the same coon jumping out the window to defend Gwyneth Paltrow for posting that N***z in Paris shit on her Twitter account like he grabbed her phone and did it. But now you want to talk about black unity like we can’t see that this shit is like Wal-Mart taking over the hood spot and that pretty much happened during your entire inclusion in the music industry when you were all good with it. Same shit Dame Dash is on right now that he’s on the outside looking in. Fuck boys like that I can never take seriously.